Brigita McKelvie - Lehigh Valley, PA, Residential, Rural & Horse Properties

The Northampton County, Pennsylvania 2009 Annual Open Gate Farm Tour is coming up. This year it will be held the second weekend of October instead of the first weekend, October 10th & 11th, from noon until 4PM. It is presented by the Northampton county Co-operative Extension Office and is an educational, and fun, program of Penn State Extension Northampton county.

What is an Open Gate Farm Tour? It is very similar to an open house. The public is invited to visit participating local farms. While visiting, the public is able to speak with the farmers and learn about each farm they visit.

The farms that will be participating this year, and there are many of them, will be:

Graver Farms - a family operated grain farm in Danielsville, PA. Here the visitors will be able to walk through their 6-acre corn maze, see fall decorations and pick your own pumpkins. An educational hayride will explain grain drying system, different crops grown, no-till planting, and precision farming.

Smith Krekk Alpacas - is a family run Alpaca farm located in Bangor, PA. This farm has over 50 alpacas and offer boarding services, alpaca fiber processing, breeding stock and pet quality alpacas for sale. Demonstrations will include spinning, fiber processing and discussions on alpaca herd management. A discussion on benefits of running a small family farm will also be held.

Clear Spring Farm -a family owned and operated vegetable farm in Forks Twp. They have a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program. Their farm stand will be open and you will be able to pick your own pumpkins and work your way through their corn maze. They will also show and describe their high tunnel greenhouse at 1PM & 3PM each day.

Amore Farms - in Nazareth, PA will offer fresh fruits and vegetables, hay rides to the pumpkin patch,corn maze, puzzle woods, vineyard and winery. Here all will learn about the Stadium Style Straw Bale Food Pyramid.

Purple Haze Alpacas - in Bangor, PA. Here you will see spinning demonstrations and crafters. The owners will answer any questions about alpacas and show their benefits. You will also see baby alpacas born in September.

Burnside Plantation - (Sunday only) - a 6 1/2 acre farm museum located in Bethlehem, PA. The museum interprets farm life from the mid 18th to the mid 19th centuries. It includes a farm house, gardens and heritage apple orchard. Tours of the garden, house and barn will be given along with a demonstration of the high horse wheel.

Buzas Greenhouse - a family owned business in Easton, PA. They have 17 greenhouses open year round, growing holiday spring bedding & vegetable plants. Fresh vegetables, sweet corn and fruit are grown and sold at their own vegetable stand on the property. Learn how integrated pet management keeps plants healthy and thier participation in the big backyard program.

Graver Farmstead - in Bath PA. A Pennsylvania Bicentennial farm raising natural and grass-fed beef, pork, poultry and eggs. See how grass is turned into winter feed balage. Learn what rotational grazing means and visit with their animals. Kids can play in their corn box and look at the farm's treasure chest of old tools.

Northampton County 4H Center - located in Bushkill Twp. outside of Nazareth, PA. This is the site of the Annual 4H Fair and other 4H youth events and activities. Their kitchen will be open and come get their yummy chicken barbeque. There will be a horse show and a live farm animal exhibit.

Point Phillip Perennials - has 2 acres of gardens composed of many unusual plants and perennials, trees and shrubs. Guided garden walks will be given throughout the day. Emphasis will be given on late season care of plants. Many very rare and unusual plants will be discussed.

Windmill Horse Farm - in Easton, PA is a full service horse boarding facility with 60 stalls with large indoor and outdoor riding arenas for year round enjoyment. Open to the public for riding lessons, show training and horse camps. The Pony Express 4H Club will have information regarding horse care and feeding requirements, health, safety, and horse grooming. Mini riding lessons and trail rides will be offered.

Seiple Farms -is a 5th generation farm celebrating 120 years. They are located in Bath, PA and have pumpkins, gourds, Indian corn, farm animals and a haunted house. They also have concession stands, hayrides to the pumplin patch and a corn maze for family fun.

Klein Farms - in Easton, PA, is a working dairy with an onsite store, selling their own raw milk, cheeses and yogurt. Enjoy hayrides to the pumplin patch, and a free corn maze. Listen to Blue Grass music on Sunday afternoon. Tours of the Dairy Barn will be available throughout both days, as will the tours of the Creamery. Animal nutrition will be featured in the barn and 4H members will demonstrate showing dairy cows.

Keepsake Farm & Dairy - in Northampton, PA is a grass based dairy farm that specializes in raw mild, artisan cheese , yogurts and ice cream. They also have beef, pork, chicken and eggs. Tours will be offered focusing on grass based farming.

Juniperdale Farms - (Saturday only) - is a 1000 acre dairy, field crops and vegetable farm located in Nazareth, PA. Hay rides will be offered to pick your own pumpkin patch along with tours during the hay rides.

Reeder Farms, LLC - is a "natural"/"organic" farm producing fresh chickens, eggs, flowers and herbs, located in Easton, PA. You will be able to view the "Sunflower Fence" that was planted by all the Northampton Area School District 2008 First Grade Classes. Each of the schools planted sunflowers around their pasture for the poultry to act as a fence to help stimulate their bee population.

As you can see, there are many area farms participating in this event. It's a good thing it is held for 2 days. It might just take you that long to tour the farms.

Click here for more information.

One of two barns at Ryers's Farm for Aged Equines, on Route 23 in Warwick, Pennsylvania, burned from a hay fire on Saturday. The following is the sad news story about the fire and how we can help.

Read on:

WARWICK - A multiple-alarm fire destroyed one of two main horse barns at Ryers's Farm for Aged Equines on Ridge Road Saturday afternoon and kept Route 23 in the area of the farm closed well into the night.

Thick white smoke from tons of smoldering hay billowed into the air throughout the day as firefighters from several companies doused water on the massive piles of charred hay pulled from the barn. The barn itself was badly damaged, with the wooden floor of the hay barn beginning to fall into the lower level that housed the horse stables.

Tim Blevins, the farm manager, said watching the fire was extremely difficult.

"Next month I'll be here 22 years, and this is one of those things you see happen to other people and hear about happening to other people," he said. "This is one of those things you just dread" happening to you.

The two bright spots in the devastating fire, Blevins said, were that no horses were injured and no people were hurt.

"It's a shame," Blevins said of the damage the fire caused, "but these are all things that can be rebuilt."

Blevins was one of numerous people out at the farm Saturday, and more than a dozen people who weren't on hand when the fire broke out came after the fact to offer condolences and see how they could help.

Molly Pew, whose daughter, Lisa Shotzberger, is the animal welfare manager at Ryers's, said she was at the farm when the fire erupted; although, she didn't immediately notice it. She was in the house cooking when she heard the smoke alarm go off.

She explained that the barn and the house are both connected to the same alarm, and she thought it was just a steak she was cooking that set the alarm off. It wasn't until she saw the smoke pouring from the barn that she realized what was happening.

"I saw it from the very beginning," Pew said. She explained that two horses were in the barn at the time the fire broke out.

Pew said the two horses, Jumpin' Jack and Rustic Dancer, as well as a potbellied pig that was in the barn, got out uninjured.

Fire crews were dispatched to the farm at 1710 Ridge Road around 12:40 p.m.

Route 23 in the area of the farm was still closed around 7 p.m. as crews continued to work at making sure the fire was out and there would be no more flare ups.

Trooper John Clifford with the state police at Embreeville barracks was out to investigate the fire. He said it appeared as though the fire started in the barn which contained the hay; although, the exact cause and source of the fire was still under investigation.

Ken Ryno with Ridge Fire Company, which was in charge of the incident, explained that the fire had to be attacked from the exterior of the barn by responding crews.

"When we pulled in ... it was fully involved," Ryno said. "The big doors (of the barn where the hay was stored) were on fire and it was coming out of the eaves. It was an exterior attack; there was no getting inside."

Ryno explained that one of the biggest challenges about fighting the fire was the water supply.

"It's a lack of water that we have to call in additional tankers," he said. He noted that although there was a steady rain for most of the day Saturday, the rain isn't enough to extinguish the flames or stop flare ups in the hay.

Both water and foam were used to fight the fire. Hoses stretched the length of the driveway from the road to the barn, which was a distance of several hundred yards.

Not helping the matter, the sturdy barn had stone walls and a metal roof, which more or less insulated the fire and allowed the temperature inside the barn to get extremely high and was causing the hay to smolder.

Officials called DS Guest Excavating to the scene to use a backhoe and other heavy equipment to pull the tons of hay out of the barn so it could be spread out and drenched to prevent it from catching fire.

"You have to pull it out to get it out of the barn to spread it out, wet it down and let it burn itself out," Ryno said.

Pew, continuing to stand by and watch as crews pulled hay out of the barn into the early evening, was hopeful that people who heard about the fire today and in the coming days would offer their help for the animals' sake.

She said her daughter often talks about how Ryers's is one of the Pottstown area's biggest secrets. She noted that it is the oldest facility in the country dedicated to caring for retired, injured or abused horses and it's completely a volunteer and donation operation.

She said the fire, however damaging, could have been worse, and "We are thanking God" it wasn't.

Blevins said the farm will be in need of more help and generosity now than it has before. With winter not too far off, and one of the two main barns where the horses were sheltered destroyed by the fire, they would need to get started on rebuilding more shelter for the horses as soon as possible.

Blevins offered thanks to those who came out to fight the fire and to check on the farm and the horses.

"I'd like to thank everybody who came out to help us," he said.

Ryers's is open from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily. Anyone interested in volunteering time or inquiring about how they can help the animals in the aftermath of the fire should call 610-469-0533 or stop out to the farm during business hours. Monetary donations, which are tax deductible, may be made by sending a check payable to Ryers's Farm for Aged Equines to 1710 Ridge Road, Pottstown, PA 19465.

On Saturday, September 12th, 2009, the Saucon Valley Conservancy will host its Third Annual Barn Tour.

The Saucon Valley Conservancy is a non-profit, all volunteer organization, which was founded in 1993. Money raised by this organization goes towards the preservation and restoration of the Micheal Heller Barn, located at the Heller Homestead in Lower Saucon Township.

Registration for the tour starts at 9:30AM at the Beethoven Waldheim Club in Hellertown. At 10AM, 2 widely recognized experts on Pennsylvania barns, will discuss the highlights of the barns on the tour.

Following the talks, each participant will get a detailed tour book with a map to guide them on a self-paced tour of several barns in the Saucon Valley area. Saucon Valley is located in the south eastern part of the Lehigh Valley in Pennsylvania.

The tour starts at 11:30AM and ends at 4PM. A host will be present at each barn to help visitors enjoy each barn's unique features.

Tickets may be purchased in advance on-line or at various businesses.

Here is what's happening in the Pen Argyl and Bangor Area School Districts in Pennsylvania area for August 2009 in Real Estate:

June, 2009	Pen Argyl area School District, Pennsylvania	Bangor Area School District, Pennsylvania
Number of Sales	10	9
Average Price	$172,000	$209,000
Median Sales Price	$156,000	$184,000
Active Listings (homes that are for sale)	29	40
New Listings	36	44
Pending Sales	12	17

Recommendation:

If you're buying a home, it is important that you work closely with a highly-motivated agent who understands what's going on with the real estate market and local economy. He/She will be able to advise you on how to get the most for your money and what homes you may want to avoid, as there are homes on the market that are not priced at their fair market value.

If you're selling your home, it's also important that you work closely with a highly-motivated agent who understands what's going on with the market and local economy. Your goal is to net top dollar - which you may not achieve if you over price or under price your home.

Here is what's happening in the Nazareth, Pennsylvania area for August 2009 in Real Estate:

June, 2009	Nazareth area School District, Pennsylvania	Northampton Area School District, Pennsylvania
Number of Sales	22	38
Average Price	$280,000	$188,000
Median Sales Price	$250,000	$188,000
Active Listings (homes that are for sale)	25	60
New Listings	33	63
Pending Sales	30	41

Recommendation:

If you're buying a home, it is important that you work closely with a highly-motivated agent who understands what's going on with the real estate market and local economy. He/She will be able to advise you on how to get the most for your money and what homes you may want to avoid, as there are homes on the market that are not priced at their fair market value.

If you're selling your home, it's also important that you work closely with a highly-motivated agent who understands what's going on with the market and local economy. Your goal is to net top dollar - which you may not achieve if you overprice or underprice your home.