Still Cookin'!

This coming Sunday  we will  continue to crank out amazing wood fired  pizzas from the middle of  our  wild life refuge.  The seasonal favorite "The Warmmeup"  is back on the "Specials" board  and has not failed to please!
Remember, we also have great cheese and even pizza dough available for sale during Pizza By The Pond!
The Grotto's warming hut is shelltered from the wind, allowing for a cozy place  for picnicing and visiting. If it gets too darn breezy, we will drop all of the tarps and kick on the wood burning stove for extra heat, but even so, make sure to dress warm to ensure your  comfort level especially if you want to walk about visiting the farm and animals.

A Visit To Pizza By The Pond !

(a photo essay by Laura Wentz)



 I went to a dog trial in Minnetrista, Minnesota, over the weekend and came home by way of Grantsburg, Wisconsin and did Pizza by the Pond.

Before I ordered a pizza I met some of the younger guard dogs.

I watched Dave milk the cows and the goats

I met Tule and Elmo's puppies.

I had the Fresh pizza and got a Just Cheese Please to go

Pizza going in the oven.

Cows grazing at sunset.

Jenny and her family showed up too. We had a great time eating delicious pizza and fudge and just sitting around talking. Dave & Mary are wonderful hosts and if you're in the area on a Sunday, you should stop in.

Laura

Baling Hay, Pup Nannies, and Whirlwinds!

Ancient old Mulberry tree, trying to hold onto it's leaves during the high wind

The past two weeks has been absolutely sublime... warm and dry,  perfumed by the aroma of leaves crunching underfoot. Glorious but brief! If I were  "in charge", I would make darn sure that Indian Summer lasted at least until Thanksgiving!
 A few days  of blustery whirlwinds stole away most of our leaves, revealing  the naked topography that was previously veiled by green. It's sort of like watching  time rewind, the plants that are still green in the wood lots are also the same plants that are  first up in the spring.





Wind rows of hay waiting for Dave  to  fix the baler before it rains again.

The good part of the windy days was that it became possible to dry some hay. Dave has become "one with the tractor seat" latelly, furiously trying to get up as much hay as is possible during this brief and  dry stretch of time.

About three weeks ago Tule, our Spanish Ranch Mastiff gifted us with a litter of 8 pups, and two days later  Setsuko, our Japanese intern, arrived. The next week, Sophie, (our British intern) joined  the fray, creating the best "puppy nanny team" known to LoveTree!!!

Tule, cleaning up the greedy little pups.

All 8 pups are robust with healthy appetites...their poor mom has to eat super quick before the little buggers take over her food dish!




A pan of pups?


It doesnt matter to the pups whether the food  bowl is empty  or not, they will make good use out if it.

Just like Autumn,  Setsuko  left before we got used to her being here! With her  command of the English language (which sometimes bordered on a "Charro" impersonation), coupled with her great sense of humor and compassion for the animals, she deftly  knitted herself into the fabric of  this farm's history. Setsuko only had a little over two weeks to spend here  before she moved on to Canada, but her whirlwind visit left us scheming for ways to keep her here, what a spitfire! We miss you Setsuko!






Changes.....

Fall, Indian Summer, my absolute favorite time of year, the colors are now peaking! I once turned down a consulting job because it wouldve taken me away from here during this amazing time. This season IS why we tolerate the long winters, the  bizarre weather patterns and the slippery roads.

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Brilliant Fall  Staghorn Sumac

 A sudden cold snap wakes us up out of our summer daze, jarring us into the reality of change


Andy's last day at the St Paul Market before going off to college.

Just for today, I  want to stop time.  I love the autumn, but I will sorely miss the summer. The little boy will always be my little boy, although I am so proud of him as a young man.

"Holmes Lake Apple Orchard,  just down the road, open  24/7

Many beautiful changes have taken place during the last month, the apples down the road at Holmes Lake Orchard are now ready for the picking...where else can you go to a 24 hour pick your own apple orchard?

"Tule" one of our Livestock Guardian Dogs, heavy with pups.

"Tule, our Spanish Ranch Mastiff gifted us with a litter of 8 pups, photos will soon follow!

Dave was FINALLY able to beat the rain  and get some  hay up!!!



Jon with "Windy"

Jon, a very pleasant  young man from  Georgia (USA) has come to stay with us for a while to experience farming in the northwoods, he also makes GREAT pizzas!!! 

"Setsuko" a cheery gal from Japan  has blessed us with her presence for two weeks, and "Sophie" arrives from the U.K this coming Saturday....my goodness!

Yes! We are open this Sunday!
It's been crazily busy here the last two weeks, we are all feeling the push to squeeze  the most out of summer. See Dave, see Dave run, run, run!
We will update soon with more photos, I just need  a new usb cord, nasty  Border Collie pup ate the  last one.
The tomatoe garden is saturated in red, the basil is creating it's own country, and the husk cherries are ever so slowly becoming ripe. And the cheese....the cheese is putting on age  and  exploding with flavor !!! It's going to be a great (and delicious) Sunday!
If all goes well today, I will be able to update with current photos of the farm and our new interns!