Pizza By the Pond Opens This Sunday..May 13th, Mother's Day!!!!

                
lookin' for.... 'shrooms, fiddle heads, and ramps



I went  " 'shroomin" yesterday...looking for morels.....

 Not here, or it seems , anywhere else I looked. I'm not sure if with this weird weather it is too late or too early.
 However, I did see  some Jack in the Pulpit starting to unfold their cloaks

Since I was striking out with the morels, I figured I would check the bog  to see how the fiddle heads were coming along. I expected to find this 

Instead I was shocked to find this:

Acckkkk!!!
 Three weeks ago I couldn't even find any ferns beginning to emerge and now they are exploding open overnight!
I'll be lucky if I can harvest enough young fiddle heads  for a couple of weeks worth of "Pizza By The Pond" before they all decide to flaunt their green feathers....sigh.

Oh well, the wood nettles arent  quite up yet, and the watercress is just beginning to sprout in the creek...I just never know what I will find  and when, I guess that's what makes wild harvesting most interesting, a bit frustrating....and fun!

The "Uber Beast" Lives!

Here's a sneak preview of what we have been working on this early spring with the aim of  opening up for Pizza By The Pond on May 13th (Mothers Day!)

The first firing of the "Uber Beast!"

All of the stone used in "The Uber Beast"was collected off of our farm and neighboring farms.

Paul Marek (Layers of Stone) surveys his latest work of art. 

We'll post more photos as our "Improvement Project nears completion, hopefully  within the next week!

Drought Continues.......sigh.

The drought continues, whatever snow base we had melted down to slush yesterday...bummer.
We are going to be closed for Pizza By The Pond  at least through February 12.
Please check back for  updates.

No Snow!

Due to No Snow.....Pizza By The Pond will be closed this Sunday (January 15th) Keep checking back!!! :-)

Sunday is Pizza Day!!!!!!

According to the latest weather forecast Sunday is supposed to be AWESOME!!!!!!! Barely a breeze and SUNNY  SUNNY SUNNY!!!!  Our sledding hill should survive today's warmer temps since it is north facing, and there MIGHT be enough snow for cross country skiing for the independent spirit, the trails don't have  enough snow to have them groomed, but this  old snow is definitely packed!  We will have the fire cranked up in the "Grotto" to help keep the chill off, and of course the "Beast" (pizza oven) will be hot and   glowing! Remember...  the Grotto is a warming hut to take  the winter chill off for outdoor   re-creationist's but it is  still basically outdoors. During these warmer days we can get  the Grotto up to approx 45-50F, so dress for it.  If you can keep your feet warm, it is surprising how the rest of you is automatically much more comfortable, bring those little "toe warmer" packets if you got 'em!

Even if there isn't enough snow left for cross country skiing, it is still a GORGEOUS time to hike through the refuge since there is only a couple of inches of snow, and most of that is packed tight.

The local river and some of the lakes still have some open water which means that birds like the Bald Eagles, Trumpeter Swans and Canada Geese haven't migrated. If they aren't here on the property you may be able to catch glimpses of them  just down the road  near the Trade River... you may also be able to catch a glimpse of the resident otters,  so bring your hiking boots and camera, and of course...your appetite!