Dear Reader,

Aunt Eunice is way behind the times with the latest low-down on farm happenings! I'm so busy I'm running around like a chicken without a head! I hope you folks were all coming out to see for yourselves what's been going on. Summer is well under way and tours are happening every day of the week except Monday. We have been entertaining our visitors, many of them young folk who come from camps and day cares. Two of our three major summer event, Summer Garden Party and Music in the Valley, have come and gone. If you missed them, that's a crying shame, because everyone else had loads of fun and helped us raise some money for this wonderful non-profit organization of ours.

There is one summer event left and that is our Heritage Craft Day on Saturday, August 7. You can come on out and see old time crafts demonstrated and even try some out for yourselves. Our wonderful heritage crafters will be around from 10:00 to 4:00 and visiting them is included in the price of the farm tour, which is a very reasonable $10.00 for adults and $5.00 for children 3-12.

In the summer you can come to the farm on highlight days to enjoy special demonstrations being held at no additional cost to visitors. The presentations range from a puppet show to demonstrations of rye straw basket making to learning about old fashioned farm games and toys and more. See the rest of the list on this new-fangled website of ours.

We will be the host site once again for the Pocono State Craft Festival being held on Saturday and Sunday, August 28 & 29. Come on out and shop for some beautiful hand-crafted items and enjoy the activities that the farm will be offering as well.

Quiet Valley holds camps and apprentice programs each summer to help train up the next generation in many of the interesting and fun things that take place on a farm. I have a nice group of youngsters in my apprentice group every Thursday and we are having a good time learning about wildlife in our area. We will learn to cook over a fire, identify uses for trees on the farm, craft a leather bag, take a horse-drawn wagon ride, make a toy, just to name a few of the things that will be happening. Two of our camp weeks have already passed with two more to go. Check with our secretary to see if there is still room for your youngster. It is good fun mixed with learning, fresh air and new friends.

An update on my old foe, Mr Tom Turkey! While he always seemed to pester me in particular, I am not the only one Tom preys on. A month ago at the end of our school tour season, a longtime tour guide/interpreter Debbie H. had finished tours for the day and was heading up through the farm. She came across our retired manager, who was feeding the animals. Debbie very kindly asked if she could help and Gary said yes, please let Tom out of his pen so he can stretch his legs. He stays penned in during the daytime so he doesn't harrass visitors or employees!! Debbie opened the gate, unaware of the impending doom she was about to unleash on herself! What were they thinking! I could have warned her, if I had known, to stay as far away from that fiend as you can!! Needless to say Tom immediately tried to jump on Debbie who tried to fend him off with her basket. Not a very substantial weapon against a large male turkey determined to reek havoc upon your person! Debbie kept backing away looking for an escape route, hollering for help, an occurence that was very familiar to me. After battling old Tom, hiding behind various pieces of farm equipment, barrels, etc. help came in the form of one of the young men who is also a tour guide. Needless to say Debbie was as thrilled as I was to be saved and has become part of a grass roots movement to ban Tom Turkey from polite society for the duration. She is perfectly willing to join me in an early Thanksgiving feast where Mr. Tom will be the "guest of honor", if you catch my meaning!!

Now I don't want visitors worrying that they will run across old Mr. Tom. I was on the farm a week or so ago in the open barn were one of our craft demonstrations was taking place. It was toward the end of the day and I happened to glance back toward the animal pens and the turkey pen was empty! My immediate reaction was to panic and I began frantically checking out the area all around me, especially behind me!! I was relieved to find out that Tom Turkey was not on the loose once again, but has moved to a place less populated than Quiet Valley. Good bye, my old adversary! You will not be missed, except at the supper table!

*Aunt Eunice's Arch Enemy - Gone, but not forgotten!!*

I hope I will see you on the farm before the summer is over. There are lots of wonderful things going on here at Quiet Valley and the admission money we receive goes to help further the mission of this great non-profit education corporation. Thanks for your support!

Yours Truly, Aunt Eunice