December, 2019 Newsletter

122 CORSON

Holiday Newsletter

The theme for this year’s Christmas Card was the abundance of apples produced from our 100 + year old apple orchard.  In particular, the Wolf River tree was a painting unto itself.  As we walked through the orchard in late November with the sheep following at our heels, we shook off some apples for the sheep to feast on and the image was set for this year’s card.  One of the routines over the past several weeks has been the daily walks into the orchard and shaking off apples for the sheep.  We feel like the Piped Piper!  The sheep know immediately what sugary treats await them as soon as they see us enter the orchard with the shepherd’s crook.  Turns out, the crook is a good tool for shaking off apples!  Removing the frozen apples benefit both the tree and the sheep.  Left on, the apples can contaminate the tree with mildew and host unwanted insects which can affect next year’s crop.  The sheep benefit from the late season nutrition.  We know they aren’t following us with unbridled affection because of the pleasure they get from our attention.  But maybe!  Even still, it has become one of those happy moments on the farm that comes with the season.

The quiet of the season continues.  There has been very little activity at our bird feeders until recently.  One of the things we recently learned in Northern Woodlands magazine is that the part of the chickadees brain that deals with song, shrinks in the winter.  As we head towards the solstice with just under nine hours of daylight, maybe we understand.  In addition to a few chickadees, we are seeing plenty of bluejays, crows, ravens, and deer.

Over the holidays we will be open for a pre-Christmas dinner on December 21^st, an after Christmas dinner on the 28^th, and a New Year’s Eve celebration on December 31^st.  For our winter schedule, we will be open for Valentine’s Day on February 14th, the vernal equinox on March 21st, and we will do pop-ups as the weather allows.  We will promote the pop-ups through a newsletter when we have a clear picture of the upcoming Friday or Saturday’s weather prediction.

Happy Holidays to all.

Mary and Bob

Reservations can be made at www.122corson.com or call (207)587-2019