The Ellis Barn Dance

Zach and I observed our 6th wedding anniversary a week late so that we could celebrate at the Ellis Barn Dance in Davisburg Mi. The Ellis Barn was built in 1884 and it's design is described as Madaswaska Twin or "Double Dutch. It is one of Michigan's largest barns. For more on the history and construction of the Ellis Barn click here. 

We had such a wonderful time! The barn created the most warm and welcoming atmosphere. It was lit with strands of Christmas lights and antique bulb sets. The kind that are round and screw into the strand. The soft lighting against the deep brown rustic beams of the barn made you feel as though you'd stepped back in time.

The barn was decorated with traditional harvest themes. Cornstalk bunches hugged supporting bean and corner posts, the tables were adorned with tea lights in mason jars, trios of knobby gourds and jars of colored pencils to doodle on the brown construction paper table coverings. Bales of straw with potted mums, pumpkins and barrels of apples were tucked here and there.

Zach and I chose a seat in a cozy corner of the barn. There was a wooden ladder leading up to a loft behind us, and a small window looking out over the park grounds.

The food was provided by The Union Woodshop in Clarkston. Their bar-b-que menu has been featured on the popular Food Network Program Diners Drive Ins and Dives. We enjoyed a meal of pulled pork sandwiches, roasted chicken wings, Union Mac n Cheese, baked beans, coleslaw, cornbread muffins with jalapenos and honey butter. For dessert they offered a choice of Achatz Pies, triple berry or apple and a cookie selection.

With your ticket purchase you received a drink token which was good for one alcoholic drink. They offered a selection of local wines and draft beers to choose from. There was limitless iced tea and lemon water.

The dancing was the best part of the evening. Neither Zach nor I have ever line danced so we were interested to try our luck with the lessons promised. After dinner, they called all the people who were new to line dancing to the floor. I was afraid we might be the only ones, but soon the dance floor was filled to the brim! We were given instructions to two simple dances and then the music started. Everyone laughed at their mistakes, but for the most part the line dance went smoothly, and everyone had a great time! After the first two dances there was a time for open dancing. We joined a small group doing The Hustle, and then later they taught the second two dances.

We had a great time, met some really nice people and plan on going again next year! 

Grit Post: Walking Backwards

I have such exciting news to share with all of you! 2013 is truly starting out as a year filled with opportunity for Iron Oak Farm. My first bit of excitement is in our cheesemaking adventures! Last Saturday, Iron Oak Farm was featured on the New England Cheesemaking Company website affiliated with Ricki Carrol, author of Home Cheesemaking! We were interviewed and highlighted in the Cheesemaking Blog. We were very flattered to be a part of this amazing site filled with wonderful cheesemaking advice! Here is a link to our guest post! Goat's Milk Ricotta from Iron Oak Farm

Secondly, I am proud to announce that I will now be contributing on a regular basis to the Grit Magazine Blog! I have read the magazines and books for years, and am so excited to be a part of the Grit community. You can find my first post by clicking here, Walking Backwards.  

CC Post: From Loss Comes A Sense of Community

Read this heartwarming story of how one chicken keeper's tragedy encouraged a sense of Community in my latest CC Post, From Loss Comes a Sense of Community.

CC Post, Feed in all Shapes and Sizes

Have you ever wondered why chicken food comes in 3 different forms? Read my latest Community Chicken's post Feed in all Shapes and Sizes to learn about our experience with Crumbles, Pellets and Mash.

CC Post: Chicken Wire Potpourri Ornament

Give your Christmas tree a boost of holiday scent with this chicken inspired holiday ornament! Read my latest Community Chicken's post to learn how. Chicken Wire Potpourri Ornament

Guest Posts!

Lots of exciting things happening in my blogging world lately!

The first is a wonderful opportunity to write a guest blog for Common Sense Homesteading. If you haven't visited their website, they are a great source of small farming, do-it-yourself and homesteading knowledge! My post is all about Bee Keeping! Getting Started Beekeeping, Iron Oak Farm's First Hive

The second is over at Farm Chick Chit Chat. I just submitted my Apple Pie Bake Off post. This Saturday, all of us over at FCCC are posting apple pie recipes. It will be a delicious weekend! Stop by and subscribe to get in on the fun!

And last but not least is my Community Chickens post, Can Your Chickens Make You Beautiful? Find out by visiting the Community!

Farm Girl Chit Chat

I'd like to tell you all about something new and exciting that Iron Oak Farm is participating in. In addition to Iron Oak Farm and Community Chickens, I will also be blogging for a new site called Farm Girl Chit Chat. It's a great site that creates a wealth of knowledge, sharing and experience to readers. Sort of a one-stop-shop for anything farm. Our contributors all come from different farming/homesteading backgrounds. We all raise different animals, garden in different ways, and are living in different parts of the country, but we come together to "chat" about our love of getting back to basics, recipes, canning, spinning and lots of other fun topics! Check it out at http://farmchickchitchat.blogspot.com/2012/08/welcome.html

Vote! For Local Buisiness

Photo provided by Lott Elevator, Inc.

Zach and I went for a drive the other day to check out some local interests we've been meaning to visit since we moved here. Get to know the back roads, so to speak. Among the places we had on our list was an old blacksmith/farrier school that we now learned is closed down, an old cemetery, a chicken processing place, and a bulk spice and jerky store.

The last place we visited was a family owned grain elevator. Lott Elevator Inc. where we met just about the nicest and most helpful folks around. They sell a number of animal feeds, garden supplies, and bulk seeds. They took the time to answer our MANY questions, and were encouraging and thorough.

But they need our help. They have applied for a grant sponsored by Chase and Living Social. This grant would help them to purchase much needed equipment for the elevator and ease some of the burden that a family owned business can involve.

It only takes a minute to give them a hand.
1. Go to missionsmallbuisiness.com login and click "support" 
2. Find "Lott Elevator, Inc. Cohoctah, Mi." in the local listings and vote.
3. Then tell your friends to vote.

They need 250 votes by the end of the month. Your vote will get them closer to qualifying for the $250,000 Grant!

To learn more about Lott Elevator, located in Cohotah, Michigan, visit their Facebook page by clicking here.

2nd Annual Iron Oak Farm Vegetable Contests!

I'm blissfully writing this post because it means it's that time of year again! We're in the early stages of gardening season here in Michigan. The second week in May is our tentative frost free date for our zone, but that hasn't stopped me from planning, starting our seeds indoors, and getting the cold hardy crops in the ground.

So far we've planted peas, lettuce, radishes and rainbow carrots. I plan to get the Brassicaceaes in this weekend. We're doing cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli and Brussel sprouts.

The seeds have been ordered from heirloom catalogs, and the local nurseries are opening for the season and filling the shelves at a rapid pace!

Photo credit to last years winner Brian and Karen Cooper of Kaboodle Farm!

I thought now would be a good time to remind everyone about the vegetable contests we plan on having this year. Depending on how competitive you are, it might make a difference in your selection of plant varieties to grow this spring.

Last year we had so much fun with the pumpkin contest! So we will be holding that again. In addition, many of you wrote to me explaining that you would have liked to be a part of the contest, but didn't have the space available to grow a large pumpkin vine. So...we're going to do a tomato contest as well. Even apartment dwellers can grow a tomato vine.

The pumpkin rules are the same as last year. Take a photo of your pumpkin with a measuring tape around the circumference. Largest pumpkin wins! We will announce the winner on Halloween, October 31st!

Tomatoes we're going to do by weight. Take a photo of your tomato on the scale with the weight visible. I was thinking by September 1st? I'm willing to take suggestions on the tomato date. If you think your plants will produce large tomatoes after that date I can push it back. Let me know by the end of the week and we can collectively select a date that allows everyone to participate. The frosts start in our area in September, and the tomatoes aren't really at their prime after that.

I will get the entry forms up as the date gets closer, and will keep the contests updated on the blog and the Iron Oak Farm Facebook Page. Send entries to jenniferannmurphy@yahoo.com and I will post them for everyone to see. The winner will receive one of our hand forged items. I'm also looking into certificates so you can brag to your neighbors about your gigantic gardening endeavors! I'll keep you posted!

Don't forget, we always have the Facebook "like" contest going. For every 100 "likes" we give away a prize! Visit our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/IronOakFarm2

Iron Oak Farm's Eggs Grace the Pages of Detroit Hour Magazine!

For those of you familiar with Hour Detroit Magazine, I am proud to announce that Iron Oak Farm's own farm fresh eggs will be gracing the pages of the April 2012 issue. Photographs of our eggs are featured on pages 14 (the Contents page), and pages 41 and 43 of the Food and Drink section. We have a small mentioning in the lower left corner of page 41!

Hour found our farm on Local Harvest, and asked if they could come out and see our farm, gather some eggs for the photo shoot, and meet the chickens that laid them. I happily agreed! I had a nice afternoon with one of their advertising reps, drinking coffee and talking chicken, (two of my favorite things!) 

The eggs look beautiful, and the article is a great read on raising and eating local eggs.  

Iron Oak Farm Community

I've been thinking about all of you. Zach and I have been working on the new logo, exciting changes and opportunities have been opened up to us lately. As I think of all the blessings that Zach and I have, I'd love to pay it forward.

I get so many precious e-mails everyday, stories of your lives, projects your working on, things you've experienced. So many of you have been doing this so much longer than Zach and I have, and I feel like there is much knowledge to share.

Do you have an organization, a small homesteading business, a craft, animals that you love to brag about, a garden that you love, recipes that your family can't live without? Let me know and I will share your stories and photos!

I would love to give your business a shout out, because after all, we need to be supportive of each other if real change is ever going to happen. The Iron Oak Farm community is growing everyday, and Zach and I know how hard it can be to get the word out. So let us help you in the ways that we can! Plus I'm nosy, and would love to know what our readers are up to! (wink)  

No Tricks, Just Treats! Contests Galore!

Today's a great day on the farm because.....I get to give things away to you our readers, who make it all worth while!
Yesterday was the last day for two of the three contests we're running.

Congratulations to Lacey Wilhelm of Garrison, ND! She is the winner of the Purina 60 Day See The Difference Flip Camera Sweepstakes! Lacey won with her great photo and testimony of how Purina Feed improved her Nigerian Dwarf Goat KKK-Katy.

"I was excited to hear about the Purina 60 day challenge and quickly signed up for a chance to achieve quality improvement in our animals.  I am on week 3 of the challenge and have seen amazing results with the Purina Goat Noble and Purina Goat Chow with my Nigerian Dwarf Goats!  One little goat in particular, KKK-Katy, has shown amazing improvements with her sparkling bright blue eyes, increased energy level, and healthy growth rate. I am extremely happy with the Purina Difference and so our my goats!"

Lacey won this awesome Flip Video camera, the very same model that I use to film many of the Iron Oak Farm videos. (Check out out the video bar or You Tube Page) 

The other winners of the day are Brian and Karen Cooper of Kaboodle Farm located in Clark, MO. Congratulations on growing the largest pumpkin in the Pumpkin Contest this year! 

They will receive one of Zach's hand forged bottle openers.

Don't feel sad if you didn't win, we still have the Facebook "Like" goal contest going on. When we get to 200 likes we'll giveaway a prize! 
Thanks to everyone who participated! 

What Joy in a Trip to the Library!

I've been stressing a lot lately. Just life stuff, things that get under your skin and settle in the muscles in your neck. I'm not good with change, and while I'm actually coping quite nicely with the move, the new area, and all the re-adjusting that comes with it, occasionally I get caught up and find myself in a funk.

Today I went to the Post to mail some packages, roving and bottle openers. And while this is almost an everyday trip for me, today I really saw the beauty around me. I popped one of my favorite CD's in the player, The Village Soundtrack, the violin is amazing. It's sort of a dark track, but somehow inspirational.

It's cloudy today, but the sun peaks out occasionally. It was moving in windy glimmers across the golden corn fields.  Three black turkey vultures soared overhead and cast a a shadow with their large spanning wings.

The drive to our Post is almost entirely dirt winding roads. And I LOVE winding dirt roads. I pass an old cemetery, a small bridge over a creek with silvery blue minnows,  beautiful rolling acres of corn, a small herd of large black cows that lick their noses and swish their tails as I drive by. Then there's the Orchard. You know you're getting close when you pass the bee supers. A tiny skyline of white painted boxes and each one a corner cluster of the pretty little bees, hovering in almost blurry streaks. Then the rows of apple trees, and peach trees, and the large brown pumpkin patch with all its orange globes dotting the square.

I passed a tractor today. A large red one, the driver waved. Then I saw something really cool. The field down the road was harvesting corn and they were filling a great big semi full of feed corn. The name Geiglers was on the side. It occurred to me that that is the family feed store where we've been buying our hay and feed, and that our animals would be eating that corn.

I entered the quaint town of Hartland and dropped my packages off at the Post. On the way home I passed The Music Hall, where we'll be seeing our "date night" play this Friday. The Museum with the large loom, that I would just LOVE to get my hands on and the library. It's an old three brick story building built into a hill with a winding sidewalk and arched white windows.

I stopped in to get a couple books. Julia Child's The Art of French Cooking, and Animal Vegetable Miracle, by Barbara Kingsolver. I've been missing reading in the evening. The last book I finished was Goat Song by Brad Kessler. One of the most beautifully written books I've ever read. I fell in love with goats all over again, and this time, in an even more passionate level. He helped me to understand our herd dynamic, and relate to the behaviors, personality, language and hormonal drives of a goat. Not to mention the impact that pastoral animals have had on our civilization, socialization, religion, language, traditions and food. Good read!!!

When I got home there was a wheel of goat cheese that I ordered for Zach for his birthday in July! It had been on back order for 3 months, along with a jar of onion and balsamic vinegar jam. 

I don't know where this post is going, I just felt inspired to share. And perhaps this post is more of a reminder to myself, that there are so many blessing, if I just take the time to see them. 

Facebook "Like" Winner!

Congratulations to John Nelson, the winner of the Facebook "Like" Goal Giveaway! John will receive one of Zach's hand forged bottle openers! Thanks to everyone who liked us, I hope you all enjoy the page.

Also, don't forget October is only a month away, and we're still running the Pumpkin Growing contest. The entry form is at the very bottom of the blog. Scroll, scroll, scroll on down and enter your pumpkin. To be honest, we haven't had much feedback for the contest, so even if you don't think your pumpkin is large this year, enter anyway, you might win out of default. 

Keep checking back, we're scheming up some sort of September giveaway!

Bottle Opener Giveaway!

Hi all, I'm trying to spread the love and promote our new Facebook page. Our goal for now is to get 100 "page likes". When we reach our goal, we will choose a random winner from the hundred to receive one of Zach's hand forged bottle openers. We have 35 so far, and all of you who are already members are instantly entered.

The Closing of Borders Books

What do you guys think?

I keep running the movie "You've Got Mail" through my head. One of my favorite movie's by-the-way, only this time it's "Fox Books" that's closing. Frankly, this whole thing is a bit scary for my taste. I'm an English Literature Major. I spent 5 years of my life, and a whole lot of college tuition devoted to these little bits of binded paper called books. So maybe I'm partial, but what does everyone think about this, or am I getting my knickers in a twist for no reason at all? Honestly, I don't know the exact reason why Borders is closing. Was it bad managing, too many locations? I have no idea, maybe I should have researched this before I went spouting off on this tyrant, hmmm? But I have this un-shakeable fear that some of the contributing factor was that the importance of literature is going down the tubes. (I feel as though I am climbing the stairs of the soap box, teetering, here I go, oh no, I'm up.....sorry)

What exactly is this development saying about our society? I realize that Borders is not the end all, say all, to books as we know them. In fact, how many Mom and Pop bookstores has a major conglomerate like Borders or Barnes and Noble or Wal-Mart for that matter, put out of business? Is this revenge? Will the Mom and Pop book store rise to live again, or is this a tragic commentary on a larger issue.

As a "Borders Club Member", yes, I've been known to frequent the many isles of Borders Books, complete with over-sugared espresso concoction in hand, wiping the plastic whip cream from my nose. I received the mass e-mail that Borders was, in fact, closing its doors for good. There was a brief synopsis of the reasons, but the reference to "electronic reading" really stuck with me.

As a blog writer, perhaps I'm stepping on my own toes, but I'm willing to chance it. Even now as I write this post the e-glow of the Blogger's screen stares back at me and casts it's ghostly blue light on my soul. Perhaps that blue light is the spirit of books soon to be no more. (Ooooo eeee ooooo) Ok maybe I'm being dramatic, but do you remember the encyclopedia? The dictionary? We tried to donate ours and both the library and Salvation Army wouldn't take them. I ended up keeping ours so I can show my children what I used to look up words in. They will probably laugh and gaze nostalgically at my "oldness" the way I did when my grandmother spoke of making butter. And now, as an electronic Hobby Farming/ Homesteading blog writer, who writes about making butter, it makes my life a strange sort of irony.


The written word is vanishing. Penmanship is a nostalgic thing of the past. I only write cursive in my 80 year old Aunt's Christmas card each year because I know she thinks it's "more proper". And when I'm done, I have to shake out the cramps of unused hand muscles. How sad! But as cursive has been replaced by printing, by the by, has been replaced by typing, has been replaced by electronic sending, such as e-mails, and now has created the acronym language of texts because we are so lazy or hurried as a society that we can't even take the time to spell out a whole word, LOL!!!



I can't imagine a world without the paper book. The smell of the pages, the typed text, anxiously fingering each page. There is a romanticism that occurs when you read a book, novel, letter etc. It is irreplaceable. I see stacks of books lined up on my book shelf as tiny adventures. Each binding a small treasure, an accomplishment, like the stamps on a passport, or pins on a map, (or maybe that's the hoarder in me. Maybe I'll start collecting Chihuahuas, or shot glasses, or clown figurines?)  

So what of Kindles or Nooks, what of Amazon.com vs. a real live bookstore, where you can actually touch the pages? Is this the new future of reading? Maybe we'll save the rain forests in the meantime? What do you guys think because I'm confused as all get!

The New Blog Button

Want to give a shout out to Oikology101 for the great Tutorial on "Making a Blog Button". If you're a fan of Iron Oak Farm and you also write a blog, feel free to snatch up the HTML code to the right if you'd like our button on your page.

And if you'd like to make a button for your own blog, the step by step instructions on Oikology 101's site are easy and informative. Buttons are a great way to decoratively share interesting blog titles and links on your site. They also help spread the word about your topic throughout the blogging community, so share, share, share!!!

We also have the new +1 option, which as I understand it, is Google's take on  the Facebook "Like Button". By clicking the +1 you tell Google that this is an awesome blog and worth searching for. It allows the public to determine what websites should be first in Google search's.  

Iron Oak Farm is on Facebook!

I just installed (is that the right word, installed?) anyway, we now have a Facebook "Like" button on the right. It takes a minute to load, (I'm looking into that) But I'm trying to put up interesting facts, links that my fellow farmers send me, cool stuff that I find on the web, plus links to daily posts. Feel free to share, share, share. Photos, stories, dumb jokes that your Uncle Ned tells. Whatever strikes your fancy, or Uncle Ned's? Also, if you have an event in your area that you'd like to promote, feel free to share a link. We have readers from all over the country, so chances are there's someone in your neck of the woods that might be interested. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Iron-Oak-Farm/248949131782316?sk=wall#!/pages/Iron-Oak-Farm/248949131782316?sk=wall

On another note, I've been wondering how all the pumpkin contest entries are doing??? The deer are very thankful that we decided to plant pumpkins this year. We haven't had a chance to get fencing up around them so the few plants that we stuck in the ground are acting as a very nice buffet table. Next year we will work on the garden..... If you have a baby pumpkin hopeful, send us a photo.

Sauder Village Quilt Show

Thanks to farm girl Cheryl for the heads up on the Sauder Village Quilt Show in Archbold, Ohio starting Tuesday, April 26th - Sunday, May 1st, 2011. Sauder Village looks amazing! I've never been there, but Cheryl assures that it's a great place to visit and has been there with family several times. It's a historic village that gives demonstrations on all sorts of old world skills including blacksmithing, glass blowing, coopering, rug hooking and much more! Click the Sauder Village home page to view their events calendar.

Reader's Favorite Moments

This photo was sent by Bonnie Davenport of Freeport, Maine.

"This is my son Andrew at about 18 months in the cow tie up, he is about to kiss Jennifer a new heifer.  It is not his favorite photo, mainly because he is 1. kissing a cow, and 2. the purple "sheep" hat he wore as a child."

Oh my gosh, Bonnie, this picture melts my heart! It's so cute that they're at the same level, perfect for kissing!!(Love the cow's name, ha! Wink, wink) And the hat is absolutely adorable!


Have a favorite farm, crafting, nature, cooking or just plain fun photo that you'd like to share and see on Iron Oak Farm page? Please send your favorite Readers Moments to jenniferannmurphy@yahoo.com
Be sure to include your name and where you're from, a small caption is always good too.
If you have a website I'll link you up, if you link me too.