Farm Tour

The Queen was treated to a farm tour today! There is a beautiful 250 acre biodynamic farm in our little town, owned by the same man who lets us sell at his farmer's market on Saturdays.

Can you imagine? Two-hunert-an-fitty-acrez!

We were greeted by this smiling moo cow...

...who for some reason looks like a blue cow. She's pretty.

They have one bull. I'm not sure this is it though, because there were a few that had horns.

Interesting fact that I learned from watching Dr. Pol: All cows have horns. Most of the time they are removed. It's a bloody business and it looks painful.

If reincarnation exists, I do not want to be a moo cow.

This was the first plot we visited. A gorgeous field of greens... kale, tatsoi, spinach, arugula, mizuna and mustard greens. It was like heaven for the Queen.

There is a marked difference in the taste and size of greens from this farm and what they sell at grocery stores.

The really amazing part is that they don't use chemicals. Organic farms can still use chemicals, but biodynamic farms don't.

And you know what? I saw no bugs on the plants and little evidence that there ever were bugs. It's because there is biodiversity, if there are no plants around that draw predators, one kind of bug will swarm the crop and enjoy the buffet.

This is the heart shaped pond.

This is a moo cow that was kind enough to pose for tolerate me.

"Do I have something in my teeth?"

The outhouses on the property. They have an equinox festival every year so instead of port-a-potties they use these.

This is the swimmin' pond. Pretty nice huh? The water was so clear. 

This is my tour guide, Kristina, who is also very nice. She has the greatest job ever.

This is a transplanted building that was moved to the farm. It's the first post office our town ever had. How neat!

You can't really see it, but at the bottom of the picture, below the rock ledge, there is a natural spring. They have run tubing into the spring and are using it for their outdoor kitchen, to drink and to water the cattle.

This is another swimmin' hole in the form of a creek. Very pretty.

Look the other way and it's also gorgeous.

These caught the Queen's eye. We have this same kind of rock in our creek. Very porous and photogenic.

A cool piece of slate.

A map of the farm that shows how large it is and how everything is laid out. The orange spots are where the crops are planted. Light green is pasture and dark green is forest. Blue... blue is water.

We had some homemade bread and Amish butter. Chatted a bit with Jeff, and then we rode to another field.

A gorgeous view of a barn and one of the fields.

And then the tour was over. The Queen helped unload a bunch of sweet potatoes, picked up some potatoes for herself, and headed home with her loot: turnips, celery, tatsoi, arugula, mizuna, kale, daikon radishes, potatoes and October beans. YUM!

The beautiful thing is, we not only ate the beans, I saved some to dry for planting next year. I am determined that we are going to put seeds in the ground. I've read and watched videos about gardening and the only way to know if I can do it is to just do it.

I've started to collect seeds when we eat peppers, tomato, squash, etc. that were grown locally because obviously those varieties thrive out here. I have other seeds too, but I'm trying to set myself up for success.

All in all a lovely day. Bright, sunny, cool and me surrounded by nature. Would love to get that going on the royal grounds, and we're going to. No reason not to, no excuses!