We (8yr old son and I) went to get the baby guineas. The drive there is just...ahhhh...beautiful...breathtaking, even. It's only like 10 miles from here, but it's like a totally different world. Definite farming country. Lush green grass, gardens everywhere with tall bountious rewards growing all over.

Signs for farm fresh eggs, a little veggie stand on the side of the road next to someones house with beautifully colored veggies and the "honor system".

So we get to the place with the guineas. I've been there before, but it's still breathtaking when you pull in. This older gentleman has angus cows, bees and all kinds of various poultry.

We pulled in and saw guineas and chickens running around. Our car woke something up under his truck. Dogs? No. DUCKS! hehe They all came running out to see us, all sorts and colors, beautiful! Their two dogs came to greet us, too (by jumping on my car! heh It was my work car, though, their claws do no damage compared to the mail boxes! hehe)

Anyway, we talked to him for a while, got our guinea babies (I ended up deciding to just get 5 instead of 10). Then my son was asking about all of the bee boxes and supplies he had in there. With a gleam in his eye, he looked and me and said "Can we buy some honey?"

Yeah, I can't resist that face and...ummm...my kids have never tasted honey before!!! I didn't know that. hehe I thought they had. ANYWAY I asked if he had any for sale so he brought me in to his small sales house (which I THINK used to be their home before they built a pretty newer one) and C got to pick out whatever honey he wanted. The prices were great, IMO, but C decided on a teddy bear for $3.00. hehe He had molasses, too and now I regret not getting any.

He told me any time I want or need anything, I know where to find them and he doesn't advertise this, but if he's not there, it's on the honor system so just go get what I need and leave the money and they'll get it.

He gave me a hug when we left. Not in a creepy old man kind of way :lol:, but I just really enjoyed the visit and I hope he did, too. :)

I forgot to say, I was asking what kind of ducks he had b/c they looked like mine, but bigger. I told him my breeds, asked him what his were and he looked at me like I was insane and said "I don't know...to me they're ducks." :lol:


*contented sigh* I need to visit more farms. Anybody up for hosting some "field trips" of fellow members? ;-)

Awww that sounds like so much fun and ahhh so relaxing. I want to move too. Not that we aren't near farms... we are in rural Wisconsin. Our neighbors on both sides own farms and work at them daily. Shoot, we have a farm right in our back yard. But it's not like that. It's all cattle. I know we have farms near us like yours. We do have a Llama Farm I've visited before... But we haven't had reason to just drive up to people farms really :lol:

*swoon*

I bought my spinning wheel from a local woman. She runs her own homestead, generating revenues by selling fibers and animal products to the locals. Her 'stead is completely fenced in and when I got there, I found a note taped to the gate; "you'll find me in the garden, follow the sound of the tiller. Close the gate so my animals don't get out."

I met all of her animals....
dairy goats with an instructional on stove top goat cheese.
chickens and some brooding, all for sale
fancy ducks.
geese...that alerted her that I was there...no sounds of a tiller.
sheep everywhere.

Out-buildings packed with vintage looms and wheels.

I left with my spinning wheel and all the raspberry bushes that I could squish into my car. :)

I wanna move too. ;)

Raspberry bushes?! *swoon*

I think we're going to head to Asheville tomorrow and visit some of the farms that sell fresh veggies. I know some of them have places you can go to and view the farm, too. I adore that kind of stuff!

I don't know about your general locations, but we get a pamphlet that the stores hand out showing farms and such, where you can get particular fruits or veggies, which one offer tours, wagon rides, wine, etc. ;-)

Sounds awesome! I am still amazed at the fact that just about every roadside stand around here still uses the honor system. Veggies, flowers, honey, syrup, eggs~ all with various boxes and jars just left out for the money. I can only think of one roadside that that I go to where the little Amish girls come a'running when someone pulls up. They are so cute and shy, it almost brings tears to my eyes how sweet they are.

I love the country. :hbeat:

C'mon by here anytime! :) If you don't mind driving up four miles of dirt road to get here, that is. ;) Right now I have plenty of kale, chard, lettuce and mesclun greens to share. Oh, and eggs, of course!

That sounds lovely! :-) My fav. place to deliver on my route is wayyyyy off the route, but it's wayy wayy off and just gorgeous, farm land, log cabin. Yeah, it takes extra time, but it's so worth it! :-)

I have been really homesick for Maine lately. The more I research gardens and animals the more I want to move back "home" :wah:

I'm missing the North badly, too. Particularly Vermont. We were going to head up there, but some things have come up and now I don't know if we will. *sigh*

I had to LOL at the "they're just ducks" comment. Sounds like my dad. He has about 10 acres & has had at different times, guinas, goats, cows, etc. And he has a huge garden, he's been farming his whole life, even when he had other jobs, too. So dh & I are just learning about gardening, this is probably our 3rd year. So we ask all these detailed questions & he's like, they're just tomatoes or beans or whatever.

He gave us some squash & I could tell by looking at it that it was two different types (one was smooth & the other bumpy) so I asked about the difference & how you would prepare it & he was like, it's squash.

I had to LOL at the "they're just ducks" comment. Sounds like my dad. He has about 10 acres & has had at different times, guinas, goats, cows, etc. And he has a huge garden, he's been farming his whole life, even when he had other jobs, too. So dh & I are just learning about gardening, this is probably our 3rd year. So we ask all these detailed questions & he's like, they're just tomatoes or beans or whatever.

He gave us some squash & I could tell by looking at it that it was two different types (one was smooth & the other bumpy) so I asked about the difference & how you would prepare it & he was like, it's squash.

we do have a tendency to complicate things huh? lol.

My dad's like that too. How come your garden is so lush? He shrugs....pig sh*t I s'pose.