We are well into August now, and the pumpkins and corn are thriving in the warm, sunny weather! The pumpkin patches are blossoming, and we are even starting to see small yellow pumpkins forming. Just think of all the yummy pumpkin pies and jack-o-lanterns that are growing!
Pumpkin Blossom
Baby Pumpkin!
The corn has been having a great growing season so far, although it is getting awfully dry now. It is well over six feet tall and producing ears. We are making the transition from cornfield to corn maze, and it is a fascinating process! Our early mazes were designed with the help of the Deerfield High School design class, and then we cut it by hand using a DR Trimmer and a map with co-ordinates on it. It was time consuming and complicated. As the farm grew, we realized we really needed the help of a professional designer, so in 2004 we hired Brett at The Maize (a company that designs mazes for over 200 sites in the US, Canada, and the UK), and our options for maze design expanded exponentially! When we settle on an idea for our maze each year, we send a rough (very rough) sketch to Brett. Drawings are sent back and forth between us until we have exactly the design we are looking for. Once the final draft is approved, we send it to Mark Krizan of Vierbicher & Associates of Madison, where it is converted into a GPS program. While this process is going on, our field is planted in criss-cross rows instead of just regular one directional rows. Once it reaches just about waist high, we are ready to start! The GPS device is attached to our zero turn radius lawn mower, and voila!, the maze is born! We made our first cutting in June weeks ago, and its had two additional “corn” cuts with probably three more to go before opening day on September 20th! Our Badger Honor Flight design is going to look great!
View From the Bridge
Starting to see a path!
