Visit Us This Saturday!

Well, in the spring we’d planned for The Pumpkin Pick on October 27. We even planted a bumper crop of squash and pumpkins in various locations around the farm so we’d have a fun hunt to host in the fall. But as we’re learning, you’ve got to be flexible in farming. Most of our pumpkins succumbed to the late summer flood and early killing frost, so we’ll be focusing on some of the many other joys of homestead life in autumn. Plan on colorful kids’ horse rides along cultivated fields and old oak forests; playful goat combing and gentle horse grooming; chicken chasing; bonfires all day and into the night; leaf piles for jumping in; lively old-time bluegrass music and lots of time to explore the cozy, cool-weather pursuits of wool dyeing, hand spinning, needle felting and knitting. There will be a pick-up Soccer Game running most of the day in the sheep paddock.

Emma and Emily spruce up the front entrance for the open house.

We love moving into the various new tasks each season brings here at Circle M, and we’d love to share a taste of those experiences with you! We also love to share food – and we’ll provide some lamb and squash dishes to share for our community potluck at 6 pm. Please bring a dish to pass and drinks to share.

You can also SHOP for those Thanksgiving hostess gifts and early Christmas presents in the Summer Kitchen Studio. We’ll sell our yarns to knit and wool to spin. Kriss will have some felted purses available and will be taking custom orders for holiday delivery. You also can order custom hand-spun and/or hand-dyed yarns for the discriminating fiber lover in your life. And this is a great time to pre-order lamb, beef and pork for late fall pick-up.

Homestead Harvest Day Schedule of Events

Early Bird Dyeing Workshop at 10 am – Though the Harvest Day festivities officially start at noon, Kriss would like to invite fiber enthusiasts to attend a free morning dye workshop in the Summer Kitchen Studio. She’ll briefly explore a few techniques and participants will produce some lovely colored wool locks and/or yarn to take home later in the day. Local wool to dye will be available for purchase, but if you’d like to bring your own, please call ahead to receive instruction on preparation of the fibers prior to class. Pre-registration is helpful. Call 523-4341.

Noon: Goat Shearing Demonstration Our lovely angora goats are sheared twice a year, and we’ll be rounding up a few of them for their autumn clip.

2 pm : Horse Riding for Kids Children can take a ride on Shakespeare, the beautiful retired parade horse, or Zinnia, the pretty young filly. Afterwards,we’ll go in the Summer Kitchen for hot chocolate and cookies, and spend some time spiffing up the saddles and bridles. If you love the smell of saddle soap and leather, you’ll dig this!

Manure Forking Fun! After we clean the saddles up, we’ll clean the horse pasture up. Kids and adults can take turns tossing the horse balls into wheelbarrows with colorful manure forks, and then we’ll put all that lovely fertilizer up to age in a compost pile. Obviously an optional activity – wear boots!

3 pm : Drop Spindle Extravaganza We’ve borrowed enough drop spindles to have a whole football team of you spinning at once! If you’ve been wanting to try this very ancient craft out, now is your chance.

Needle Felting Experiment – Dabble a bit in this fun, fascinating craft, and take home a functional and pretty hot pad to dress up your kitchen.

5 pm : MooGrass Bluegrass Concert This lively trio features Bob Cullen on banjo and dobro; Peg Cullen on lead vocals and violin; and Kriss Marion on guitar and harmony vocals.

Community Knitting Circle : Bring your knitting and crochet projects to work while you listen to music and sit by the fire. Got a problem you can’t solve? Likely someone will be able to set you straight.

6 pm : Pot Luck Dinner Bring a dish to pass and drinks to share.

7 pm : Bonfire Building We’ll head into our pasture hedgerows to drag out the fallen brush that’s accumulated near the fences over the summer. After building several big piles, we’ll start lighting. S’more ingredients will be provided!

8 pm : Bonfire Ghost Stories There’s nothing scarier than a ghost story told by a bonfire. Bring a story to tell, and a flashlight to light up your frightful face!

Camping – Call ahead to arrange space for tent camping on the farm. There are camper hook-ups in the park in nearby Blanchardville. We also have space and limited cots available for camping in the barn.

Contact us by leaving a post on the blog or by calling 608-523-4341. Our address is 1784 County Rd H, Blanchardville, WI, 53516. We recommend you Mapquest a route here, as there are lots of different approaches you can take!