Harvest Party and general update

It has been a while since the last post.  With the academic year starting life has been pretty hectic, but we have made some exciting steps forward on the farm.  An article about our farm recently appeared in the Fall issue of Life & Style magazine, a regional magazine that is put out quarterly in southern Illinois.  The article turned out really well and has already led to a sale.   Thanks go to Shawn Connolly for  putting such a nice article together.http://thesouthern.com/lifestyles/magazine/article_4dd5a2e8-c2a3-11df-a6b9-001cc4c002e0.html?mode=story

Along other "news", we had a nice "second" harvest party.  Because we hand picked and left the vines intact, we had a spurt of secondary growth and cones that made it to maturity.  We put together a last minute that, while not perfectly planned and executed, seemed to provide a nice time for all.  Not to boast, but it was an event of cosmic alignment.  Seriously though, just 2 days prior to the actual party was the equinox, the harvest moon, one of our birthdays AND a harvest.  We clipped several of the bines and while I was mashing a brew our guests picked about 20 oz of wet hops that we used in a fresh hop harvest ale.  Unfortunately, Jen and I were quite busy with cooking and brewing (yes, it might have been a dumb idea to try to do both at the same time) and we didn't even take any photo's of the festivities. We didn't take a count, but recollection of guest we know attended hits a number >50.  Next year we will have it more organized and hopefully have some live music.  We are hoping to attract The New Vernacular, one of the hottest new Americana bands out of Knoxville, TN!!!