I promised a post on the farm tour I took on August 17th. Before I delve into the supremely wonderful day I have to apologize. I got so carried away with the farm that I forgot to take pictures! Its a travesty I know but Morning Owl Farms isn't going anywhere. I will be sure to stop by and snap pics of ducks and veggies and smiling farmer faces sometime soon.
Without further ado, here is the farm tour...
I was off by 7:30 am driving through the quiet streets of Boise listening to the powerful voice of Brandi Carlile singing along and hoping no one would notice. I fondly thought of how nice it would be to be on my bike but that farm tours were definitely more exciting than bike rides. I arrived at Morning Owl Farm a little early but sat and listened to the birds and then Mary popped around the corner with her easy grin and I was taken up in hugs and conversation. Not long after, all the other Next Level eaters arrived and the tour was on.
Mary shared with us her new cool room that she built this past year. It looks much like a walk in freezer just not as cold. We had a chance to check out the egg room where they are carefully inspected and washed before they end up on my doorstep. We moved on to the duck coop to watch the running of the ducks. No small feat considering there are about 250 ducks! You could hear the quacking even before we had finished with our egg room tour. The doors were opened and ducks exploded out, racing to see who could get to the pasture first. There were white, brown and black blurs of flapping of wings and a cacophony of sounds. It was a sight! And then suddenly they reversed course and came flooding back towards us. A coyote was in the pasture and the ducks were just not going to mess with that. Not that I blame them. Although I wonder what the coyote would think if all the ducks came running at him all at once. Mutiny against the laws of nature....now that would have been something to see. Unfortunately, Mary's ducks seem to be pacifist. :)
After the duck parade, we collected back near Mary's house to share some quiche, fruit and much needed chicory coffee. It was great to get to know the other Next Levelers that clearly looked like people I would want to know. Everyone was full of passion and conviction and was supporting Mary's farm not just solely for food. We were a group of people very much ready to declare mutiny on our messed up food system. We had all seen the movies and read the books, but had decided to take action. Many people had their own gardens at home and even chickens. It was a great sight to see and of course, Mary was in the center talking about farming and what she wants it to be and how the country needs it to be making me get fired up all over again and it was only 10 am! This day was going to be great.
After breakfast we headed down the hill to check out some vegetable beds and the green house. There were beds of beets, carrots and cauliflower all looking amazing and would soon enough be in my kitchen. Mary talked about how they plant and irrigate and how they start plants. As she talks, I am amazed at all the work this must take and its just Mary and her two farm interns Dan and Celicia. How do 3 people feed over 60? Its amazing and just goes to show what can be accomplished by a few. In my book, Mary, Dan and Celicia are rock stars!
After touring the green house, we headed back up the hill to check out even more farm goodness. There were rows and rows of peppers, tomatoes, basil and squash. Oh and even some flowers to boot! It was gorgeous and completely put my backyard garden to shame as it rightly should. How did we all get so lucky!
After lots of conversation about all things food, farm and the change needed to our food system it was time for us to pack up and head to Wilsey Ranch to check out where we get our beef and pork. I will share that adventure in part two and thankfully, I finally remembered to pull out my camera!
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