COMMUNITY news
Open Farm Day always brings many people to the village each year. Visitors first encountered Doug and Marianne Gates at their U-Pick where they could choose from a wide variety of apples and pears. Their farmstand also had pumpkins and squash for sale. Doug Gates spent the day giving free wagon rides and sharing interesting apple related-facts, such as that apples are part of the wild rose family and planting apple seeds is more likely to result in a rose bush than an apple tree.
This was the second year for Alex and Heather Crouse of Wood ‘n’ Hive Honey. Alex Crouse talked to visitors about the bees using a glass-sided box, often giving the kids an “Amazing Race’ Port Williams style challenge to find the queen bee among all of the hundreds of bees in the case. Fellow beekeeper Byron Crossman demonstrated the machinery that extracted honey from the combs while Heather Crouse offered guests slices of honeycomb to try. Daughters Sarah and Jenny Crouse looked after the retail end, selling not just honey, but also related products like beeswax-infused container covers, honey pots and candles.
Visitors to TapRoot Farms, owned by Patricia Bishop and Josh Oulton, experienced a multifaceted agribusiness starting with a farmstand full of produce and a plant labyrinth. As they progressed around the walking trail or took advantage of the wagon ride, visitors would see chickens, hogs, and other farm animals in their pens and a variety of crops in the fields. Roasted pork and corn were available to eat and visitors could look at baby chicks or U-Pick basil and tomatoes. Yarn and linen items made from the flax grown on the farm were on display and Patricia Bishop, wearing a linen top, gave visitors the opportunity to take some flax plants and run them through the breaker and the hackles — the first steps in the yarn process.
Photos from the day can be seen in the Village Photo Gallery.
Next week I’ll be covering Willowbank Farms.