A Farm Country Picnic

As Nancy and I pick up my newest book, A Farm Country Picnic, from the warehouse in Minneapolis, we are just as excited as when we picked up our first, A Farm Country Christmas Eve, in October of 2008.

Nancy takes a photo of the book as we drive south on Highway 100.

A Farm Country Picnic, our seventh book published by Beaver's Pond Press, Edina, tells the tale of a farm family putting up hay day after day while the children long for a break to go to a nearby lake to fish, to swim, and to picnic. The father admonishes the kids for asking for a break by telling them, "'Make hay when the sun shines' is farming's old rule," but the next morning when when the children wake up to a rainstorm, they know they may get their wish to go to Web Lake to have some fun.

 But as every farmer knows, the word farm comes before the word family in every farm family, and when the Watkins man drives into the yard exclaiming their cows are out, the entire family knows they will spend the day rounding up cows and fixing fences. Their shoulders sag as one at the news.

Like all the stories in my Farm Country Tales series, the story is written in rhyme and meter, portrays farm activities accurately, and shows the positive results of a family working together to accomplish goals. Ever sensitive to the needs of the farm and their children, the parents in the story give the kids a special picnic in their own pasture after the work is done. Nine-year-old Mags proclaims, "This sure beat old Web Lake!"
The book features a map of the farm which shows were the cows got out and a glossary that defines some of the farm terms.
More sample pictures are displayed on my website.
www.gordonfredrickson.com

Milkapalooza

On Saturday morning the weather gave us clouds and small sprinkles of rain, but the optimism expressed by the hard-working owners/operators at Cedar Summit Farm north of New Prague, MN, was typical of farm people. "It's clearing up," they all agreed. The great thing was that visitors shared that optimism because the cars kept driving into the parking area as people of all ages filled the yard at Cedar Summit Farm, where Dave and Florence Minar, their sons and daughters, their grandchildren, and other workers hosted their annual fun day they call "Milkapalooza."

We arrive early to set up and Linda Minar takes a moment to explain the layout to me.

Patrick Fisher, New Prague Times reporter and photographer captures a moment as I sign a book for a mother and child in the field where cars are parking. The area fill ups with cars rapidly as visitors come.

Visitors get free samples in foreground and ride on ponies and pet animals in the background.

Any event where kids and parents are having fun together makes me smile, and this day gave me a lot to smile about as I watched kids pet calves and cows; milk a mechanical cow; discuss chickens, honey, maple syrup with a farm families who supply some products sold at Cedar Summit; visit the barns; sit for a caricaturist; sample sheep cheese; ride to the pasture to visit the cattle herd to learn why grass-fed is best; and dance to music provided by two different bands.

Jazmine displaying caricature done by John Busacker.

Jazmine displaying her new book 

The cows attracted fans.

The cow milking contest was a popular event.

So was visiting the herd as shown below.

Tractor and wagon with visitors return from the pasture where they viewed the fine herd of cattle 

as seen in the distance from our tent in the farmyard in the picture below.

Florence Minar giving samples of a new product made at Cedar Summit Farm, drinkable yogurt.

Dave Minar talking with one of the handlers of the two cows available for petting.

Dave and Florence Minar deserve special recognition for their creation of Cedar Summit Farm. Their interest in producing healthy, more natural dairy and meats goes back to before the 1970s. I urge readers to visit Cedar Summit Farm website at www.cedarsummit.com and click on the appropriate tab to read the history of the farm's development and the special products they have to offer. They sell their own dairy products, grass-fed beef and pork, but they also provide a retail outlet for natural, healthy products produced by like-minded neighbors, such as honey, maple syrup, eggs, and chickens. Nancy and I have enjoyed their healthy foods for years and urge you to give them a try. You will be glad you did.

The Minar family were very kind to Nancy and me, providing us with a spot to sell our books under their big tent and a big room to perform my stories for lots of kids and their parents. We had a great time talking to old friends and meeting new people. The atmosphere was fun and exciting, as kids and adults of all ages mingled with each other and discussed the operation with the friendly Minar family members who made themselves available throughout the day. Keep the event in mind and check the website regularly to discover the date for next year's Milkapalooza.

Nancy and I wish to thank Dave and Florence Minar and the entire family for having us at the event.
We especially thank Linda Minar for her time and effort in arranging our visit.

Photographs by Nancy A. Fredrickson, except for the one below, which was taken by a friendly customer.

For more pictures of the event, click on Read More below.