Eastern Triangle Farm Tour

This weekend my parents and I visited several local farms as part of the Fifth Annual Eastern Triangle Farm Tour, put together by the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association. It was quite fun! The hours are 1pm-5pm, and there were 24 farms participating, spread out far and wide. We had to pick just a few to visit. It was a tough decision. Hopefully this will help any future participants choose.

Saturday

1. We started out at Turtle Mist Farm in Franklinton. It was easy enough to find (we used the Garmin) and were greeted by two volunteers who gave us our "Support Local Farms" button that would serve as our ticket for all the visits (I'd prepaid for the tour online--only $25 per car load for all farms, both days). We were warned that the fences were electric, but that they weren't lethal; just a mild shock. Of course that meant I had to touch to see what it felt like! Not painful, but definitely not comfortable! The first thing we saw was a beekeeper selling honey. We bought a glass of "honeyade," which was delicious. We walked over to the chicken coops where they had several different breeds. They were allowed to just roam around wherever they pleased. Then we went down to the pens where they keep turkeys, ducks, and geese. We spoke with someone who I believe works on the farm. She gave us info about raising the birds and showed us the incubator where she was keeping turkey eggs warm until they hatch. We strolled around the garden area a bit, then wandered over to the pasture where the pigs are kept. There were four big brown ones, and a box of past-their-prime vegetables to feed to them.


They were in a mud hole and splashed around trying to get around each other to get the food I was holding out. We saw a cow, but it was behind fencing so we couldn't get close. We walked back up to the front and bought a cup of lemonade (it was a HOT day) and then it was off to the next farm.

2. Next was Homestead Harvest Farm in Wake Forest. I enjoyed this one more because we had a guide the whole time who answered all our questions and provided lots of information. We had to put little surgical booties on to prevent contamination of the farm. Here we got to hold a baby chicken.


If I remember correctly, this one was 4 weeks old. He (she?) was very warm! He was molting so wasn't fully covered with feathers, and his skin was against my hand. We walked around to several of the "chicken tractors," which are coops that you can move around to different parts of pasture so they always have fresh grass, and they fertilize as they go along! These were meat chickens. The laying hens were in a different type of portable coop, one with boxes where they could lay their eggs. My dad is interested in building a coop and having laying hens so he had lots of questions. We also saw a couple of pigs. They were young, but not babies. I got to go inside the pen and pet the girl.


She was very sweet. The boy was not as friendly. Next we walked down to see the turkeys. They have a ton of them and they are so vocal! It goes in waves. If one starts off, the rest chime in. I was squatting down to get some photos and one came up to me, very curious. Then she suddenly reached out and bit me! It wasn't a big deal, but it was funny. It's also funny to see the males, who can turn their faces blue to impress the ladies.


We went inside the processing house, where the chickens are defeathered, dressed, etc. We bought more lemonade (!) and then headed back to the car.

3. The final farm for Saturday was Meadow Lane Farm in Louisburg. This was also enjoyable because the owner, Martha, gave us a tour and filled us in on all the history. The farm has been in her family for almost a hundred years, and the farm house was originally built in the early 1800's. They are in the process of restoring it, which is quite an undertaking. We met Lily, their sweet Australian Shepherd working dog, and stood in the shade of an absolutely enormous pecan tree. We saw the goats that they show at the State Fair,


and as we were driving in we saw lots of their cattle. They raise them as nature intended--open pasture, lots of sun, etc. They are even certified humane. Mom and Dad bought a pound of ground beef and I said I'd eat a hamburger made from it...since I know it came from a cow that lived a happy life. It will be interesting to see what it tastes like. I don't know if I'll even like it! They were giving out samples of their bratwurst, but I didn't have a piece. One thing I was shocked to learn from Steve, Martha's husband, was that only about 10% of what's sold at the Raleigh State Farmers' Market is actually grown in NC!! He said the Durham Farmers' Market is much stricter about who they let sell there. I will definitely have to check that out soon.

Sunday

1. I ventured out on my own to visit Prodigal Farm in Rougemont. They raise goats and have a dairy that was just certified two weeks ago. I was escorted to where the next tour would begin, and while I waited with some others, we sampled different cheeses. I tried the marinated feta (delicious!) and the "Bollywood" which had curry and pear. I also had a sample of the "goat cheesecake." It was chocolate flavored and tasted just like regular cheesecake until the end, when you got that little punch of goat cheese flavor. Dave, the owner, brought the goats up to the dairy


so the visitors could pet them. They were very friendly and liked to rub up against you. I caught one little goat drinking from what I would assume was his mom, but who knows. He wasn't a baby, but must have been young enough. I went over to get a picture but then he stopped. I pet him, and when I stopped, he took his hoof and pawed against my leg, which I interpreted as, "Don't stop!" I love the shape of their pupils.



We got to see where the goats are milked, but they didn't do a demo--the goats are only milked in the morning and evening, and put out a half gallon each time. We were told that other breeds produce much more. Then we went into the room where they put the curds and whey into molds and let the whey drain out. Then, depending on what kind of cheese they're making, it either goes into one fridge to age, or it goes into a colder one until it's time to be sold. They did have a few things for sale but apparently Saturday's crowd pretty much cleaned them out. That's a good thing!

2. Next I went to Son Rise Farm, which was the tiniest farm I stopped at, and was the shortest visit at only about 10 minutes. I saw sheep and chickens,



but they supposedly have rabbits too. They spin the wool into yarn,


and make soap out of the goat milk. There were signs up around the different pens, explaining the different breeds, but most of the animals were out of sight, likely due to the heat.

3. The last farm I visited was Brinkley Farms in Creedmoor. It was the biggest operation that I could tell, at least in terms of produce. We got to go on a hayride


around to the different fields (they're currently growing different kinds of beans and arugula as well as late-season corn)


and see the pastures (again, all the animals were out of sight in the shade). They had a big barn where they were selling pumpkins and other squash. I got one to put on my porch. I heard another tour participant saying that they really enjoyed Vollmer Farm, so I'll have to remember that for next year.

Tips for future participants: Bring lots of water! Wear closed-toe shoes. A hat might be helpful to keep the sun out of your eyes. Bring cash to purchase drinks or the items the farmers are selling. There was no pressure to buy though. All of the farmers I met were very friendly and eager to share about their lives, the land, and what they grow and raise.

There is another tour in the Spring--the Piedmont Farm Tour in April. Here's an article about last year's tour.

Where I Go

Driving to my training in Oklahoma a couple weeks ago, I found myself on Riverside Parkway, right next to--you guessed it--a river. I was taken by surprise, as I didn't know there was a river running through Tulsa, and a beautiful one at that. Just goes to show, you never know where you might find a hidden treasure.

The picture below reminded me of Natalie Merchant's song from her first solo album, titled "Where I Go."


Climbing under
a barbed wire fence
by the railroad ties

Climbing over
the old stone wall
I am bound for the riverside

Well I go to the river
to soothe my mind
ponder over
the crazy days of my life
just sit and watch the river flow

Find a place
on the riverbank
where the green rushes grow
see the wind
in the willow tree
in the branches hanging low

Well I go to the river
to soothe my mind
to ponder over
the crazy days of my life
watch the river flow
ease my mind and soul
where I go

Well I will go to the river
from time to time
wander over
these crazy days in my mind
watch the river flow
where the willow branches grow
by the cool rolling waters
moving gracefully and slow

Ooh child it's lovely
let the river take it all away
the mad pace, the hurry
the troubles, the worries
just the river take them all away
flow away

You can listen to part of this beautiful song here (click the play button on the right side of the screen).

Wisteria

Spring is Flowers are at their height here these days, and one of the most spectacular is the wisteria. It just drips off the vine in such quantity and vibrance, it begs to be photographed. We've been plagued blessed with many rainy days, so capturing it with a blue sky background in the golden sunlight has been out of the question. It is nonetheless beautiful:

Like clockwork

Last year, I posted about the pear blossoms in Morrisville on March 18. Here it is March 16, and they have faithfully reappeared on schedule. I have a better camera this time around, as I recently purchased a Nikon D40 digital SLR. It's the kind of camera I've wanted for a long time, but hesitated due to the size. I finally took the plunge, and so far I'm loving it. Most of the time I use it on auto mode, but I'm slowly learning some of the manual features. It's fun to practice, and I can't wait to take it to London to really stretch her legs.

Morrisville Parkway, March 2008 (Nikon D40)

Morrisville Parkway, March 2007 (Canon G7)

Sunset

Taken October 5, 6:53 pm, in the parking lot at work as I was leaving the office. Sometimes you just have to stand in a parking lot and get out your camera.

I heart my backyard

So there's, like, a kind of plant you can, um, plant to attract butterflies, and the house's previous owners planted three of them. They're purty. And today, as I was mowing the lawn, I noticed that there were actually butterflies on them!



There was also a weird looking thing that I can only guess is a queen bee???

Update: It is called a "bee fly." Looks like a bee so you'll stay away for fear of being stung, but it's actually just a giant nectar-sucking fly. A guy I met at a party last night told me. Go figure.

Morrisville Parkway

Spring is in full bloom along Morrisville Parkway, about 15 minutes from my house. It really is breathtaking in person, especially today with the bright blue sky.

Ahead of schedule

By the calendar, Spring is still 17 days away. Try telling that to these pretty pink buds. Yippee!

Floral tour of the Peaks

After I got home from the gym this evening I felt compelled to venture out into the heat and photograph some of the pretty flowers around my complex (Avalon Peaks). It's amazing how many are blooming in this wretched heat, but I guess the humidity keeps them going.








This one's not a flower but I've always been fond of the curvature of these holly trees.

Gardening

Look at the teensy weensy watermelons growing in my parents' garden. So cute!


Here's one that's slightly bigger. I can't wait till it's ready to eat!


Pretty little flowers on the basil.


Check out this giant moth we saw yesterday while touring the houses being built in the neighborhood. Pretty wings, nasty furry body.



And because I would feel bad leaving you with that as your last image, here are some more of those lovely daylilies. I am ridonkulously obsessed with them. These are about 30 miles from the ones I posted a couple days ago.

Apple Chill and Flowers

Lots of things flying through my head...many of them labeled "possible blog fodder." However, I seem to run out of time every day before I get a chance to write. So, quickly.

Went to Apple Chill on Sunday, a big festival in Chapel Hill. Turns out it will be the last one. After 35 years, they are shutting it down due to violence. Three people were shot last night after the festival ended. Sad.

After Apple Chill, we swung by Fearington Village and checked out the gardens and cows. Lovely and adorable, respectively.

Spring rocks my world.


Had a murderous drive home. The bugs would be fully justified in labeling my car as a weapon of mass destruction. The windshield was a splatter-ama but it was nothing compared to my front bumper. Gross!

No, not the trees!

Route 1 is the main artery here that takes me from Apex, where I live, north into Cary and Raleigh. Ever since I arrived, and probably for the next year or more, there has been construction on Route 1 in order to widen it to eight lanes total. Currently there are only two lanes in each direction, which does cause some congestion during rush hour--although I suspect some of it is due to the construction itself, a case of the cure making the illness worse before it gets better. Anyway, I have often wondered how they would possibly fit eight lanes of traffic, since there only seemed to be room for six at most. Today I got my answer. They are massacring the trees!


This isn't the greatest shot, but it's the best I could do while speeding by, and it gives you some idea of the tractors just clearing everything away as if it is so much detritus. It's really heartbreaking as you drive along to keep seeing more and more piles of felled trees just stacked up on top of each other waiting to be hauled away to who knows where, for who knows what purpose. I know trees get chopped down all the time to make way for roads and homes, and every day entire forests are consumed to manufacture paper and two-by-fours and tables. But a) I don't see it, which makes it easier to pretend it doesn't happen, and b) one of the neatest things about North Carolina is that when you're driving on the highways, it always feels like you're in the middle of nowhere because the sides of the highways are solid trees. In the winter when most of them are bare, civilization peeks through, but in the spring and summer, you can't tell there are grocery stores and office buildings and subdivisions behind the lush greenery. Now there are dozens, if not hundreds of fewer trees along the 1, and that makes me sad.

On top of that, I am irate on behalf of the poor folks whose houses back right up to the highway. They used to have trees to block the unsightly traffic and at least partially deaden the noise, but now the houses are in plain sight with only a couple trees here and there. If I lived in one of those houses, I would be livid. Of course, I wouldn't live in one of them in the first place, because I would never buy property with a busy surface street--let alone a freeway--in my backyard, regardless of how many trees serve to buffer. So it's sympathy ire. Which will fade, I'm sure, when my commute time is halved after the widening is complete and the piles of trees are gone. As they say, out of sight.... This is why I'd make such a lousy activist.

100th post!

Hitting 100 episodes is a major milestone for a sitcom, so why not celebrate 100 blog posts?

The Odyssey is almost six months old and except for one major sticking point (someone hire me!) I'm pretty much settled into my new state. I will continue writing, however, on whatever topics move me until I have nothing left to say--or no time to say it!

But even if my life becomes boring and ceases to provide blogging material, the internet will continue to overflow with cool things that I want to share. For instance, check out this map of states I've visited:

generate your own personalized map of the USA

And then there's always the occasional amazing video. Like this news clip. (The video module is on the right side of the screen--just click play.) I am not prone to weepiness, and even I needed a Kleenex! Almost makes me miss being around kids. They can surprise you sometimes. (Thanks to Gabrielle for bringing the video to my attention.)

Another thing I miss is In-n-Out burger. Apparently I'm not alone, since even Spongebob characters have referred to its secret menu. Mmm, grilled cheese...

We're up to four participants on the postcard swap. I posted about it on the Craigslist crafts discussion forum so hopefully that will help.

And lastly, comments on the weather. Just when I was growing somewhat fond of the chill in the air, today was 76 degrees. Too perfect. Driving around I noticed tons of spring flowers on the trees. Only one type of tree, though--not sure what it's called. The rest were still bare. But the buds are a welcome sight.


I'm having flashbacks to those summer nights when I was on vacation from teaching. All the windows are open (it's after 7 pm, people, this is amazing!), I'm wearing only one layer (a t-shirt at that!) and I'm in front of the computer, surfing away with no obligations hanging over my head. Nice.

Umstead Park Hike

As promised, Umstead photos!

This state park is very large (over 5500 acres!) so I saw only a small part of it. I drove in at the Reedy Creek entrance, off the 40 freeway. You could hear slight road noise most of the time, but otherwise the hike was awesome. I could not have asked for better weather: sunny with a gentle breeze, about 68 degrees. Warm enough to be in t-shirt sleeves, cool enough to avoid feeling the least bit of swelter--even though I was "glowing" by the end of the nearly two-hour trek. According to my calculations on Google Earth, it was about 2.8 miles.


Sounds like I practically crawled, but of course I spent a lot of time taking pictures! I was actually walking at a pretty fast clip, especially in the areas where there was gravel or pavement. I encountered maybe a dozen other people, a few with their dogs. I also spotted some fairly fresh horseshoe prints, but no equine sightings. The closest I came to observing the fauna was a very red cardinal who flitted away before I could get a shot (pictoral, of course!). You can see the full compliment of photos at Flickr, but here are a few of my favorites:






In totally unrelated news, check out what happens when you type in "life in North Carolina" at Google's blog search engine. Yours truly is the top result!! (As always, click for a larger view.)


Now, it's one thing to rank highly in a search engine dedicated to blogs. But on MSN's generic search engine, I rank #9, right after the Museum of Natural Science! Not too shabby.

2/10/06 Update: While checking on my ranking today, I noticed I am nowhere to be found on MSN's search engine. Oh well. Must've been a fluke.