A Trip to the Farm!

by Carrie Wells, Ed.D.
The weather was nice this morning, so I decided we'd take a trip to the teaching farm at Tradewinds Park. They have pony rides, a nice playground, and a guided farm tour. This is Lydia getting ready for her first pony ride!

And here's the video:

Then we went on a guided farm tour. Lydia was so excited to see the sheep and goats!

 So toward the end of the guided tour, Lydia decided to do her own thing. She started clucking and moving her arms like a chicken while chasing the rooster. I probably should've stopped her sooner than I did, but it was too hysterical! I couldn't stop laughing.

A Day in the Country

Okay, so maybe visiting Boyton and Delray isn't really visiting the country, but it's the closest country to my house! Last Saturday, we went to Bedner's Farm, the Girl's Strawberry Patch, Harvest Time Market, and another small place that had fresh chicken eggs. So cool! I'll go through each one in the order we visited.

Harvest Time Market is actually in Lantana. During certain times of the year, they have a you-pick area, but they didn't when we visited. However, they did have a nice farmer's market, with delicious hybrid tomatoes (those huge ones they sell at Whole Foods for like $5.99/lb) for just $1.99/lb. They also have a nursery, where we got two plants for our front yard.

The next place we visited was Bedner's Farm. It's the most traditional farm in the area. They have a nice indoor farmer's market. Outdoors, they have a barbecue area with sandwiches and side dishes...and homemade ice cream that is powered by a tractor! Then, you can take a ride on a tractor/trailer to the different fruit/veggie patches. The tomatoes and strawberries were in season, so we got to pick those.

Next, we went to a nursery that had fresh farm eggs. The place also had lots of exotic orchids and other plants for sale. Oh, and the owner had two cute corgies :-)

And last, but certainly not least, we visited the Girl's Strawberry Patch. This place is so cool! The actual you-pick is located behind a somewhat run-down strip mall. You enter through an old-time candy store with fresh ice cream, cookies, and chocolates, into a world like no other. In addition to a hydroponic you-pick that has tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, lettuce, green beans, etc., there are lots of animals. Rescued birds (some that I had never seen before - parrots, peacocks, etc.), rabbits, tortoises, miniature donkeys, and more. The produce is so inexpensive and delicious. Many of the birds are free to roam or are in large cages. The animals are all fed well (mostly veggies). And there are old cars that are repainted, large cut-outs to take photos in, and areas to sit in the shade. It's such an awesome (FREE) place to visit. Oh, and sometimes...they have faeries with faerie dust! How cool is that?? After visiting the Girl's Strawberry Patch, you can go in the Boy's Market, which has a bakery, cheese from around the world, butcher, seafood, tons of produce, and delicious prepared foods. Awesome day with my family!