84-Lancaster Firming, Saturday, May 1,1993
Onbei
a farm
-And o
bazar
Joyce B
When it comes to enjoying the
attributes of May, nothing beats a
porch.
Porches - or decks, or patios -
are great places to “hang out.”
Many of my pleasant childhood
memories are linked to the porch
on the home in which I grew up,
shaded through the summer
months by three stately maple
trees.
On a classic porch swing, I
spent hours reading and practicing
needlework skills like embroidery
and knitting. (Boy. does that date
me!) The porch was also a handy
place for the likes of shelling peas,
nipping string beans or folding
laundry while still enjoying the
outdoors.
From it we could observe the
drama of the changing seasons,
played out on the panoramic stage
of a neighbor’s farm which
spanned the deep valley below us.
It gave a vantage point to learn
about planting and harvest, the
difference between com and alfal
fa and wheat, and an understand
ing of farm equipment.
Looking back, it must have
been there that my love of “coun
try” took root
To have a porch on our farm
house is a bonus I’ve grown to
appreciate more with each passing
year.
Just outside the kitchen, our
porch is an extended dining area
through the warm months, offer
ing a perfect excuse to linger there
a few moments. And, like the
porch of my childhood, it over
looks the panorama of farm
activity.
Central in the view at the
moment is the mid-pond nursery,
where Mama Goose patiently
waits out the hatching of this
year’s flock-to-be. Pap Goose
keeps relentless vigil on the bank,
regularly flapping off intruders
such as the dog, a tractor moving
bales of hay or the manure truck.
He takes great pride in chasing
off the farm equipment from his
territory. It seems to give him as
much satisfaction as re-routing the
two trespasser geese, which regu
larly cruise in about dusk to land
on “his” pond.
Porch-perching provides a
chance to watch the heifers return
ing single file from the meadow to
dine at the feed bunk and the dairy
cows grazing in the exercise lots.
On occasion, the binoculars kept
just inside the door are handy for a
more close-up look at those cows
that delight in scaring us by
stretching out on their sides in the
green grass for naps.
More than once while doing a
porch pasture scan, I*ve had a cow
mentally dead and buried, when
the snoozer calmly sat back up,
still chewing a cud.
The binoculars are also kept
close to the porch door to admire
the birds, like the goldfinchs.
Goldfinches have returned to the
bird feeder with the onset of porch
weather, their feathering changed
from wintry grey-brown to a bril
liant, almost neon, yellow. We
saw few goldfinches all winter;
perhaps there are fewer feeders
kept filled as the year turns into
May and they’ve just now discov
ered our sunflower stash.
From the porch, equipment
traveling the meadow-field road
can be spotted and field work
progress monitored. Passage of
chisel or plow, planter or drill,
tybine, rake or combine gives
clues to who’s doing what field
chore in which direction. Often on
super-busy days, it’s the only way
to have any notion of what’s going
ELIZABETHTOWN (Lancas
ter Co.) Tours and demonstra
tions will be die order of the day
during Heritage Day at the Herit-
And. from the second-floor
porch vantage point, garden, flow
er and yard growth can be
assessed from a more distant,
encompassing view. A bush to be
trimmed here, or cluster of weeds
to yank there - or that the lawn
needs mowed. Again. And to get
the skippers I missed the last
round.
On warm mornings. The Far
mer often grabs a quick breakfast
or after-milking snack on the
porch while mentally plotting the
day’s job lineup. Sometimes, we
roast hotdogs there after dark. Sol
omon snoozes his days away there
on an old mg, and die cats enjoy
its sunny shelter.
In May, when the hours arid
days are just too short for all that
needs doing, it’s especially nice to
sneak a brief time-out on the
porch.
| STOLTZFUS SPREADERS
P.O. Box 527 Morgan Way
Morgantown, PA 19543
V__J (215) 286-8146
Heritage Day At Heritage House
GOOD FOOD OUTLET STORES
See Our Original Line Of Golden Barrel Products Plus All Kinds
Of Beans, Candies, Dried Fruit, Snack Mixes, Etc. At Reduced Prices
* BAKING MOLASSES * MAPLE SYRUP * PANCAKE A WAFFLE
* BARBADOS MOLASSES * PANCAKE A WAFFLE . MIX
* BLACKSTRAP SYRUPS * ASSORTMENT OF
MOLASSES * SORGHUM SYRUP CANDIES
* CORN SYRUPS * LIQUID A DRY SUGARS * DRIED FRUIT
* HIGH FRUCTOSE * CANOLA OIL * SNACK MIXES
V SYRUPS * COCONUT OIL * BEANS
% * CORN OIL * HONEY
PI" 1 i * COTTONSEED OIL * PEANUI BUTTER
» OLIVE OIL * BAUMAN APPLE
* PEANUT OIL BUTTERS
* VEGETABLE OIL * KAUFFAMN PRESERVES
* SHOO-FLY PIE MIX * SPRING GLEN RELISHES
Processor* Of Syrups, Molasses,
Cooking Oils, Funnel Cake Mix,
Prncake ft Waffle Mix ft Shoofly Pie Mix
GOOD FOOD OUTLET
Located At Good Food, Inc.
W. Main St, Box 160, Honey Brook, PA 19344
218-273-3776 1-800-327-4406
Located At L & S Sweeteners
388 E. Main St. Leola, PA 17540
717-686-3486 1-800-633-2676
- WE UPS DAILY -
proteci
ending
such as melons, pumpkins and squash
or crop height is a problem.
lever you need to apply insecticides or fungicides, you cannot beat
irformance (or price!) of the Jatao 800. Call or write today for
information on the Super JATAO 800 Air Blast Sprayer.
• Sprays 120 Ft. Swath
• ISO Gallon Polyethylene Tank
• Mechanical Agitation
• Low Maintenance Centrifugal Pump
• Spray Volume 3 to 25 Gallons per acre
• Air volume 5300 Cu. Ft. per minute
• Independent Hydraulic System for Direction Control
age House Museum, 43 East High
Street, Elizabethtown, on Satur
day, May 8 from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00
p.m.. Heritage Days are held on
the second Saturday of each
month from March through
November.
Interpreters Cathy Krall and
Pamela Spath will be demonstrat
ing bake oven baking throughout
the day in the 1847 squirrel-tail
bake oven which was recon
structed on the original foundation
found during archaeological
excavations.
A weaving demonstration will
be performed by Heritage House
Interpreter Betts Miller from
9:00-11:00. Tours of the hert> gar
den will be given by Carol Kei
nard from 10:00-12:30.
Mary Conrad will offer guided
tours of the historic building
throughout the day, and an
archaeological display of artifacts
found on the museum grounds
will be available for viewing by
the public.
In addition, the genealogical
library, staffed by a genealogist
If your local flora
doea not have it,
SEND FOR
FREE
BROCHURE
§
Agrotec
who it available for consultation,
the preservation bookshelf, and
the Information Center will be
open.
The Heritage House Museum
Store will also be open. Craftspeo
ple making wares appropriate to
the 1750-1859 period are being
sought to place consignment mer
chandise in the store. Those inter
ested in doing so may call Cindy
Bishop 717-367-8572 for
information.
There is a charge to participate
in Heritage Day at the Heritage
House Museum: Non-members -
$l.OO adults, half-price for child
ren 12 years of age and under.
Members showing their member
ship cards are admitted free of
charge.
Heritage House is open every
week during the following hours;
Thursday, 12:00-5:00; Friday,
9:00-5:00; Saturday, 9:00-11:30.
The genealogical library is open
every Thursday, 1:00-5:00 P.M.
There is a donation for non
members of EPA to use the
library.
SPECIALS POR THE
MONTH OF MAT
GOLDEN BARREL
*TABLE STROP
32 os. Regularly $1.60
NOW $1.19
' GOLDEN BARREL CANOLA. OIL
V 4 Gallon • Regularly $2.30
now $2.09
ZOOKQSS MOLASSES COOKIES
Regularly $2.40
NOW $2.19
Any crop where dense