My Grandson just informed me that i needed to do a Blog. “…a Blog?? What in the world is that?? A blog was explained to me – so here I am –  I’ll give it a try! Really I’m always up to try new things.

So here we are in a mad rush of the “preseason”. I’ll have to say things are looking much better than they were even just a week ago. Somehow, we seem to get our act together. ( The whole problem is: we have this down time in winter and seem to plan too much!) It is a little unbelievable to me  (going into this 39th season)  just how much things have changed. The little 2 acre pumpkin patch is now 73 acres; we had 1 old farm wagon for the hay ride and now we have nine. The petting zoo was our pet goat tied up to a tree! But oh, what fun Farmer Bill and I have when we see everyone here having a good time. It makes our whole family feel really good. It’s great to have grandson Austin back on the farm. (Even if he does tell me that I MUST do a blog.)

I’m still managing the Bake Shop, and probably will be just as long as I can still hobble in! The bakery staff started last Friday. We need a head start on getting pie shells made, so we are busy filling our freezers with crusts. This Thursday, we’ll probably start making some cookie dough, get some apple pie topping mixed up, and start making the little dumpling pastry squares. The Apple Dumplings proved to be very popular last year, and we may have a few new things for you to try this year… come by and see! I am excited about our new “Grab & Go” express lane; hopefully this will cut down on waiting time in line. I just hope we will be able to keep up with our baking! One of the reasons we do run out of items is that I like to try to figure what well sell in a  day, so we have fresh baked ONLY to sell, and this is often the problem. Remember, you can always call ahead and order, to make sure we have the items you want!

… home and my rocking chair are waiting. See you all this fall!

Sandy Bishop (Mrs.

Hi everyone! It’s been a while since any of us have done a blog so I thought it’s about time we update you with everything going on here at the farm!

First of all I’m proud to announce that my wife Chelsie gave birth to a beautiful healthy little girl on Wednesday July 13th. We named her Khloe’ Lenai Bishop. She weighed 8 pounds 6 ounces and was 21 inches long. Our family has grown to 4 as our daughter, Ava, is 3 now. And yes there is a lot of pink in my house! I’m trying to talk my wife into having a third so we can try for a boy, but I won’t push too hard until she’s off diaper duty for a while.

Well it’s hard for me to talk about much else other than my daughter right now, as I’m always anxious to brag about her but there is a lot going on here on the farm.

To start, all of our Pumpkins are in, and growing right on schedule! We have 70 acres of several verities of pumpkins, and gourds. This looks to be a promising harvest!

Soon we will begin work on several other projects around the farm, including; remodeling the back deck area behind the bake shop, adding a queue at the front of the bake shop which should make the lines much quicker, and a few other beatification projects as well.

In other news, I’m pleased to announce that this fall I will release my first children’s book titled, “Farmer Bill and Mrs. B Plant a Pumpkin Field.” Look for it this fall in the gift shop! We are very excited for all of our visitors to see how our farm started and this book illustrates just that. .

I’ve also been working on “Bish-O-Poly”. This is a walking Monopoly game that you will take around the farm and earn money at each one of your stops, collect enough money and you will receive a prize at the end of your day. We hope this game will spread our place out a little and help you find attractions that maybe you didn’t even know existed!

The corn maze design is done and we will cut it out here in the coming weeks. Does anyone have any ideas of what it could be? I may spill the beans on the project here in a few weeks, but thought it would be fun if everyone took a guess at it first!

That’s all for now. I hope everyone is enjoying their summer. We can’t wait to see you come September 24th!

Austin Bishop

P.S. Before I forget, make sure to sign up for our E-Newsletter. The Pumpkin Vine Line will come out electronically this year instead of being mailed. You can still get a hard copy in the local newspapers as well. Go to www.bishopspumpkinfarm.com and become a member. This is also a good place to look for coupons once we’re open!

It’s Wayne Bishop here and I am venturing on to our blog space for the first time because we could really use your help!  Last November, several hundred of you responded to  a survey we did.  When we asked what you would like to see us improve on the farm, a great many of you requested permanent restrooms.  I too, would like to have restrooms and have been working towards that goal for several years.  Last week, we broke through the final piece of a maze of red tape when we were annexed into the City of Wheatland.  The annexation will allow us to hook up to city sewer and water service, an absolute necessity for the restroom project.

Now for the problem.  As you might imagine, this is going to be an expensive proposition.  We are currently trying to figure out how to pay for it!  One possibility that has been suggested to us is that we finance the restrooms by charging a small parking fee on weekdays, which up until now have always been free.  If I knew the right answer to that suggestion, you wouldn’t be hearing from me now.  I believe that one of the reasons you all have supported us over the years is that you have an opportunity to visit us during the week, pet the animals, ride the hayride, relax and play; all while choosing exactly where and when you might spend some of your hard-earned dollars.

While I agonize over it, I can certainly see how a small weekday parking fee could be a positive change for everyone.  In addition to allowing us to build restrooms; perhaps as soon as this summer, it  could also help us provide NASPIG racing on weekday afternoons and possibly even some live entertainment on Fridays.

Ann and Austin told me to keep this short; folks don’t have time to read a book from me, but I feel it is important to get you involved at this point.  We are at a crossroads in our 38 year history and we need your guidance.  Please click on the link below and answer the three questions on the survey.

Thank you for all of the support over the years.  It is that support that has allowed my family to stay on our farm.

Wayne Bishop

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/7D9GWVQ