I turned 39 years old over the weekend. I am amazed at how quickly the thirties went by ... not sad, just amazed. We decided to go on a farm tour that was being held in our area. There were a whopping 41 farms to pick from. We attended tours at four different farms.
Our first stop was a creamery. At this small creamery, they made cheese from the milk of both goats and cows. We tried samples of goat cheese and were surprised how delicious it was. We also learned about the process of making cheese. The kids loved the Great Pyrenees dog that guarded their goats. He made our Great Dane/lab mix puppy (8 months and already 60 pounds) look small.
This is the only picture taken of me during the day. It is not the best shot, because I told my son to make sure he got the mountains in the background. He got those but forgot about the shadows over our faces.
Our second farm was a fruit, vegetable, and cutting flowers farm that we would like to do a CSA with next year. When we called earlier this year, they were already booked. We picked blueberries at this farm. Little Red Ridinghood was photographed by a reporter for our local newspaper and was thrilled that she made the front page, as shown below:
Our third farm raised alpacas. We learned the process of turning alpaca fur into yarn, including watching a woman using a spinning wheel to make yarn. Also up for sale were many handcrafts made from the alpacas' hair. The kids liked visiting with the alpacas best, but they are not as friendly as llamas. These alpacas have been recently sheared, except for the mop left on the top of their head.
Our last visit was to a farm that raised bison. They were so beautiful and big. We were given a great tour of the farm. The kids loved being weighed on the bison scale.
Bison have not roamed free since 1799 in our area. This farm had a herd of about 10. We purchased two bison burgers to try with our dinner. They were flavorful but a bit dry. I guess it takes some practice to cook with such a lean meat.
What a fun day! It was really nice to go out to explore more of what our county has to offer.
Blessings,
Dawn
Happy Birthday! What a fun way to celebrate. That's a really nice assortment of farms. We have a local bison farm and I really like the meat. The family spent a lot of time telling me exactly how to cook it, though. Once again, I'm seeing the similarities in our sons in the picture with you in it. Congrats to Little Red Ridinghood for making the front page!
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday Dawn!
ReplyDeleteHappy Be-lated Birthday! You guys did again...you are always having such grand adventures. I love alpacas. I even dreamed of having a few here on the homestead. I am thinking it wouldn't happen for many years. First we need to get the chickens and hopefully a couple of goats. I love love love goat cheeses. My 2ds is allergic to cow products so we buy goat milk and cheeses and I make goat yogurt.
ReplyDeleteWanted to let you know I really miss you popping in once in a while. I hope all is well.
Blessings and ((HUGS))
-Mary
Happy very belated birthday!
ReplyDeleteI didn't realize that we are the same age, just a few months apart.
Those farm tours sound incredible!!!!!! I'm so happy for y'all that you got to do all of that.
Yes, bison is a bit dry. I like to mix it up with a little regular beef to do burgers or to use it as-is for chili or spaghetti sauce.
I'll be back when I have time to sit and read through all this goodness. Right now, the 7-year-old is breathing hard on my neck. I just wanted to say, "Happy Birthday," my friend, and I hope it was a good one. I know what you mean about time passing fast--I'm 45 with two teenagers! Wow!
ReplyDeleteBlessings! I'll be back later!
I missed this post and wanted to say Happy Birthday to you! Looks like y'all had a fun day at the farms!
ReplyDelete