Grabau Farms and Gift Cards | Archive

Archive - March, 2013

Lonely Rainbow

March 28, 2013 in Farming Fancies with 2 Comments

(Excerpt from Tales From Heritage Farm)

Usually, when the little sunbonnet came in, she beamed warmly. To lonely Rainbow she declared, “It feels so good to have Mistress use me.” She continued with satisfaction, “I feel so special and important.”

Every once in a while a soft sigh came from the umbrella stand. And, occasionally, a little whimper or sniffling could be heard. “I’ve waited all winter to be taken out of storage just to be stuck in this old umbrella stand,” moaned Rainbow.

Following the blue mood, anger would set in. “Shadow gets to go out most every day. ” After the anger subsided Rainbow would say in a pitiful tone, “Farmer’s wife mustn’t like me as well as she likes Shadow. What did I ever do to her? Oh, why can’t I be as well-loved and important as the sunbonnet? I don’t think anyone likes me. At this rate, I’ll never know what it is like to do important work or to know fulfillment in life.”

One day there came a sharp thunderclap and the gray clouds began to dribble down droplets of rain. PLINK, PLANK, PLINK! In a short while the rains came down more steadily. Plump raindrops slammed into the window panes on the kitchen window. Farmer’s wife could see the world through the watery blur they left behind.

“All right!” perked up the little umbrella. With a broad grin she said, I’m going for a walk at last. Hooray!”

Sketch by Wenda Grabau

Signs of Spring

March 25, 2013 in Cards, Smorgasbord with 2 Comments

I recall in the early years of our lives here on Heritage Farm tight budget concerns prevented me from endulging in ordering bulbs. As I look back, I see how much beauty I missed in spring. Now that I have planted several bulbs, spring holds more beauty close up.

Here in the background you can see the grove of trees that protects the farmhouse from cold north winds. In the foreground, the newly emerging tulips and daffodils delight us as they herald the coming of spring.

We welcome you to view this card and others in our store.

Rainbow and Shadow

March 22, 2013 in Farming Fancies with 2 Comments

(Excerpt from Tales from Heritage Farm)

Squeak, creak went the old door. A flash of light split through the deep darkness of the storage closet. Many items had been set aside in the closet to hibernate while snow boots and mittens, stocking caps and parkas had their hey day.

Shadow awaits going outdoors with Farmer's Wife

The frigid winter waned, and signs of spring began to pop out all over. Spring and summer equipment which had been laid away in storage were being jostled around and pulled out where they would be ready for use later on. Among them were Shadow, the sunbonnet, and Rainbow, the umbrella.

After Farmer’s wife dusted them off, she hung shadow on a peg beside the porch door. Rainbow was nestled inside a nearby umbrella stand. Now they were both handy, ready for use.

As the days grew longer, the sun shone brighter and hotter. Farmer’s wife liked to work in her vegetable garden. But before she started each day she reached up for Shadow. She needed her for protection from the sun and to keep her cool in the summer’s heat.

Farmer’s wife worked very hard in the garden. She busied herself by pulling up any stray plants that tried to take root there. She cultivated the soil to give her seedlings plenty of chance to stretch out their roots and grow strong. When she finished with the vegetable garden, she turned her attention to sprucing up the flower beds.

It seemed that Shadow was out and about almost daily. She went out at 6:00 A.M. and stayed there perched onFarmer’s Wife until breakkast. At other times she travelled with Farmer’s wife to mow the lawn or to watch the kids’ softball game or to pick strawberries. You could say that Shadow, the sunbonnet, had a well-rounded life. She got do and see a lot of things.

See the book, Tales From Heritage Farm in our store.

The Family Bible

March 18, 2013 in Family Ties with 3 Comments

This is a peek into our family heritage.

The Holy Scriptures have supplied the strength to know God and to follow Him when our ancestors crossed the ocean on small barks to forge out a new future for themselves and their offspring.

The ornate cover indicates the esteem in which the scriptures are held.

Psalm 119:105 says, “Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.” Resort to His Word for guidance as you travel life’s road.

This card is available in our store at an introductory price for a limited time.

Look Where?

March 15, 2013 in Snippets with 0 Comments

Hills Obscuring the Full View of the Landscape

Have you ever had one of those days or weeks or months where everything seems to be against you? Or maybe you feel that every little mole hill really is a mountain. Life can be a great obstacle course, don’t you think?

Here is some wisdom from the Bible written by someone who saw a lot of obstacles in his life. They seemed to be hills that made his trek in life seem close to impossible. Psalm 121:1 and 2, “I look unto the hills. From whence cometh my help? My help cometh from the Lord who made heaven and earth.”

The hills can represent the obstacles you and I face. Our tendency is to look at them and feel overwhelmed with the their height and massive influence or control they have on our lives. They seem to have the “upper hand” in our journey.

But the psalmist says the help we need comes from the Lord who made the hills. If He indeed has made the hills and the mountains, then He is greater than they are.

If you are facing some tough circumstances that overwhelm you so that you cannot see “the end of the tunnel,” turn your focus from the obstacles to the Lord. He has made heaven and earth. He will help you and guide you in your situation.

photo credit:Wenda Grabau

Introducing “Shamrocks”

March 13, 2013 in Family Ties, Fresh Off the Farm with 2 Comments

Card Available in our Store

Shamrocks are a favorite plant on the farm.

My maternal grandmother displayed a lone shamrock plant in her home when I was a youngster.

My mother got an offspring of the plant to raise in her home.

I now have the offshoot of that plant in mine. I am raising plants to give to my children and others.

I put the potted shamrock plants outdoors in the spring and summer where they do very well with God’s rain and sunshine and fresh air. Bulbs reproduce in the soil and new plants come handily. Hardy green leaves make a colorful backdrop for the cheery pink blooms. Before the frost, I bring them indoors to await the winter’s passing.

I thought you might enjoy the spectacle on a note card. It is now available through our store. Check out the new introductory sale price!

Sweet Memories

March 11, 2013 in Family Ties, Smorgasbord with 6 Comments

I have been going through old cards and letters that have been saved over the years. I opened one letter last night from a family cousin who is now deceased.

One of our family’s special memories from visiting her had to do with her hostessing practice. Every time we visited her she had a special pastry to share with us. It is called Kringle. It is a Danish pastry made famous by a bakery in her home town of Racine, Wisconsin.

Frosted Kringle

I decided today that I would try to make Kringle myself. My first try did not come out that bad. It will be a treat to enjoy for supper, but I think I want to try making it with a different filling. Today I tried raisins and black walnut filling since they were on hand. Yet from our past recollections, fruit or pecan fillings are superior.

It is interesting how this dear, aged cousin formed the basis for us to associate pleasant memories with her. We still enjoy good memories from our times with her, but the Kringle is definitely one that is sweet.

What memories are you making for your family and friends? If you can’t put your finger on anything special, I recommend Kringle.
photo credit: Wenda Grabau
photo credit: Wenda Grabau
photo credit: Wenda Grabau

Order Those Seeds!

March 8, 2013 in Smorgasbord with 2 Comments

The Lord has blessed us with fertile land and the space to grow a vegetable garden. Therefore, every year about this time I peruse the seed catalogs deposited in my mail box and dream about next summer’s garden. This is also the time of year that the nurseries offer sizeable coupons large enough to invite prospective customers to do business. Now is a great time to get the bargains and to do your planning while your outdoor work is dormant under snow drifts. You will get the good of the dreaming and, besides that, the seeds will be in your hands by the time you need to start small plants indoors.

We have had a vegetable garden for years. I grow lots of foods: lettuce, spinach, carrots and radishes, beans, beets, squash, sweetcorn, potatoes, peas, tomatoes, cucumbers, herbs and flowers, and, occasionally, melons. In the space we have, I also grow lots of weeds! So there is sweat and labor involved in gardening, but I sure like the savings I get when I go to the grocery store. We enjoy that benefit all year ’round. The frozen veggies and the canned ones keep us eating well for many months afterward.

If you have a hankering for savings, for healthful food, and for work outdoors in the fresh air, check out the nursery catalogs and order those seeds!

Naming Jack

March 4, 2013 in Fresh Off the Farm with 2 Comments

As a part of my good-natured coping mechanism, I thought I would make my calf-time a bit more interesting. I sought to converse with the calves. Now, one cannot really talk with a calf, but one may talk to one.

calf, holstein calf, calf pen, calf shed, straw,

Curious Little Calf

Therefore, I decided that each one should have a nickname. If one had a unique pattern on his/her face that might trigger a name like “Checker” or “Wolfy.” Some calves got their names from their location in the shed, such as “Corny” who lived in the corner. And then there are others who got named by some characteristic in their personalities.

One such calf repeatedly jumped out of his stall in his eagerness to be fed. A time or two I was successful at putting some calves back in. The calf had to be lifted or helped to jump back into his stall. But this calf was different. He was not to be distracted from his goal, the milk. I could not get him to jump back. I could not serve milk to the other calves while he was hanging around the milk pail. He would drink it all.

I needed help. To save the milk from this calf’s advances, I put the milk pails outdoors while I found my husband and got his assistance. He easily got the calf in the stall. I fed him and that was that.

The next time I did the chores, I began the feeding process and out jumped that same calf. I, again, summoned my husband for help. This scenario could not go on.

The next time I went in for calf chores, I noticed a change in scenery. My husband had placed a spare stall door over the top of the calf’s stall. It was tied in place by baler twine. Problem solved, we thought.

I turned to do the work and sure enough the calf popped out of his stall. The lid turned out to be on top of the wrong calf!

I decided then and there that the culprit needed a name. That day, my husband built a ceiling over his stall. It was high enough that it would not hurt his head and it gave him room to grow. His name became Jack-in-the-Box.