Farm Day T-Shirt by Nancy Polo
In May we hosted patrons of our farm for our third farm day. In the morning there was coffee from Black Dog Coffee as guests signed in under our tent. A small petting zoo was set up by Bar C Ranch for children to be able to touch and interact with farm animals. At 10am Forrest Pritchard, the farmer, introduced his family and apprentices before we headed off for a long tour of the ENTIRE FARM! With water bottles and comfortable shoes that can withstand mud, we hiked over 400 acres of rolling land. We visited all the animals in a circuit that included laying hens, meat chickens, beef cattle, sheep, pigs and a trip to our creek bottom where a grove of water loving trees was planted last year. These trees are one of the newest additions to the infrastructures on our farm to help improve stream quality for the Lord Fairfax Soil & Water Conservation District.
Phil, Claire and Kathy at Farm Day 2010
When we returned to the gardens of the main house for lunch we sat down for a picnic on hay bales and cool grass to eat some Smith Meadows BBQ. Mr. B’s of White Post, VA had cooked up our beef and pork as the heart of a hearty meal which also included greens from the farm & orchard at Sunnyside, WV. Dessert was home-made cookies, and we washed it all down with a cool glass of lemonade. Once everyone was well fed and rested our guests chose among several options for more adventure. Ruth Pritchard, whose family has owned the farm since 1816, gave tours of our historic bed & breakfast. Nancy Polo and Terri Wuenschel demonstrated how to cut pasta noodles and how to roll chocolate truffles in the commercial kitchen. Many guests made purchases from the farm store from the loading dock where we had a tent set up just as we do each week at our famers’ markets. Betsy, Forrest and our network of former apprentices and volunteers were on hand to tell more about the farm. For more on past farm days please follow this link:
Farm Day Guests at the Chicken Brooder
May is one of the most beautiful months on our farm. We hope to host many more farm days in the future. If you want to visit the farm on another day however, we are open each day from 10am-5pm. Although there are no guided tours, you are welcome to walk along our bird trail which winds through the old apple orchard. Of course, if you would like to stay longer, we also have our bed & breakfast. Here is a link for more information on how to visit Smith Meadows. The farm store is open as well from 10am-5pm each day. We look forward to seeing you!
