Two weekends ago while visiting M&M (Mom and her Garden Buddy,) the girls and I were invited to come along to an open house at the home and potato farm of friends of my parents. Their property, like M&Ms,' is located on one of the ancient, flattened tops of the Ocooch Mountains in southwest Wisconsin.
Their property is enchanting. There were wonderful things to look at on every path at every turn, and I did lots of exploring.
The open house was attended by a fascinating group of folks, including the hosts. The man of the house is an entomologist, and the woman of the house is a large animal veterinarian. Their young-adult sons were as interesting and interested as their parents. The whole family were wonderful hosts. The other guests were an eclectic, intelligent group of young and old folks including a used book seller, a couple of teachers, and a wedding minister. Conversations were lively, articulate, sometimes controversial, and always open-minded and friendly.
The views from their mountain top were beautiful, including this view of a neighboring farm.
During my exploration, I came across this piece of old, lichen-covered wood sprinkled with colorful leaves. It was a photo begging to be taken.
Shortly after our arrival, we were treated to a tour of the potato fields. The property is about fifty acres, and four of them are devoted to potato fields. These are not your ordinary potatoes - they're the little gourmet baby and fingerling potatoes that come in about every color of the rainbow. The potatoes are sold at a farmers' market in a larger town a ways south of here.
Please indulge me - I couldn't decide which of the two tractor shots to post, so I posted them both! I like the tractor more close up, but I liked this one with the wider vista too.Besides the screened in back porch with a beautiful forest view, (which I didn't photograph,) there were a couple of other spots on this property that were simply enchanting. I'll share more from the small potato farm open house in a future post.
Like the lichen-covered piece of wood, it's the small things we stop to enjoy as gardeners that, at least to me, make the process so enjoyable. Enjoyed the photos.
ReplyDeleteBrenda
You've described an excellent visit...beautiful scenery, learning new garden info and good company! I love the photos, especially the foliage shots...we are still waiting for the color to change and these are a welcome look at fall! Btw, those potatoes are fantastic, microwaved and sprinkled with sea salt!
ReplyDeleteGail
Thanks Brenda! Blogging has helped me appreciate even more the beauty in little vignets like that.
ReplyDeleteWe had such a wonderful time Gail. It's actually still pretty green around here too, while just a bit north of us the fall colors are blazing. I think the peak is already past up in Mom's neck of the woods.
We like those little potatoes roasted on the grill too, sprinkled with sea salt. Mom makes her own homemade garlic powder from her life-changing garlic, and that's fabulous on them too. Add a little butter. . . Yum! Delicious!
I'd love to see more of your farm shots, Linda. Gardens are all very well and, as an individual, I'd find it hard to function without one - but farms . . . well, the whole of society, the whole of our futures depend upon them. They put things in perspective.
ReplyDeleteNot only that I enjoy these pictures very much. I've been trying to workout what the big machine in the woods is . . . is it a seed harrow?
And I really like the picture with the silos on the hill top. It must be very impressive to see them like that in real life.
And the number plate - what a warm colour!
I think the very first post I ever read here was about your grandmothers (great-grandmother's?) farm.
More please!
Esther
Grand views they have on their farm with the woods filled with fall color & the lichen covered piece of wood. Look forward to more pictures from your visit to the potato farm.
ReplyDeletesounds like a lot of fun you guys had. the pictures are wonderful.
ReplyDeleteHi Esther, yes, our futures do depend upon farms. I'm encouraged by growth of environmentally-responsible farming and hope that growth continues for the sake of all of us and our planet.
ReplyDeleteI hope now that the gardening season is winding down, Mom will have more time to get some of our family farm stories posted. It means so much to me to have those stories recorded!
The farms is her area are so pretty! I'm glad you enjoyed the photos!
Hi Racquel, it's so pretty there! I've come to love the area where she lives more and more each time I visit. I can see why they chose to retire there.
Esther, p.s. - yes I think that is a seed harrow. There were several pieces of antique farm equipment there, and I wasn't quite sure what all of them even were, which made me a bit wistful.
ReplyDeleteWhat wonderful memories you have recorded here to share with other bloggers! Does your mother have a blog?
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