Circle M Farm

Dear Readers – You are all invited to our first ever farm open house, next weekend, Saturday, June 2, 1 to 7 pm, here at Circle M Market Farm. Read on for a rough schedule of events.

1 to 1:30 pm Horse Rides for Children. Our retired parade horse, Shakespeare, likes nothing better than to get dressed up in the saddle and take lightweights for a jaunt around the pasture. We’ll also do some brushing and grooming, and maybe give our pretty white horse a bath.

2 to 3 pm Sheep and Goat Shearing. Climb into the pasture with Kriss and help out with shearing, old-school style. We generally shear right in the field, with non-electric hand-shears, and you can join in. Learn about wool while helping Kriss sort the good bits from the bad.

3 to 3:30 pm Wool Carding and Spinning. We’ll make some pretty wool batts to use in our treasure pouch craft, but you can also give spinning a try, if you like.

3:30 to 4 pm Spinning Demonstration. Kriss will be spinning some Circle M sheep and goat fibers into lovely yarns. You can just watch, or jump in and give it a try yourself on drop spindle or spinning wheel.

Between 3 and 5pm
Free Dye Studio Time! Buy some wool today, at a 10 % discount, and you can have free instruction and use of the summer kitchen studio and the dyes. If you’ve always wanted to dye your own, now is the time to give it a try. We’ll have chunky, worsted and sockweight yarns, milled rovings and washed locks available for purchase.

Felted Treasure Pouches. This activity is suitable for adults and kids. Wrap some pretty dyed wool around a rock, felt it with your hands and some slime, then cut the rock out and you’ve got a darling little pouch for tiny treasures.

Needle Felted Hot Pads or Coasters. If you’ve never tried this easy and magical craft, you’ve got to check it out. Use a long barbed needle to felt loose wool in pretty designs to pieces of old sweaters. Kids can work with adult supervision.

Plant a Pumpkin. These great big seeds sprout fast, grow fast and make great eating when they fruit. Pot up and take a seed to plant in a few weeks at home.

4 to 5 pm The Great Thistle Hunt. If you’ve always wondered what life is like on a farm, this project will give you a good taste of it. We fan out into our fields with various weapons of thistle destruction: shovels, machetes, weed hooks, nippers and try to show the thistles who’s boss of this farm!

5 pm Milk a Dairy Goat. Our little ladies are milked twice a day, and you can give it a try during the evening milking.

5:30 pm Bottle Feed Goat Kids and Lambs. Be prepared to be mobbed by hungry, friendly little babies. Our bottle-fed animals are super friendly, and helping out with feeding is the best way to get really close to these special pets.

6:30 pm Pot Luck Picnic Dinner. We’ll provide some tasty tidbits of our pasture-raised meats: pork, beef, lamb and cabrito (goat). Bring a dish to pass and we’ll all gather under the maples for some neighborly good eats. After dinner, we’ll have s’mores over the fire, and jump in the stock-tank wood-fired hot tub. Wear a bathing suit!

All day, you’ll be free to walk the path that follows our circle of pastures. You can explore the pond and catch frogs, too. We’ll have periodic tours of the gardens and visits to the various groups of animals. You can help yourself to lettuce or spinach any time, and take home several bags for $1 each. Play catch in the eaten-down pastures, start a volleyball game behind the barn, bring a book to read in one of the hammocks. We’ve got swings in multiple trees. Brush Howie the Great Pyranees or throw frisbees to Sunny the crazy cow dog. See how far you can get in the climbing tree. Shop for wool and homestead meats at 10% off. And, of course, visit the kittens in the garage summer kitchen.

At night, we’ll have a big bonfire and set off some small fireworks. After the party here, you can head over to nearby Folklore Village for the Barn Dance (see folklorevillage.org). For those who don’t want the party to end, we’ve got a limited number of cots in the barn, and plenty of pasture for people to set up their own tents. Come morning, freshen up in the outdoor shower, help with chores and head for breakfast in town at our excellent hometown diner, The Viking Cafe. BYO sleeping bags and towels.

Rain Date: NONE. We’ll just move the fun under cover.

Directions: We suggest you plug your address into Mapquest, and find the best route to us at 1784 County Rd H, Blanchardville, WI, 53516.