Amara and I have been having fun together this summer. A few weeks ago we went with some of our friends and their moms to one of the local farms to take the strawberry tour. Jenna had an appointment that day and since I had grown up on a farm they thought it would be a lot of fun for me. It was! Amara has heard lots of farm stories. She loves to hear how when I was about her age my sister and I would have contests husking corn to see who could find the most baby ears. I don’t remember eating them, I just remember the joy in finding them! I didn’t know that Amara thought my farm stories were so cool!
As we rode to the farm with her friends Amara asked me to tell them the story about my cousins barn. While I lived on a farm, my cousins lived on a FARM. One of our favorite things to do was to swing out the barn door. In my mind that barn was huge. We would climb the ladder up into the hayloft, grab hold of this big heavy rope that was knotted at the bottom and tied to the roof rafters of the barn. We would stand on that knot, hold on to the rope and swing out the barn door! They looked at me in such shock that I had ever done such an amazing thing. Amara looked at me with such pride! I may have glowed. I admitted that I had been very nervous the first time I jumped. I vividly remember yelling “One, two, three, STOP!!!!” I did it the second time and it may be why I’m not afraid of heights. I loved swinging out that door. I loved telling the girls about it.
The farm tour was so much fun for all of us. The weather was absolutely perfect. We rode in 2 trailers being pulled by a tractor. We had a wonderful tour guide and teacher. He told us about rotating the crops to help the soil and we stopped along the tour many times to sample things such as fresh pulled baby carrots.
Did you know that orange carrots are hybrids grown to have extra beta carotene? The kids thought it was so much fun to munch on fresh carrots and then get to throw the carrot tops over the side! They got to litter but this time it was OK as they learned it would all go back into the soil.
We sampled fresh cilantro and learned that cilantro has just been proven to help control insulin in diabetics. We sampled fresh green beans which were probably the least favorite of everyone. I love green beans but I do prefer them cooked. He cut fresh ears of white corn into two inch pieces and we eat the corn raw, like he said, it is the candy of the garden and was so sweet. I should have asked him if they look for the baby ears!
We learned that cutaway trees attract lots of polinators like ladybugs and bees. Now all this farm knowledge may be common to you if you live in a more rural area but it sure was fun and exciting to a bunch of little city girls and their moms and grandmoms!
But the best part of course was when the tractor stopped at the strawberry field! We learned why they are called strawberries and for 15 minutes the kids could eat all of the strawberries they could pick. I think Amara had 53?
She had so much fun finding huge ones to show me. When the tour ended each of the girls got a fresh quart of strawberries to take home.
We are definitely going back in the late fall for the pumpkin tour. Maybe we can get some much needed pointers on how to grow pumpkins!
Sounds like SO MUCH FUN! I love fresh homegrown carrots! And the strawberries – well, who does not love strawberries, and to get to pick your own, well, that is the ultimate enjoyment! Thanks for sharing!
What a great field trip! My granddaughter and I are going on a NOFA farm tour next week. Knowing about your food supply gets more and more important every day – at least I think so. Great pictures too.
Such a great time! And I can see why the kids were enthralled by your tales of your farm days! I love the photos. Amara clearly enjoyed the day.
One question: Why *are* they called strawberries? 😀
I guess there are a couple of different stories as to why they are called strawberries but the story I was told — and the one our tour guide told us was that in the old days when they didn’t have raised garden beds covered with plastic they used straw to cushion and protect the fragile berries and to help retain the moisture. Our strawberries had a nice blanket of straw in our garden back on the farm!
When I was a kid and picked strawberries at Simmon’s Farm for my first job everything was packed with straw too../ ditto in my grandfather’s garden / makes sense
This was a fun story to read! Looks like you all had a blast!
I have never eaten a raw green bean in my life ( UGH ) but I can see how corn would be good raw picked right out of the field because FRESH corn needs little cooking…
That is such a “sweet” story…and by that I mean ALL of it! – the fruit, the pretty granddaughter, and YOU! I loved reading about the barn swing! Stories like that always make me wish I grew up on a farm with a real barn. Sadly, that family farm lifestyle is fading away, and I hope ones like this are not close behind. Since everyone is stating their favorite fruit/veggie, I will say I love em all except….cilantro! ewwww!!!
Oh, I love, love, love cilantro. I just made salsa this weekend. Looks like such a lovely day. Wow, 53 strawberries, that’s a lot. Such a good experience for everyone. I heard the same story about the name. The town I live in her in Southern Indiana was once known as the strawberry capital of the world, way back in the day. Still today we have strawberry festivals.
This would be such a fun trip to take the children for me also. I’m glad you all have such fun at the farm!
What a great outing, love that they give tours so kids can learn about where our food comes from! I had a strawberry pot on the deck this summer, unfortunately my buddy the squirrel keeps eating the berries, apparently the almonds I give him aren’t enough;)
That does sound like fun! When I was a kid, I was determined to marry a farmer so I could live on a farm! Didn’t happen. I did get to go on a flashlight hike with my granddaughter recently, and she volunteered to taste a wild strawberry, which she declared was delicious!
What a fun day and great memories! My favorite part would have been picking and eating those fresh strawberries! They taste so good when they are still a little warm from the sun. It’s like eating a little bit of sunshine! 🙂
Good Morning Grandma Kc!
I would love it if you would stop by my blog at http://www.whathappensatgrandmas.com and see the gift that I have left there for you!
Best wishes!
Joyce
Fun day!
i ate so many strawberries my tummy hurt .
What a wonderful outing with your granddaughter! That is the stuff memories are made out of. I do remember the barn and spending hours playing and exploring there. I also remember swinging out on that rope a few times, but I was not as brave as you…it scared me! 🙂 You were always the brave one. Loved the story and the memories!
Love, April
I love the story about the trip to the farm. I didn’t know carrots were hybrid to produce more carotene. We get our raw milk from the farmer who keeps the cows we have a share of, so my grandson gets to visit the farm every time he comes. Today, we toured the hoop house with new calves, chickens, ducks, guineas and kittens – all close enough to pet, and the rabbit hutch. Since one of my photo books for grandchildren this year is on animals – at their request – I stopped as we were going out when my grandson shouted, “Grandma! A swan!” A beautiful day. Me, I’m a suburban gal, but I love milk.