Fudge Flavor of the Month for October is...

...Pumpkin Pie Fudge!

With or without pecans...

This flavor was so popular last year we decided to bring it back! If you had this fudge last fall you know how GOOD it is. If you did not get a chance to try it then you need to come in for a taste.

We will have it available now through the holiday season so don't delay. Before you know it Christmas will be over and you will have to wait almost a whole year to have it again!

Cooler Temperatures...

The chill in the air always puts me in a good mood.

I love the Fall.

I love pumpkins, football, warm jackets, planting mums, scarecrows, the color orange, seeing the leaves change...

I love seeing my breath on a cold morning and being able to play with my little girl at 3pm without dying of heat.

I also love that cooler weather means pecans are on their way!

The countdown continues...New Crop Pecans will be here soon!

Rainy Days...

I always love rainy days. Mostly I love sleeping through them but if I do have to work I still love them.

Being a "pecan farmer's daughter" I never complain about rain. Even during the summer of 2007 when so much of Clay, Wichita, and surrounding counties were being flooded I did not complain about the rain. (This is mainly due to the fact that I was very pregnant so I would much rather have the rain than the heat.)

However, I do realize that rain is not always good for a pecan crop. Too much rain can cause problems. There are things like weevils and scab that tend to go along with rain that can really damage a pecan crop in a hurry.

A lot of rain also means that we can't run equipment. We don't want to get harvesters, tractors, etc. stuck in the orchard or cause ruts and so forth.

So today as the rain came down, I was reminded how much I love rain but also what it means to pecans. If we get too much rain in the next few days our harvest will be pushed back which means a delay in getting new crop pecans in the store. Let's hope that doesn't happen.

While I will never tell the rain to "go away". I definitely might ask for it to "come again another day"...like say December and June, July, and August.

Wichita Falls CVB

Dee VanWinkle with the Wichita Falls Convention and Visitors Bureau (www.wichitafalls.org) is always so nice to send groups to the Pecan Shed. These groups are in Wichita Falls for various events (most of them taking place at the MPEC). With the help of Dee and others at the Wichita Falls CVB these visitors get to load up on buses or trolleys to take a tour of Wichita Falls and see some great local stores.

The Pecan Shed is honored to be on of the stops that the groups make. We are able to offer them Texas and Wichita Falls specific souvenirs, gourmet food items, our delicious Homemade Fudge, and the BEST pecans in Texas.

Each group is unique but we enjoy having them all come to our store to visit. Yesterday we had around 25 or so ladies in and today we are expecting around 50 guests!

A BIG thank you to Dee and the Wichita Falls CVB for promoting the Wichita Falls area and local businesses like the Pecan Shed!

Almost Harvest Time

When the pecans start to crack open their outer hull like the ones in this picture have it is a sure sign that "harvest time" is soon approaching.

I took this picture of our Pawnee pecans just today so it is in "real time" so to speak.

Pawnee pecans are the first to open up and thus are the first to be harvested.

If all goes well we should have pecans in the store and available to our customers by October 11th or at the very latest October 18th.

Other varieties that will be ready to harvest later include the Wichita, Choctaw, and Cheyenne pecans.

2009 Pawnee Pecans

The 2009 crop of Pawnee pecans is dwindling fast. We just sold our last two bulk cases today. Thus, all we have left is what we have bagged up in either the one-pound or the four-pound bags.

Not to fear though. New Crop Pawnee pecans should be arriving no later than October 18th.

The Pawnee pecan is our most popular seller at the Pecan Shed. This pecan is considered a "junior mammoth", has golden coloring, and is good for both baking or snacking.

We also still have the 2009 Wichita pecans that are similar in size to the Pawnee and have more oil.

Weevil Watch

In this family pecan business I know the role I play. My job is to sell pecans to customers both local and (at times) world wide. I am to create a store and a marketing plan that helps to promote the Pecan Shed...who we are, what we do, and how great we do it. My main objective (along with the help of Mom and all my employees) is to sell as many pecans as possible and I really do love what I do.

Jake's job is to make sure I have pecans to sell. He and Dad take care of the pecan orchards. They worry about spraying schedules, irrigation, weather patterns, crop forecasts, etc.

I have a business degree from Midwestern State University. Jake has a horticulture degree from Tarleton State University. (Mom and Dad have an "experience" degree from The School of Life.)

I have a limited amount of knowledge as to what actually happens in order to get the pecans from the tree to my store. I just know what to do with them once I get them.

So today when I called Dad to ask what he was up to he said they were spraying the orchards for pecan weevils.

I asked why when we were so close to harvest. He said that a bad case of weevils at this point could wipe out our entire pecan crop. I am smart enough to know that would be a bad thing.

I thought weevils were a problem early on. I didn't know they could be bad right now. Dad informed me that pecan weevils come out when the ground gets damp and this allows the weevil to climb up out of the ground and then infest the pecan trees.

Who knew?!

I pointed out that we had not had rain in the last few days but according to Dad since it rained last week we were still spraying in order to keep those "bad bugs" at bay.

Note: Mom will tell you that she knew we were spraying for weevils based on our chemical bills. Another reason why pecans can seem expensive at times and why we never claim our pecans are organic.

So for those of you out there with a pecan tree, or two, or two thousand you might want to be on a weevil watch. The good news is you still have time to put out some preventative spray if you don't see any. The bad news is if you DO see one or two you might have already lost the battle before you knew there was a fight.

New TCU!

We now have TCU garden flags and large applique flags (28" by 44").

Support your Horned Frog today!

Find Our Fudge at the Feathered Nest

The Feathered Nest located in Henrietta Texas is now carrying some of our delicious homemade fudge. Sherry Fleming (owner of the Feathered Nest) came by just yesterday to pick up the Chocolate Pecan Fudge which is packed full of Pecan Shed pecans.

If you have not been in to the Feathered Nest lately you have got to stop by. They have the cutest home decor items, jewelry, clothes, purses, and so much more. I always find a "must have" every time I go in. Her store in Henrietta is just up from the square on the east side. She also has a location in Sikes Senter Mall down towards the food court.

Pioneer Reunion is the weekend so I hope the Feathered Nest is just packed full of people and I hope Sherry has success with our Chocolate Pecan Fudge!

Happy Birthday Kathy!

Today is Kathy McGhee's Birthday. Kathy is very special for many reasons. She has been with the Pecan Shed almost since the beginning, she now is our Head Fudge Maker (most of the time she is the only fudge maker), and most of all she is like a member of the family.

Growing up and to this day, Kathy treats me and Jake just like her own children and she loves Presley and Dotty like grandkids as well. She is Mom's best friend and she is loved by those she works with.

Kathy is one in a million and we love her. Happy Birthday Kathy!

Cracking Open

The 2010 crop of Pawnee pecans have just begun to start cracking open. A few of the trees around our orchards have started to pop those outer green shells (called the hull) to show big, beautiful, and well filled out Pawnee pecans!

Of course we still have a few weeks to go and we will need help from Mother Nature but this is all a very good sign.

Once the Pawnee pecans have really opened up we will start running shakers and harvesters to pick the pecans. Then the pecans must be cleaned, inspected, sized, run through dryers (to take out any "green" taste they may have since they are the first ones harvested), they are inspected again, and then they finally make their way to our store.

Shelled pecans take a little longer because they must be cracked and shelled and inspected a third time before they can be bagged and placed on the shelf for our customers.

Still the first sighting of pecans is all very exciting! It means all the work and waiting and worrying we did since last January through the summer and until now was worth it...of course we will still wait and worry (which is a lot of work) until we have the pecans on the ground and in the store!

Pecans and Squash...Who Knew?!

One of our loyal customers...Kelly...has a blog called The Meaning of Pie (find it at themeaningofpie.com). She has lots of great and unique recipes and this new one "Squash Cake" seems to really fit both descriptions. She was kind enough to send me an email saying how once again she used delicious Pecan Shed Pecans in her new recipe and she wanted me to check it out...here is the actually link to the page...http://www.themeaningofpie.com/2010/09/squash-cake/

We love it when our customers let us know that they enjoy our pecans and we love it even more when they tell the whole world...via the internet of course.

Thanks again Kelly for using our pecans and telling your loyal readers about the Pecan Shed. Also, I can't wait to try out your recipe. Who knew squash would make a great cake...I guess anything tastes better when you add Pecan Shed pecans...at least I think so!

Wine and Dine

The Pecan Shed took Dark Chocolate Pecan Fudge and plain Chocolate Fudge to an event hosted by The Forum last night here in Wichita Falls. The event was to benefit The Forum in order to keep it up so that it can continue to be a hub of activity and a pride of Wichita Falls.

The entire evening was lovely and all the food and wine got rave reviews from those in attendance. The best compliment of all was from a wine vendor from Dallas who told me our Pecan Shed fudge was the best he had eaten since his grandmother...and he said that was the highest praise he could give me...and I have no doubts that it was true.

I want to thank Mom and Jeri for helping me with the event (especially since I was running late), I want to thank Kathy for making the fudge, and all my staff for helping me get ready for the show. I also want to thank Marsha and Sandy for asking me to be a part of the event and Carrie Spencer for answering my multitude of questions. Also a big thanks to the people who work at The Forum for helping me out while I was at the venue.

I am sure the event was a big success and will benefit The Forum greatly.

Wind is not a friend...

Wind and trees loaded down with pecans do not mix well. This time of year when pecan trees are loaded with pecans and the limbs are bowing under the weight of such a heavy crop pecan farmers cringe at even the slightest gust of wind.

This being said as the hurricane made its way towards our orchards in north central Texas we all held our breath and bowed our heads.

Thankfully our pecan crops were spared and we suffered very little limb breakage.

Hello Hermine...

We don't get a lot of hurricanes in north central Texas. Tornadoes...yes...high winds...yes...droughts...yes...but hurricanes are a rare deal.

Hurricane Hermine has made its way up the state of Texas (I am not a big fan of road trips myself) and while it is not packing much of a punch it is dropping tons of rain on our area.

I love rainy days!

Labor Day Weekend...

What a gorgeous weekend! The weather was beautiful and I hope everyone got out to enjoy it. The forecast calls for rain...and lots of it...for our part of the world for the next several days.

The pecan crop is looking great though. While farmers never want to complain about rain...they just usually complain about the lack of it...we do not need just tons this time of year. However, I know Jake, Dad, and all the guys out in Charlie will do their best to keep the orchards and the crops in tip-top shape to get ready for harvesters come mid October.

New Crop Pecans are only about 45 days away...unless Mother Nature has other plans!

Pecan Sale!

Harvest time will be here in just a little over a month so we need to clear out our 2009 crop to get ready for the new crop to hit our shelves in mid October.

Our 2009 pecan halves are now on sale...
$7.00 - 1 pound bag
$26.00 - 4 pound bag
$165.00 - 30 pound bulk case

Our 2009 pecan pieces are also on sale...
$6.50 - 1 pound bag
$24.00 - 4 pound bag
$135.00 - 30 pound bulk case

This sale will only last until we run out so stop in soon to take advantage of these great prices!

Fudge Flavor of the Month for September is...

...Caramel Pecan Cheesecake! This flavor is fast becoming a favorite. After just a few days of being in our fudge counter we have already had customers raving about this delicious new flavor!

Stop in today and try it or any of our Homemade Fudge flavors. We have over a dozen to choose from! Try one or try them all!