It’s hard to believe it’s almost over…..summer has just about officially ended, and what a memorable summer it has been!!   Thought  I’d share it with you!

I'd say this is fairly self explanatory!

 We kicked off the summer, really, with a visit to our sweet friends, Matt and Jessica of Fiddlesticks Farms late last spring.  During our travels from our farm to theirs, we noticed lots of signage about snakes….okay, I understand that snakes are everywhere; however, how bad does it have to be before the state is issuing signage to watch out for them?

General Sam Houston statue, Huntsville, Texas

One of our favorite pictures from our summer travels was a stop at the Sam Houston statue just outside of Huntsville, Texas.   If you’re ever passing through on 1-45, you really should stop in….as you can see, he’s a big ‘un!

Bears at Buc-ee's in Madisonville, Texas

 Any time you’re traveling in Texas, you have got to stop at a Buc-ee’s.  Its the superstore of truck stops and convenience store stops for travelers.  They have the best jerky, coffee and cleanest restrooms on the road. We’re big fans!

 We saw a few longhorns, sunflowers fields and such……everything we see reminds us of how much we love Texas!

Longhorns!

Makes you wanna smile!

We passed sunflower fields…pictures could never do them justice!  They are just the most beautiful flower….but an entire field of them, as far as the eye can see, is just breathtaking!

We ate some good food, too — crawfish (mud bugs!) in East Texas.  So good!  Don’t let the looks of  ‘em keep you from trying them.  They are delicious!!

Mmmmm, mmmm! Crawfish!!

Our last old hen....enjoying one of her favorite treats!

  This is Libby Lou! She is Maggie’s little sidekick, and she’s a spunky little thing that keeps us all hopping! 

We had just enough time to make it to Galveston one weekend,  just long enough to dip our toes in the Gulf before heading back to the farm, roll our sleeves up and get to work — getting everything spiffied up for our farm friends! 

Toes in the Gulf Coast!

Garden Golf at Kaska Family Farm RULES!!

It’s 66 degrees today and sunny.  It feels like March or April around the farm today.  Our little chickens have ventured out a little farther than their usual turf; just content to be out in the sun.  Even though it’s very early in the year, it might interest many of you to know that this is when we dream about the coming maze season.  We dream BIG.  We dream about silly signs, new flowers and plants and how to safely bunny-proof them!  We dream about a beautiful, tall, green maze with just the right amount of “hard” to keep you stumped and yet enough “easy” to keep it fun and light.  We dream about screams and laughter as you are being chased by deranged, chainsaw wielding maniacs.  We dream of bright yellow school buses filled to the brim with excited children. 

We order seeds for pumpkins and flowers, we plow the earth to soak up the winter rains.  We paint, we mow, we pick rocks.  We sketch and draw.  We talk about new, fun activities to add to the event.  We talk about safety.  We sample new foods to serve in the Cafe’.  We talk about staffing and paperwork.  We take classes, and notes and visit other farms.  We research and contemplate and we pray.  Alot.

As you can see, you and your family are never very far from our thoughts all year ’round.  It is with you in mind that maze season has become the most cherished of all tasks on our farm and within our family.   We’ve hung the pictures you send us on the wall, along with the Thank You cards, letters and drawings.  We proudly display the Christmas cards and birth announcements you send.  Our hearts swell, and we are so touched at your thoughtfulness.  We consider all who visit the farm as family, and we are looking forward to our “get together” this fall.

In the months to come; please check back to see what we’re up to.  We absolutely love to hear from you and love it when you mention the changes you notice!  We have a lot of work to do — fall will be here before you know it!

We, at Kaska Family Farm, have officially declared this coming Saturday, October 24th, 2009 as “Ellie’s Day @ Kaska Family Farm”

Ellie is 5-years-old and has Juvenile Ideopathic Arthritis, she was diagnosed when she was 18-months old, and her symptoms are controlled by medicine. 

I was inspired by this little girl.    I am turning 40 this year, rather unwillingly.  I complain that my knees hurt, or some other ache or pain — but really, I could exercise more often and take better care of myself as I defy aging.  This cannot be said of Ellie.  She doesn’t really have a choice about whether or not her joints hurt or about managing pain.  She does, however, have a choice in trying to do something to help prevent this illness in other children.  And she does….

Ellie and her friends and family support the Arthritis Foundation through numerous volunteer and fund raising events.   The Arthritis Foundation is the only not-for-profit organization that supports the more than 100 types of arthritis and related conditions.  They offer information and tools to help people live a better life with arthritis.

This year, Kaska Family Farm, and it’s staff have jumped on board to help Ellie with her fund raising efforts.  On Saturday, October 24th  we will collect funds all during the day — from 1oam until 10pm– and will make a donation to the Arthritis Foundation fund raising event of Ellie’s choice.  She would like for the proceeds to be donated to a well-known event:  Jingle Bell Run!

With that said….. we want as many people as we can possibly cram into a 10 acre Corn Maze on the 24th to support Ellie and her efforts to support other children like herself!  A portion of every ticket sale will be donated to this very worthy cause!  So come on out — I know how ya’ll can rock a food drive; let’s see what we can do to support the Arthritis Foundation!! 

The Waco Chapter of the Arthritis Foundation will have it’s annual Jingle Bell Run on Saturday, December 5th.  For more information, or to find a Jingle Bell Run/Walk event where you live,  please click the logo below!

Thanks for your support!!

It’s here, and it’s amazing!!   We love our school children visits, and we love all the teachers that tag along with them — we truly hope you’ll find this new resource guide helpful to your scheduled farm visit with us this fall!

Please visit the Field Trips section of this website for more information!

Due to the recent heavy rains, we will open the farm for our 2009 season on Saturday, September 26th!!

Windmill at Kaska Family Farm

Did you know that the company, Rustic Windmills,  is located near Waco, Texas?  Yep, it is.  It just so happens that Richard went to school with the owner of the company, and he’s made us “official” dealers of the rustic windmills that many of you admired at our farm last season.  You don’t have to be a Texan to love these windmills. 

The tail (shown here with a Texas flag motif) comes plain, or in many cases painted with team logos.  Many a front lawn is sporting an Aggie or Longhorn themed windmill around these parts;  you gotta let folks know where you stand on these issues in Texas!

We have several sizes/styles/price ranges  in stock now and there’ll be some here when you come to visit this fall,  but they can be purchased and shipped just about anywhere any time of the year.

If you are just in dire need of a windmill to grace your homeplace, let us know.  We also carry the  Chuck Wagons — a beautiful center piece to any flower bed when filled with flowers or pumpkins, or both!

We thought you might enjoy seeing just how crazy we really are about this whole maze stuff!  Nobody in their right mind would work straight through these sticky, still, hot July days;  cutting, painting, mowing, planting!  It’s just crazy!  To tell you the truth, we are crazy about our little farm and all of you great folks who come out to visit and keep in touch throughout the year.   We love what we do and we wouldn’t have it any other way!

Poor thing! Unsightly, but necessary for our makeover!

Power washing paint off of the Cow Train

10 of these, times 2! Long weekend....

Each cow’s face had to be handpainted, both sides for each of the ten cows. This picture is a rare peek at my (Toni) work area….there are permanent markers in the top drawer; our kids, staff, and others leave messages and doodle art all over the surface!  I love this old desk….good times, good times.

Cow Train Makeover 2009

Ok, I admit it:  I’ve  griped every time the swallows return each spring and decided to make our front porch their summer home.  I read or heard somewhere that there’s a Chinese proverb that states that having swallows choose your home to make a nest is a sign of good fortune.

Perhaps, but I didn’t feel very fortunate cleaning up bird poo from my porch.  This year; however, something happened that changed my mind about these curious little birds.

It was unmistakable:  about a month or so ago, little bits of mud and “stuff” stuck to the wall, just under the eves of the porch.  I thought, “Ugh, they’re back.  Soon, I will have a mountain of bird poo to clean.”  And so it begins each spring.  Richard and the children scold me for not feeling more compassionate about these little birds who have chosen us as a safe haven for their young. (They do eat flying insects, especially mosquitoes!  Anything that eats mosquitoes is worth it’s weight in gold!)

It wore me down, I did feel guilty.  After all, what had these cute, little chirpers really done to inconvenience me?  Poo is an inconvenience, but I have to admit, each morning when we head out the door to scatter to the four winds of our days; the babies sit: big, yellow mouths; fuzzy little heads and giant eyes — perched along the edge of the nest, trying to figure out what we are, I guess.  It is sort of cute……

Barn Swallows on the front porch

In this picture the parents allowed me to sneak (the babies hide down in the nest when the parents show any sign of concern) — you can see the mess they make!  All I can think about is the possiblity of some kind of bio-hazard.  But, I’ve thought about it:  raising a family is messy and busy for awhile, and then they fly away; the very thing you’ve been preparing them for all along.

I was taking this picture and the little bird on the right suddenly took flight.  Other babies poked their heads up to see what was going on and I counted SEVEN little ones in there, in various stages of development.   It surprised me to see a few more of them fly away to the nearest tree.  The parents were obviously upset with me. (I apologized!)  It made me think of my own little brood:  cooking, cleaning, picking up, dropping off, checking homework — I’m actually happy the messy Barn Swallows are here.  I do feel fortunate, I have a great life.  It is full and it is eventful every day.  Some day, things will slow down around here and I will miss the hustle and bustle something terrible.

I went around the side of the house for the water hose to clean up the bird poo, only with a little more gratitude today than before.    Today, my own little birds  are still in my nest.  Time flies, and soon my little birds will try their wings, too. 

Visit here to learn more about Barn Swallows!

The crop is in the ground and we’ve been blessed with a few scattered rain showers here and there (which beats the heck out of running the irrigation any day!)  We can almost hear it growing out there!

We’ve been crazy busy working on some new activities we’re adding this year — we hope you’ll have as much fun playing, as we have creating!  See the picture below of one of our newest additions for ’08 — Duck Races!

We’re especially pleased with the haunted trail this year — which we’ve come to call Fear @ Kaska Family Farm — because I am afraid of it (I won’t stay out there after dark!)….I just carry a stick and tell those old spooky things to stay back until I get into the house.  Just kidding…..maybe…..

Here’s a few pictures of things so far — we’re getting really excited about the coming season — can’t wait to see everybody again!

 Richard & Kerby get ready to plant our 2008 Maze — a BIG day on the farm!

Nothing makes farmers happier than a July rain!

 We’ve added Duck Races this year!  We just cannot seem to walk past this without playing in it!  Pump water with the old fashioned hand pumps to race your duck against your opponent, or just for fun!  All the splishy, splashy fun you can have without needing a swimsuit!

The Farmer’s Almanac is amazingly accurate for lots of things — when to plant, phases of the moon, when to dig a hole (Did you know that if you dig a hole during certain moon phases, that you will not have enough dirt to fill the hole in?  Look it up!)  Anyway, we were happy to see that fishing was supposed to be "good" right now, early April –and, I guess the Almanac was right again!

Bass

We had a bit of excitement this week on the farm!  The other evening, about dusk, the kids were playing basketball outside and Kerby found what he thought at first was a bird of some kind — turns out, it was a HUGE moth!!  Katie took a picture of it with her cell phone (teenagers are always prepared, aren’t they?) and she was able to look it up — in our 1964 farm copy of Butterflies and Moths – A Guide to the More Common American Species, by Robert T. Mitchell and Herbert S. Zim –

When it flew off, the kids said you could hear it’s wings flutter like a bird!  If anyone knows anything about this beautiful creature, send us an email — we’ve never seen one here before.

Notice the size of it compared to a 11 yr old child’s hand!