Snack Shack Menu

Farmer Sausage burger

Hot dog

Pork on a bun

Chocolate bars

Candy bags

Chips

Coffee

Apple Cider (Original, Hot apple pie, Red Delicious, McIntosh, Caramel)

Pop (Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, 7-up, Dr. Pepper, Orange Crush, Brisk Ice Tea, Diet 7-up, Root Beer)

Water

Apple Juice

Hot Chocolate

Pumpkin Cookies

Pumpkin pie

Monster Cookies

Cinnamon Buns

Penner's Lake

On Friday I decided to go and pick some snake gourds for Saturday. My first error was going at 9 pm at night. So I get to the patch and what do I see….water. I see patches of water every where’s. Not a problem as I have rubber boots along. So I get onto the garden and I start walking. The rows are 300 feet long and I get ¼ down the row when I stop and I ask myself how much do I want to pick these snakes. I’m like keep going. I’m sinking mid calf, tripping over vines, and I can’t see a thing. Also there are hills and dips that I have to navigate in the dark. ½ down the row I have to give myself another pep talk, but I’m finding this to be quite the adventure and finding this to be quite funny. I finally found my snakes and I decided wading through a ditch was easier than going through the garden again.

It rained and rained on Thursday. Penner Pumpkins got over 2 ½ inches. The garden is so saturated that the water just sits on top.

Penner Pumpkins had picked 90 % of our pumpkins the previous week, but there was a few left on the field. After seeing the garden Friday I decided those pumpkins had to come off. I thought we might get an ATV trailer full, but not more than that. The best pumpkins had already been picked.

On Saturday, in the evening, John, Shirley, and I went pumpkin picking on Penner’s Lake. We waded through mud and picked and picked. We needed to have a video camera out there because that was hilarious picking pumpkins in the mud. Somebody had asked me Saturday if they could go pick a pumpkin at the patch. I said it’s a little muddy and wet (really it was very wet and very muddy). When the ATV needed to move forward Shirley and I had to push so it wouldn’t get stuck. Shirley and I ended up not doing any face plants in the mud so that was one bonus. We ended up filling two ATV trailers with our pumpkins. I have to say that was a work out: wading through mud up to my calves, lifting a 20 pound pumpkin, and carrying it

through the mud. A new Penner Pumpkins work-out. I’m happy to say that all the pumpkins are picked, now the gourds need to be picked and the squash. Penner Pumpkins will be selling pumpkins Mon-Friday from 11 am to 7 pm, Sat from 11 am to 5 pm, and Sun 1-5 pm.

Bring a Flashligh Event

Every Friday in October, from 6:30 pm to 10 pm, you can come and trick or treat down the Scarecrow Forest Path. After you can zip down the zip line and warm up by the fire with a hot chocolate. This is a kid friendly event. Make sure to bring a flashlight. It will happen every October 1, 8, 15, 22, 29. The cost is $10.00 per person. For more information please phone Shirley at 371-5556.

Description of squashs Penner Pumpkins sell

SQUASH

Sweet dumpling-Has orange flesh and is very sweet and tender. Has orange flesh.

Carnival (multicolor sweet dumpling) -The delicious yellow meat is reminiscent of sweet potatoes and butternut squash and can be baked or steamed then combined with butter and fresh herbs. Also great in soups.

Vegetable Spaghetti-has a noodle like texture. Eat it with your favorite pasta sauce.

Sunshine -Bright orange flesh. Tender stringless flesh, and provides a sweet nutty flavor. Good for pies, soups, or baking,

Grey Ghost -Sweet, thick, and dry.

Buttercup- Has a rich, creamy and sweet flavor. Flesh is orange.

Butternut- sweet, nutty taste. Has orange fleshy pulp. Butternut is a common squash used in making soup because it tends not to be stringy.

Acorn- sweet, yellow-orange flesh. Good for winter storage, keeping several months in a cool dry location such as a cellar.

Red Kuri -Smooth textured flesh. Good for pies. It's meatier than most of the other squashes as it has less water content. Less water content makes the taste that much more rich.

Blue Hubbard-medium dry and sweet. Yellow flesh. Stores well. The extra-hard skins make them one of the best keeping winter squashes. The yellow flesh of these tends to be very moist and longer cooking times in the oven are needed. They are generally peeled and boiled, cut up and roasted, or cut small and steamed or sautéed. It's perfect for pies.

Open Farm Day

On Sunday September 19 Open Farm Day is happening. This is the first year that this event is happening. Over 35 different agritourism businesses, farms, and greenhouses will open their doors to the public. At the bottom I have included the link to the guide so you know where you can go and the hours of operation. Penner Pumpkins will be part of Open Farm Day. Free special activities include: market garden tour (weather permitting), antique tractor display, pet the goats and cats, and we will have vegetables and fall decorations for purchase. The Scarecrow Forest will cost $7.00 and the extras (zip line, pumpkin/onion sling shot, tractor train ride, and face painting) are $1.50 per activity.

Across the road from Penner Pumpkins is Benner Holsteins Ltd. They have a robotic dairy barn which houses 300 dairy cows. I have included a link at the bottom that gives a brief description of the barn and shows some pictures. I have toured the barn and it is pretty cool to see. My two favorite parts of the barn was the cow back scratchers and seeing the cows lined up to be milked. Also you will be able to pet some calves and play with more cats.

I have included three links at the bottom which gives more information. Hope to see you at the Scarecrow Forest.

www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/financial/agribus/pdf/openfarm2010.pdf

www.pennerpumpkins.com

www.steinbachonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=18604&Itemid=395

Odds and ends

Gift Shop

Penner Pumpkins has a gift shop for you to browse through. We sell wooden deck chairs, neck laces, lazy patio cats, fall decorations, crocheted purses, and wooden bear tables. We also have Christmas wreaths and birch log center pieces for sale. We currently have pie and Cinderella pumpkins for sale. In the next week or two we will pick all of the squashes and they will be available for sale. Come and check it out.

Gazebo rentals

We have a gazebo that can be rented. The price is $50.00 for 1 hour and 45 minutes and we have three different time slots: 11-12:45pm, 1-2:45pm, or 3-4:45pm. Admission to the forest is extra. Groups of 20+ is $7.00 plus you get one free activity (zip line or train ride). Penner Pumpkins currently has two families that are having a family gathering in the forest this fall.

Fire pits

We have private fire pits that can be used. Groups of 20+ can rent it for free and groups under 20 can rent it for $15.00 (no outside food allowed), wood is provided. Reservations are required, phone 371-5556.

Daycare and School groups.

On Tuesday September 7 we had approximately 54 children and 10 adults come out from a daycare in Winnipeg. They had a ton of fun in the Scarecrow Forest. I think the biggest hit was all of our cats. The price is $7.00 per person and includes one activity (train ride or zip line), extra activities are $1.50 each.

Youth Groups

Penner Pumpkins loves having youth groups come and visit the forest. We hide a live scarecrow in the forest and the youth have to try and find this scarecrow. The price also includes a zip line ride. Step off the platform into complete darkness as you zip down the line. After you wander the path and try the zip line sit around the fire pit and roast some marshmallows and sip some hot chocolate. Cost is $8.00 per person and make sure to bring a flash light. To reserve your youth group phone Shirley at 371-5556.

Coloring Contest and Photo Contest

Penner Pumpkins has a coloring contest. The deadline is fast approaching (September 25), make sure you hand in or mail in your entry. Check our website for more details. Another contest we have going on is a photo contest. Submit three of your best photos for a chance to win a prize. Check our website for complete information and rules.

For more information please check out our website at www.pennerpumpkins.com or phone Shirley at 371-5556.

Lorissa

Birthday Parties

Birthday Parties

Is your children's special day coming up? Come and have their birthday party in the Scarecrow Forest.

The cost is $10.00 per person. This includes admission and three activities which options include: a zip line ride, a tractor train ride, hot dog, chip, and drink, or a craft (example: you could do 3 zip line rides, or two zip line rides and a tractor train ride, etc). Extra activities cost $1.50 per item per person

Included in the price is the forest which has 21 different scarecrow scenes set up along a ½ mile winding trail through the forest. Off of the trail is the farm animal maze (look for the bright red barn) where you can learn interesting facts about different farm animals. At the end of the trail is our huge play structure with four slides and mega sandbox or take a left and find many more things to entertain you such as the Dancing Scarecrow Corn Trail. Also there is the bale maze and pyramid, another mega sandbox, tire structures, and almost everyone’s favorite, the petting farm. Come and meet Blue and Billy the goats or meet Jack and Jill the two very adorable black kittens.

Come and celebrate your birthday in the Scarecrow Forest.

We do allow birthday cakes, but please no other outside food.

For more information or to book you party please check out www.pennerpumpkins.com or phone Shirley at 371-5556.

The Rock Ridge Pickers

Country Gospel Concert with

The Rock Ridge Pickers

The Scarecrow Forest is proud to host the Rock Ridge Pickers on Sunday August 29th for a country gospel concert. The local rising talent of Rockford Penner will have your toes tapping in no time. Bring your own lawn chairs and relax and enjoy the music while your children enjoy the free face painting and balloons. Whether you are a country fan or you are just looking for something upbeat and interactive for your family, this is the event for you.

The concert is included in the price of your general admission of only $7 each, and all children three and younger enter free. The concert will begin at 2:00 in the afternoon, and there is plenty to entertain you until then. The Scarecrow Forest is a half mile gravel trail winding through acres of bush. The child friendly scarecrow scenes waiting around each corner make it an amusing journey. A shaded picnic area is a great place to enjoy food from the Snack Shack canteen. Zipline rides, tractor train rides, a farm animal maze, play structures, mega sandboxes, bale maze, a petting farm, and a corn trail will entertain you all day. You can even try your hand at Blue-eyed Betsy the simulated milking cow!

The country atmosphere at the Scarecrow forest is the perfect venue for the Rock Ridge Pickers lively music. Come on out and get a dose of the homegrown talent of Rockford Penner, Rhonda Koop, Lyonel Penner, Andy Friesen, and Joel Doerksen. Visit www.pennerpumpkins.com for more information on the Scarecrow Forest or www.therockridgepickers.com for more information about the band.

Amanda

Sweet Corn Festival

The ScareCrow Forest’s

Sweet Corn Festival

The Scarecrow Forest welcomes you to it’s first ever sweet corn festival, where a free corn on the cob awaits each member of your family. On August 21 and 22, kids and adults alike can play the candy carnival games or enter friendly competitions.

There will be something for every age to enjoy, from simple corn hunts for the younger children, to booths of carnival games like a corn toss, corn baseball and corn crafts. All ages alike can participate in competitions such as a corn on the cob eating contest or corn shucking contest. You can even try your hand at Blue-eyed Betsy the simulated milking cow! Come with sunscreen, hats and energy for a big and exciting day with your family.

The Scarecrow Forest is a half mile gravel trail winding through acres of bush. The child friendly scarecrow scenes waiting around each corner make it an amusing journey. A shaded picnic area is a great place to enjoy food from the Snack Shack canteen. Zipline rides, tractor train rides, a farm animal maze, play structures, mega sandboxes, bale maze, a petting farm, and a corn trail will entertain you all day.

This new seasonal family attraction is the perfect place to take the family to get away from the pressure and noise of the city. Come out and enjoy the fresh air and wholesome activities this fall. Visit us at www.pennerpumpkins.com to find out more.

Amanda

Special Events happening in the Forest

Hello. At the Scarecrow Forest we have two events that are coming up. The first is the Sweet Corn Festival and the second is the Rock Ridge Pickers concert.

Sweet Corn Festival

August 21- 11 am to 5 pm

August 22- 1 to 5 pm.

This is the first year that Penner Pumpkins is doing the Sweet Corn Festival. This festival will showcase corn. There is sweet corn, Indian corn and field corn. Do you know what the difference is between these three types of corn? Come and find out. These two days Penner Pumpkins will be giving one free corn on the cob to each person. There will also be carnival games, using corn, geared towards children and adults. There will also be competitions such as corn on the cob eating contest or corn shucking contest. Come check it out. Admission is $7.00.

Country and Gospel Country: The Rock Ridge Pickers

August 29- 2pm

This is the first year Penner Pumpkins will be offering a concert. Admission is $7.00, which includes admission to the Forest and the concert. The Rock Ridge Pickers are a local band that are traditional country musicians. Come out and enjoy their music and make sure to bring your own lawn chair. Check out their website out at www.therockridgepickers.com/. Come out at 1 pm and walk through the Forest or enjoy a picnic lunch from the Snack Shack in the Scarecrow Forest (no outside food allowed).

Check back later for more special events happening in September and October.

Lorissa

Vegetables that are ready

Vegetables that are available:

Tomatoes

Cucumbers

Beets

Kohlrabi

Romaine Lettuce

Parsley

Summer Savor

Zucchini

Spaghetti Squash

Cabbage

Flower Bouquets

Statice bouquets

Onions (sweet Spanish and red onions)

Beans

Sweet peppers

Hot peppers

Carrots

Penner Pumpkins will be selling these vegetables off of the home yard. Check our website or facebook for hours that we are open. Friday evenings we will be selling our vegetables at Lilac Resort and on Saturday we are at Pineridge Hollow (we come back at around 2:30 pm) so the supply on the home yard may be limited at these times.

The cucumbers have been doing wonderful. I picked on Monday and Wednesday and probably have over 50 lbs of cucumbers to sell. That tomatoes have also been turning red nicely so there should be a lot of tomatoes for sale.

Lorissa

What can you do at the Scarecrow Forest?

There are a lot of things to see and do at the Scarecrow Forest. There is the Scarecrow Forest which has 23 different scenes set up. Each scene is very unique and entertaining. New this year is two walk-in sites. Off of the trail is the Farm Animal Maze. Get lost in the forest as you learn about various farm animals and check out the cute animals that Amanda painted.

Once you exit the trail you come upon the play structure. The play structure is built around a hill and has four slides, a tire tunnel, and a fort. Children can spend hours playing here. Also there are two giant sandboxes which children can dig in.

Another thing you can do is get your face painted by Amanda or paint a pumpkin in the fall.

The zip lines are a favorite. The Lion zip line is 22 feet tall and the Bunny zip line is 12 feet tall. The total length is 200 feet. Zip down the line and get a birds view of the garden, the petting farm, and the cows that may be watching the action.

The train ride is an attraction that the whole family can enjoy together. A 1946 John Deere M tractor pulls a train of 5 cars through the forest. The train ride lasts about 15 minutes.

Watch some mini pumpkins fly at the pumpkin slingshot. This attraction will open once the pumpkins are ready (which should be at the end of August).

New this year is the Dancing Scarecrow Corn Trail. Take a walk through some corn and feel the leaves brush against you. This is a path and not a maze so there’s no need to get worried that you may get lost and never find your way out.

Children and adults love our petting farm. Some people have spent hours petting the goats and kittens. New this year are two puppies named Tank and Dixie. We also have two roosters named Gourd and Pumpkin. The goats are Blue and Billy.

Near the zip lines there are a couple of tire play structures set up. The children can have fun crawling and climbing on these.

This is what you can do in the Scarecrow Forest. Come check us out and have some family fun in the Scarecrow Forest.

Lorissa

Anatomy of a Scarecrow

1. Hunt through second hand stores for wild clothing, plaid shirts, overalls, sleepers, and cool or interesting looking props during the winter.
2. A week or two before opening day buy a ton of straw from a farmer.
3. Assemble clothing. Either making completely outrageous looking outfits or according to a theme (we have a disco scene this year).
4. Tie shirt ends and pant ends. If standing put in stand. Than stuff, stuff, stuff, and stuff.
5. When done we load the scarecrows onto a trailer and drop them off in the forest.
6. At each scene we arrange the scarecrows and add the props.
7. Than Lorissa goes around and makes up a short story for each scene.

Viola, you have a scarecrow bird watching, a scarecrow with 6 children screaming while she tries to iron and make supper, a scarecrow tending his plot of crops, plus many more.

If you would like to stuff a scarecrow for your own yard we specific days you can stuff your own scarecrow or if you would like to make one sooner phone us and we can arrange a day. Check us out at www.pennerpumpkins.com. Penner Pumpkins is also on Facebook.

Herding Goats

How hard can herding two goats be? Apparently quite hard. I should have known it was going to be a challenge. One day we let them out of their pen and what did they go for? The nice green grass or the nice green leaves? No, they had to go for the pepper plants. Thankfully they only got a leaf or two before we shooed them off. It was Saturday and Shirley and I had gone to Pineridge Hollow market and TJ was busy on the home yard. He didn’t let them out because the sky looked ominous and if there was going to be a storm it would be much safer for them to be in their pen. They love being outside of their pen.

When Shirley and I got home the goats were driving us nuts with their bleating. We were trying to clean up and get organized for the next market. TJ was on the Farm Animal maze so I though how hard can it be to get them to their grazing area. First I had to unnail part of the fence. Not a hard task, unless you have two goats head butting you in their desperate attempt to get out. Finally I had an opening in the fence and both goats tried to get out at the same time. Pretty funny watching them because it wasn’t working to come out. I pushed one back in and one came out.

Goal number one keep them away from the plants. Goal number two try to get them to run in the right direction. The goats took off and the chase was on. First they went in the wrong direction, but I quickly corrected that. Than they found a nice juicy green patch of grass and refused to budge. I grabbed the dominant one and started running. Than they found a second patch of juicy grass and had to try it. I decided to concentrate on one goat (the dominant one) and maybe the other one would follow. Didn’t happen, apparently the non-dominate one got sick of being a follower. I managed to get one goat tied up. Than I had to go find the next one.

Thankfully he didn’t decide to make a beeline into the greenhouse and chomp on some tomatoes or cucumbers. Instead he found some nice leaves. I bribed him with a tree branch and attempted to lure him to his tying spot. Only problem was his tying spot had changed, but I didn't know this so I brought him to the wrong spot. I than had to attempt to get him around our little garden. Than he spotted the cherry tomatoes and made a bee line and I made a bee line for him and to rescue the cherry tomatoes. Finally I got him tied up. I was dripping in sweat and totally out of breath, but the goats were now happy.

How easy is it to herd goat? I found out not that easy. The goats are nameless at this point, but will have names come August 1. I won’t be naming them because my ideas of names are: No Name 1 and No Name 2 (these are two of the cats you may see at Penner Pumpkins) or I name them according to a characteristic: Fluffy, Blackie, or Calico. Not very original. Come on down after August 1 and see the goats that gave me a good cardio work-out that Saturday.

Markets

Today is the Lilac market. Penner Pumpkins will be selling onions, cabbage, zucchini, potatoes, herb plants, tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, and hot peppers.

Tomorrow is the Pineridge market. Penner Pumpkins will be going this week. We will be selling the same as below. Some vegetables may not be available if they sell out at Lilac. We will, though, for sure have onions, cabbage, flower bouquets, and herb plants. Our vegetables are slow in getting ready because of all ...the rain so we don't have as much as we would like, but what can you do with mother nature.

2 weeks and 4 days til opening day.

Penner Pumpkins is busy getting ready to open on August 1st. We will be open at 11 am. Amanda is our painter and does amazing work. She is busy painting our animals for the farm animal maze and for our milking cow. Last year she painted animals for our play structure. Come check out her work. TJ is busy cleaning up the path. Leveling it out, chopping trees, clearing trees and grass. Brady is busy working on the farm animal maze. He's clearing out the trees and making sure it is very twisty and confusing. The other day I took a walk through it and told TJ to stay around so he could find me if I got lost. Shirley, the boss, is making sure everything is running smoothly. She's also busy watering our tomatoes and cucumbers in the greenhouse and planting the rest of the flower containers. She's also making sure all the odd and ends are coming together. Donna Marie is our website developer. She does an amazing job (check it out at www.pennerpumpkins.com). Than there's me, Lorissa. I keep the blog and facebook updated. I weed the garden and go to our two farmers' markets. In fall if you come buy a pumpkin I will most likely be the one selling it to you (if I'm not working at my other job).

On Tuesday Penner Pumpkins will be stuffing our scarecrows. That is always a very fun, but itchy job. I love seeing the scarecrows take shape. My favorite part is setting up the scenes and deciding which props go where. My second favorite part is making up the stories that go with each scene. Each year I make up a story that explains each scene in an entertaining way.

Hope to see you at the Scarecrow Forest.

Markets

Hello. Today is the Steinbach Farmers' market. Penner Pumpkins has decided to drop this one and instead focus on the Lilac and Pineridge Hollow markets. Our produce has been slow in getting ready. This Tuesday we had 1 and 1/2 inches of rain on top of that other moisture we had this year. We will be going to Lilac and Pineridge Hollow. Penner Pumpkins does sell off of the home yard. Phone Shirley for hours. For directions and a phone number check out our website at www.pennerpumpkins.com.

Farmers' Market

Hello. July 8th is the Steinbach Farmers' Market from 3-7:30 pm. Penner Pumpkins will be selling cabbages, onions, lily bouquets, herbs, lettuce, herb plants and containers, and tomato plants.

On July 9 Penner Pumpkins will be at Lilac Resort from 3 to 7 pm. Penner Pumpkins will be selling the same but we will also be selling tomatoes and cucumbers (a few pounds).

Rain, rain go away.

Hello. Penner Pumpkins garden has had a ton of rain this spring and summer. There will be no peas for the second year in a row. The corn is looking great. I have been selling a lot of cabbages all ready. Our greenhouse tomatoes need some heat and than they'll be ready. I've been selling a few cucumbers. The lilies are ready to be beautiful in your home. I have also have a lot of herb plants for sale. Stevia, Thyme, Lemon basil, Cinnamon basil, Sweet basil, Thai basil, Purple ruffle basil, Oregano, Rosemary, Lavender, Catnip, Parley, Summer Savory, and Spearmint. I also have a variety of herb gardens in containers and have three tomato plants left to sell. See you at a Farmers' Market.

Welcome

Hello and welcome to Penner Pumpkins and the Scarecrow Forest blog. On this blog I will keep you updated on the various events that Penner Pumpkins will be attending, the various activities happening at the Scarecrow Forest, and the produce that is available for that week of Farmers' Markets. Thank you for visiting and check back often.

Current Markets:
-Steinbach from 3 to 7:30 pm every Thursday.
-Lilac Resort from 4 to 7 pm every Friday.
-Pineridge Hollow 9 am to 1 pm every Saturday.

Check out our website at www.pennerpumpkins.com. Penner Pumpkins is also on Facebook.