Charity A. Krueger Farm Discovery Center
This buildling serves as the gateway to the farm. It serve primarily as an educational facility for
our agriculture and nature programs. Season activities such as Candle Dipping (November - December) take place here. Bulk orders of farm products are available here.
Farm Yard
The large yard between the barn and Thomas Buildings often teems with activity. Apple Fest, Enchanted Forest, and Farm Babies Fest take place in this area. School groups and other visitors picnic on sunny days. A nice tour can be taken by simply walking around the edge of the farmyard and visiting the bank barn and adjacent pastures.
Horse Pasture and Swale Complex
These pastures provide grazing areas thorughout the year. A
large Black Walnut tree provides habitat for wildlife and shade for
livestock. The narrowly fenced swale serves as a water catchment
area. Ask the farmer to show you where the flerd is currently
grazing.
Bank Barn
Aullwood's barn is built in the bank barn style used here by German
heritage farmers in the 1800's. A grassy slope leads to the upper level
where hay, grains, and educational exhibits are housed. The beams
were hand hewn from local hardwoods and are attached by wooden
pegs. The longest bean is froma tulip tree and is as long
as a 6 story building! The lower level houses a menagerie of
livestock in small pens. Outdoor paddocks provide additional
room. The foundation is constructed of limestone and small
glacial boulders gathered from the fields. An astute observer may
discover fossils in the limestone blocks.
Sheep Barn
This building provides a small sheltered pen and adjacent pasture
access. This barn is used extensively in the spring during the
lambing season (March - May). Ewes and their newborn lambs are
penned together for the first few days after birth to allow the farmers
to keep a close watch on their health and development. As spring
fades into summer, the newborns and their mothers will rejoin the flerd
and spend the rest of the year on pasture. Sheep also receive
veterinary care in this building.
Sheep Pasture and Coffeetree Pasture
These two small pastures are used extensively during the lambing
season and are grazed by the flerd during other times of the
year. The large Kentucky Coffeetrees provide shade during the
warmer months.
Spring House and Duck Pond Wetland Complex
The Spring House was a common site at many farms in the past.
Cool spring waters helped the farmer to keep milk, cheese, eggs and
other perishables fresh. Look for long-tailed salamanders and
crayfish in the water. An adjacent wind mill still pumps water
from the spring feeding a small stream and wet meadow.
Wildflowers and other wetland associated animals find a home
here. The Duck Pond was redug in 2004 to increase its size and
provide new educational opportunities. An observation deck and
native wetland plant species greet the visitor. Turtles, toads,
frogs, and a plethora of aquatic insects add to the diversity.
Ducks, herons, raccoon, deer, fox, and coyote are among the frequent
visitors to his area.
Turkeys
This triangular shaped paddock houses our Heritage Turkeys.
These birds are genetically close to their wild ancestors than the
common farm turkey. The Tom (male) can be frequently seen
defending his territory through his impressive feather display.
Turkeys are the only common native North American farm
animal.
Herb Garden
Follow the access road between the Turkey Pen and the Coffeetree
Pasture to reach the Greenview Garden Club's Herb Garden. This
lovely little herb garden has been tended for over thirty five
years! The sights and smells make this a multi-sensory
experience. Look for native herbs and herbs from overseas or sit
a while and watch the sundial's shadow change.
Children's
Sustainable Garden
This small demonstration garden showcases a wide variety of
vegetables and herbs. Rasied beds, compost, mulch, and crop
rotation are featured. Cold Frames are utilized in the colder
months to featre examples of four-season gardening. Themed beds
such as a "Pizza Bed" teach about the variety of plants that contribute
to our diet. Arches, benches, and a variety of colors and smells
make this a fun introduction to gardening for kids. Weekend farm
programs make extensive use of the garden and let participants take
home a piece of the farm. Heritage variety crops are well
represented. Non-typical shapes and colors of common vegetables
make this an educational experience for even experienced green thumbs.
Chicken Coop
This small building houses two pens. Aullwood's layer
chickens reside here as well as our rabbits. The chickens provide
eggs and the rabbits provide meat and fur. Egg colllecting is a
fun part of Aullwood's programs as the diverse breeds produce different
colored eggs. Aullwood truly is a place of green eggs and
ham! Older hens and rooster are raised as fryers (to eat).
Chickens can lay 1 egg every 24 hours. Other poultry species may
be seen throughout the season. Guinea Fowl (an African species),
domestic ducks, and turkeys may be present.
Brood House
This small building is where we raise our young chicks during the
summer season. They arrive when they are a day old and live here
for a few weeks when they are hardy enough to go outside. Heat
lamps provide the high temperatures necessary for their
development. Please pay attention to any "Do No Enter" signs to
help us ensure the health of the chicks.
Cow Pasture Complex
These three pastures behind the brood house provide forage for the
flerd. A variety of plant species offer a seasonal buffet to the
herbivores. Red-tailed hawks may be seen perched along the edges
scanning for a mammalian meal.
Orchard and Bee Yard
Follow the path between the Cow
Pasture and Entrance Drive to reach the Orchard and Bees. The
pasture on your left provides forage for the flerd throughout the year
and the spring and summer flowers invite thousands of bees and
butterflies. Beyond the small meadow is the Orchard.
Cherries, apples, and pears feature fragrant spring blossoms and late
summer and fall fruit harvests. The bees readily pollinate the
flowers in their search for nectar and pollen. Deer, groundhogs,
and other wildlife feast upon the orchard's bounty in the
evenings. The bees are present year round and may even be seen
flying on sunny winter days! They huddle together
in a constantly changing mass to keep warm through the winter. Al
Tuttle, of Eagle Ridge Apiaries manages the hives and Aullwood's honey
can be purchased in the Nature Center store.
Sugar Bush
This 15 acre woodland features sugar maples and other native
hardwoods like beech and cherry. It becomes a busy place in
February and March as when we tap the maples, harvest the sap, and boil
it down into maple syrup in the Sugar House. Weekend programs
give visitors a taste of this Northeastern American native food
source. Wildlife benefit throughout the year and a careful
observer may spot owls, pileated woodpeckers, wildflowers, and a
host of mammal species.
Outlying Pastures and Crop Fields
A variety of pastures and fields surround the main farm
campus. Nighttime grazing with electric fencing allows the flerd
access to fresh forage. The large open expanses provide habitat
for resident and migrant grassland bird species such as Eastern
Meadowlarks, Savannah Sparrows, Grasshopper Sparrows, Horned Larks,
Killdeer, and Red-winged Blackbirds. Hedgerows and grasses
provide habitat for cottontails and small rodent which in turn offer
prey for foxes, coyotes, snakes, hawks, and owls. Late summer and
fall evenings are often alive with white-tailed deer herds featuring
sparring bucks and grazing does.
