Sorry it's been so long since we've "talked" We have had a very busy couple of weeks. Besides all of the "farm happenings", we had social events.
Wednesday May 4th was the 49th Annual Agribusiness Tour. This is the one that is put on through the Paso Robles Chamber of Commerce. Walt Heer and I were co-chairmen (although he did most of the work). We met Wednesday morning at 8:00 and boarded busses bound for the coast. There were a total of 341 guests enjoying the tour. The first bit of fun was the bus driver backing into the power pole before we even left Paso. After taking his cell phone away from him twice while he was driving, we were able to get a replacement driver in Morro Bay. Those folks gave us quite a treat. They suprised us with salmon omlets and Dungeness Crab roll ups. Dockside restaurant served them to all 341 people at no charge to us. They gave a great presentation about the fishing industry and what they are going through just to stay in business. It was a picture perfect clear day and already 75 degrees. When we left there, we traveled up Highway 1 to just north of Cayucos. The busses pulled over along the ocean and the fellow from the abalone farm told us all about raising them for the consumer. They take 4-5 years before they are ready to go to market. No wonder they are $60 a pound! From there we continued up the the coast to the Hearst Ranch for a great steak lunch and dessert of Lins Ollalaberry Pie and Cold Stone Creamery ice cream, accompanied by great speakers including Steve Hearst and his foreman. On to Niner Winery for wine tasting - what a beautiful facility! Our final stop was Jack Creek Farm. These folks are the fifth generation of farmers to live on this property. They are trying to hang onto it by running a great roadside stand and presenting special events such as a threshing bee and kids day. We finally returned around 6:00 pm - totally exhausted but having had a great day and gathering so much information.
Marvin spent Thursday and Friday starting the cutting of our hay crop while I prepared for our daughter's wedding. We are so proud of Meghan. She waited until 31 to get married and her husband is 35 and has never been married. They have a great give and take relationship (at least from our point of view) and I'm sure will have a long and happy life together. The wedding was at a beautiful church in Arroyo Grande and the reception was held in a tent in the field on his parents ranch in the Huasna Valley. Meghan personally saw to each and every detail and the event couldn't have been better. Even the weather was perfect.
On top of all this, we have 2 new baby lambs (so cute) and we are increasing our chicken flock. This means we are getting a couple of hundred 2 day old chicks every couple of weeks or so.
We had purchased some tomatoe "plugs" (seedlings) a couple of months ago in flats of 300. Right after we bought them, we had an unexpected frost and they shriveled up. Well, after watering them, they are looking mighty fine and their root systems are very healthy. In the meantime, we were able to purchae others to get into the ground. My wonderful step dad has been volunteering his time to repot the plugs into larger pots that we have empty from the olive trees we planted last month. I am selling them at the eggstand, so if you are in the area and want some really healthy plants at a great price, stop in.
We'll talk soon.
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