Farm Photography

Posted on April 4, 2012 by admin

One of my favorite things about the farm are the almost constant photo opportunities.

blueberries

Each season provides it’s own beauty to be captured.

snowy orchard

pumpkins

apples

But my favorite photography season is spring. Particularly when the orchards are in full bloom.

apple blossom

cherry blossom

Beautiful doesn’t even begin to describe it.

Which is why I am SO EXCITED to tell you about our upcoming photography workshop with local photographer Coral Studer!!

The workshop will take place during our Spring Bloom Open Farm Day, on April 21st. Here are the details:

BLOSSOM PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP

Please join us for a fun and exciting photography workshop on the farm!  With the apple and cherry trees in bloom there are so many wonderful opportunities to take the perfect picture. Northwest fine art photographer Coral Studer will lead a 1½ hour morning workshop which will be repeated in the afternoon. The workshop will begin in the park with a discussion of what makes a good spring orchard picture from the standpoint of exposure, sun angle, and composition.  Following the discussion, time will be spent wandering through the orchards on a picture taking adventure. Please bring your camera, iPad, iPhone, etc. along with its manual. To sign-up for classes send us an email at info@billsberryfarm.com that includes the number of people taking the workshop as well as their first and last names.  Payment of cash or check must be mailed in advance to Bill’s Berry Farm. Sorry, no refunds. Class sizes are limited.

Morning workshop:  10:30 AM to noon  Afternoon workshop:   1:30 to 3:00 PM

Cost: $20 per person

Please view Ms. Studer’s work at www.cdstuderphotography.com

And here are a few more of Coral’s lovely photographs to inspire you!

We hope to see you on the farm that day… and I  know you will enjoy Coral’s class!

~Larelle

 

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Just being creative

Posted on January 27, 2012 by admin

I am extremely blessed that my job often demands a certain level of creativity.

For this reason I have been spending a large amount of time lately with my digital cutter.

The result has been this.

Cut Farm Shapes

Each of the shapes that I have cut, and glued, and assembled, has been something that we have or offer on the farm, because I am going to use them to decorate a table at the 2012 Prosser Chamber Banquet.

2011 Small Business of the YearYou may remember that last year Farmer Bill and Farm Wife Julie were extremely shocked and honored that Bill’s Berry Farm was awarded as the 2011 Small Business of the Year. This year, in addition to presenting the award to the 2012 winner, we are also sponsoring a table.

Which requires decorating it, and thus some creativity on my part. When I am done, the pile of cut outs, plus a box, some burlap, a jar of flowers, and other miscellanious items will become an awesome, stupendous, and stunning table display of all things Bill’s Berry Farm.

Scone mix

And these ‘goodie bags’ and some farm coupons will go home with each person seated at our table.

Just being creative has been a fun way to spend the work week!

~Larelle

 

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Warning

Posted on January 19, 2012 by admin

The following pictures are of highly trained professional stuntmen.

Trying this at home can result in severe injury or death.

I have posted before about our family tradition of sledding. Or to be more precise, what we call ‘redneck’ sledding.

We got several inches of snow yesterday, so our stuntmen (AKA the kids) got all bundled up to go outside.

all bundled up

Then we got out the four-wheeler, some para cord,  the old metal wheelbarrow body that we keep expressly for this purpose… and did some sledding!

redneck sledding

So much fun! We sledded for a couple hours all over the farm.

cold from sleddingBut it is a little on the cold side :) Here is a rosy faced little man ready for a nap after all the work.

And while there is a certain danger factor, we are very careful (I can hear all you mothers out there!) and there have been no serious spills or injuries. With our crew of stuntmen all broke in now, we do not anticipate any incidents in the future… and we plan a lot more redneck sledding!

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Aftermath

Posted on October 31, 2011 by admin

In the aftermath of 7 weeks of fall fun on the farm, there are a lot of things laying around.

The entry hall is full of coffee pots, roaster pans, and donut maker parts. The park has boxes and tables and other miscellaneous paraphernalia. The corn maze venue  has stacks of straw, more tables, etc, etc.

You get the idea.

However, in order to get it across really, really well, I thought I should include a few pictures of the living room…

Farmer Bill and Levi

Farm Wife Julie and Lindsey

And the bedroom…

Farmer Brian

We have a lot of bodies laying around in a semi-comatose state. It may take a while for them to return to full function.

Check back when I wake up next week, and I’ll give you some details on our next event- Christmas Trees on the Farm!

~Farmgirl Friday

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Fall Fun on the Farm

Posted on October 10, 2011 by admin

We have just completed our fourth Saturday of Apple and Pumpkin Festival… only two Saturdays left!

Fall at Bill's Berry Farm

And while I sometimes believe that I use the word ‘fun’ too often, it is the best descriptive word for what is happening out here. It really is so much fun!

So here is a little glimpse of what fall fun looks like at Bill’s Berry Farm, and why you should come on out for our ‘Farm Fresh Produce and Family Fun’. No other description needed!

Fall Pumpkins and GourdsMaking CiderHayridesPumpkin PatchFamily Memories

We hope to see you before the last days of fall fun are over!
~Larelle

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Getting Ready

Posted on September 14, 2011 by admin

I have, at long last, admitted that summer is over. Contrary to the opinion of the 90+ degree weather around here the last week.

However, by admitting that summer is over, I am admitting….

FALL IS HERE!

Which means that we have spent the last few weeks very busily getting ready for…

APPLE & PUMPKIN FESTIVAL!!

pumpkin

This has involved many many projects, and some of them are NEW.  Like our u-pick/ corn maze stand.

new u-pick

Papa and my Uncle have been building this nifty movable stand in our driveway for about a week now. As nice as it will be to have during our fall season, we are REALLY looking forward to having it for storage the rest of the year so that we can empty out our house!

And the corn maze is finished!

mowing the maze

The last mowing of the weeds in the pathways was finished this morning… Ready for you to come and have a spectacular time!

making the maze

We have put a LOT of time and effort into our maze and are really looking forward to this NEW addition to the farm and all the fun we know it will be for our customers!

Also NEW are the Fruit Flingers/ Pumpkin Chunkers that are out by the corn maze.

slingshots

‘Kids’ young and old have been ‘testing’ them for us this week and they are having a BLAST!

And the best part? This target is the yummiest part about the whole sheebang… I mean, who wouldn’t like to win a dozen donuts??

If you want to try your hand at winning a dozen donuts, see our NEW and ENLARGED pumpkin patch, and check out all the other things we have done to get ready for Apple & Pumpkin Festival then….

You’ll have to come on out to the farm! We’ll see you in the orchard!

~Larelle

 

 

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It’s Summertime!

Posted on August 24, 2011 by admin

It’s summertime! Which means it has been awhile since I blogged.

A long while. Let’s not get any more specific than that. I feel guilty enough already!

While I would still like to- and probably will- let you in on some fun from the festivals, I thought you might like to know what we have been doing the last couple (few? Many?) weeks.

Aside from working on the corn maze I mean (Separate post on that little detail coming soon).

We finished a long summer u-pick season on July 26th and sent the last blueberries home with some happy customers.

U-picking blueberries

We spent some time hanging out at grandma and papa’s pool. SPLASH!

Jumping in the pool

We have been loving on the newest little farmgirl- as often as possible!

Farmgirl Audrey

She is adorable, and cute, and sweet and always and lovable… you get the idea!

We celebrated Brian’s graduation from high school. He got a diploma from our school in Maine (yes, the state). We have never actually been there, if you are wondering.

Brian's Graduation

And we had the fair.

Our little local fair probably isn’t much to write home about, but it has been a summer tradition since I was 9 and started 4-H. That was awhile ago.

This summer was Brian’s last year in 4-H and his last time to show at the fair.

Brian showing his pig

He showed both a pig and a beef steer this year so he had quite a bit of preparation into his projects, as well a lot of hours helping prep the fairgrounds.

Brian with fair awards

But I think it was worth it! Suffice to say that he had a great last year… Pretty much hauling home every award he was eligible to win!

A great week at the fair made it a little difficult to get away on vacation, but we finally made it on our annual trip to the San Juan Islands.

Mom and Lindsey on the beach

Where we did exactly NOTHING the entire week.

Except eat. And read. And swim.

twins on the beach

And lay on the beach. And Kayak.

Kayaking at Orcas

And take the kids  to make pottery (yes, me too, I’m still a kid… at heart!).

Making Pottery

Ok, so we did a few things. But not much. When it is your only vacation for the entire summer, you make the most of it!

On the way home we made some family memories on someone else’s farm!

at Sakuma's Farm Market

Funny, I know, but we don’t have time to make many memories at our own farm. And we don’t grow strawberries (yet!) so we had to stop and pick some. Yummy! :)

And now we’re home, and it’s still summertime in all it’s warm wonderfulness… and we are loving it!

What are you loving about your summer?

 

 

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Fantabulously excited!

Posted on June 29, 2011 by admin

2 Days.

2 Days!

2 Days!!!

Yes, I am excited can you tell?

I am excited because….

Antiques on the Farm Logo

In 2 days it is the Friday evening ‘First Pick’ of Antiques on the Farm. And in 2 days our park will be FULL of wonderful, amazing, fantabulous antique vendors.

Yes, I did just make that word up :) I kinda like it!

And I am excited because it will be SO fantabulous. How do I know? Take a look…

antiques 2antiques 3These are pictures from last year. When we a had a great time with our first ever Antiques on the Farm.

And this year? We have more and better vendors. Because our best vendors from last year returned, and we added a slew of new vendors that are just as fantabulous!

In addition to that, Friday evening we are going to enjoy the fantabulous LIVE music of Melina Kastle, from Olympia, WA.

melina kastleFor a (very enjoyable) sample of her soft bluesy style visit www.melinakastle.com

AND (yes, I know, it just keeps getting better) we are also offering a special dinner box Friday evening with a BLT, pasta salad, and cheese and fruit skewer with our very own fresh fruit! Add it to the FREE lemonade you get with your admission and you are guaranteed to have a fantabulous dinner!

And fantabulous fresh picked blueberries and cherries will be for sale as well. :)

All in all, we are going to have a FANTABULOUS evening! Are YOU too?

 

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Father’s Day for a Farmer

Posted on June 20, 2011 by admin

For a farmer there really is no such thing as a day off. Even on fathers day there is water to be changed and small things that have to be done before ‘taking the day off’ :)

But there are also some perks. For example this was kind of Farmer Bill’s Fathers Day present this year…

Fathers Day gift

Yes, a new tractor. Well, not really new- but a vintage John Deere M is in many ways BETTER than new.

Farmer Bill with the John DeereThis picture makes me laugh, because it looks like he is going really fast! He’s not really, but the light was bad and my camera was having a hard time focusing!

Sunday on the tractorI said this tractor was ‘kind of’ Farmer Bill’s Fathers Day gift, because will be using this tractor for our farm hayrides this summer and fall. We eventually would like to pull ALL of our hayrides with old restored tractors, but one is a start :) And Farmer Bill has ALWAYS wanted a vintage John Deere… He just needed the excuse to buy one!

Formal PoseWe also cooked a BBQ lunch for Farmer Bill. Farmer Jase, and my Papa.

This is Farmer Bill’s 22nd fathers day, Farmer Jase’s 1st, and Papa’s 48th!

For some afternoon family time (a rarity in this hard working family) we loaded up all the bikes and took Farmer Bill for a family bike ride.
I can’t get the pictures off my phone (I have a love hat relationship with technology!) but suffice to say it makes for quite a sight!

Topping it all off with Root beer floats at the end of the day made for a pretty fantastic Fathers Day for a farmer!
~Larelle

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Growing

Posted on June 15, 2011 by admin

Spring is the time for growing, and things have been growing around here as fast as things are changing.

The cherries have turned from green to what we call ‘straw’

And a few of them are getting blushed with red

The peach trees we planted this spring are starting to take off.

And the newly grafted apples will be pushing buds before we know it…

These trees are our new Honeycrisp, Gala, Jonagold, and Braeburn varieties. While we won’t get fruit from them this year, we should in 2 years- faster than we would have by planting new trees.

The blueberries are not yet their beautiful blue hue, but instead a soft green.

The plants are heavily loaded this year, so it should be a good harvest!

It’s a little hard to believe that in 2 short weeks the cherries will be dark red and lusciously sweet, and a week after that the blueberries will be scrumptiously blue and juicy. I can’t wait to pick them fresh from the field and eat them!

~Larelle

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