I thought I’d update some of the info from the past blogs. How about those floods? People speculated the harvest was going to be poor, but we had a fine year. We always find a way to deal with the weather.

The mazes we develop each year are always a hot topic and now is when we plan for 2009. Karen and I will be headed to a “maze convention” and a “haunted convention” this winter. Running a farm and a public entertainment business is serious stuff. If we don’t keep abreast of the new ways to entertain people, we get left in the dust!

Remember that new John Deere combine? In the words of my daughters, “that baby’s SWEET!” And I have to agree. It was great to get through the harvesting so smoothly. Even though it’s a new machine, winter is the time I have to check everything out to make sure it is ready to roll come spring planting time. Be nice if there was only that one machine, but I’ve got over 12 to keep in top condition.

The Pumpkin Blaster really lived up to its name. We were shooting pumpkins off every other hour and had a blast. (I think the visitors liked it, too!) During the “off” hour we ran our “now-famous” pig races. Yes, someone posted this crazy show on YouTube. Now that we are famous (check out the other Bloomsbury Farm videos), we might have to charge for autographs. But, back to the Pumpkin Blaster. . . I had this great idea to fix up the 6400 Chevy Truck my grandfather bought in 1949. I plan to mount the blaster on the flat bed so it will shoot the pumpkins farther and higher. I just might use the truck for parades, also. This project is keeping me busy during these cold days. Good thing my shop is heated.

For those of you who don’t know much about farming or running a pumpkin farm, it may seem like winter is a slow time. But we don’t sleep in or sit back and relax. We’re picking out seeds to be planted, thinking of marketing ideas, attending conventions, and generally coming up with better ways to farm economically and ecologically. It’s a great way to live!

Later, Dave