Fall Fodder Road Trip

There’s something about the long Indian Summer days of October that makes me want to get out on the open road and see all I can see before Old Man Winter arrives. Do you like to take a drive? I love a good road trip and sightseeing! Even with gas prices what they are today ($3.50 and higher in these parts) I can still justify taking a ride! It’s in my blood!

If you feel the same way, buckle up and come with me! The Fall color we’re known for world over in New England isn’t here just yet, but I’ve got a heap’un help’un of Fall Fodder to show you, sure to satisfy every Fall lovin’ farmgirl at heart.  We’ll begin with a stop at a local nursury, (just because I LOVE how they gussy up for the season here in New England ) then we’ll go Pumpkin’ pickin’ at Billingsgate Organic Certified Farm Stand where we’ll visit with proprieters Lynn and Peter Reading.

Rouge Vif d’Estampes is a C. maxima type that is deep

red-orange, flattened, heavily sutured. It was the prototype for Cinderella’s

carriage pumpkin and is sometimes sold as “Cinderella” pumpkin.

I can’t resist driving ( and stopping ) by the local farm stands and nurseries just to get a glimpse of the abundant fall bounty!

It’s pumpkins,

cornstalks and

mums galore out there!

One of our favorite Fall tradtitions is to visit our friends Peter and Lynn Reading at their Farm Stand every year at harvest time.

My husband, Peter and Lynn went to high school together so there’s always some fun catching up to do. That’s me inside getting the Crop Report from Pete. Pete said they lost a lot of pumpkins to deer this year, and with May and June being so cool they had a slow start to the growing season. After seeing the new sign out front I was anxious to tell them about MaryJanesFarm!

I got so excited listening to Lynn tell me about her farm life I asked if she would let me share a parcel of it with my farmgirl sisters!

Lynn was beaming with pride (hmm, now that I think about it, that might have been sweat on her brow ) when she told me that they were the first farm in Massachusettes to pass the Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) certification! It’s a long list of rigorous qualifications they must meet in order to pass and they did it! They’ve added more organic produce over the last few years to meet the demands of their wholesale venders as well as savvy local consumers. It was such a pleasure to visit with them. Their passion for farming and pride in their product is admirable! And, I loved when Pete told us that they had paid for one of their daughters college tuition with Pumpkin money!

After we chatted it was time to shop! I stocked up on some mini pumpkins and gourds for decorating at home. Don’t you just love the mini Lumina pumpkins? I do!

The ” kids “ went in search of the perfect carving pumpkins!

It was after 6:oo PM by the time we rang up our lot. Just another day in the life for hardworking farmer Pete ( that’s what everyone calls him ) and farmgirl Lynn.

From their Newsletter The Harvester : Our Farm has been a family-run farm for over 200 years. When he was six years old, Pete started working on the farm with his father. He planted corn by hand and ate bread and butter for lunch. Today, along with our daugher Christie, we run the 55-acre Baystate Organic Certified farm with over 100 different kinds of award winning fruit, vegetables, and herbs. Please come by and try them for yourself at our farm stand in Plympton or at the Pembroke Farmer’s Market.

Our family eats our harvest, we hope yours will too!

Pete and Lynn

Aren’t they inspiring?

Until our next shoreline visit~

I’m wishing you all the Fall Farmgirl Fodder you can handle!

Beach Blessings,

Love,

Deb