A Visit to Clark Farm

No new recipe today! Instead, a photo recap of my visit to a local farm. 

Hungry? Check out my paleo recipes or full recipe index.

When is the last time you got to spend the day on a farm? For me it had been far too long! When I was a kid I went to farm camp and as a teacher I took my students on some fun farm field trips, but it had been a while since I'd gotten to take in all the sights, smells, sounds, and tastes of life on a working farm.

My mom and I recently went to a paleo picnic/farm tour/book signing at Clark Farm in Carlisle, MA. The event was hosted by Diana Rodgers, blogger at Sustainable Dish and author of The Homegrown Paleo Cookbook, the tome that spurred my not-yet-successful campaign to get Ben to agree to raise goats with me. Whether you're looking for homesteading advice, delicious paleo recipes, or both, that book has what you need! Melissa Joulwan of The Clothes Make the Girl and Well Fed fame, Steph Gaudreau, blogger at Stupid Easy Paleo and author of The Performance Paleo Cookbook, and Ciarra Hannah, blogger at Popular Paleo and author of The Frugal Paleo Cookbook, co-hosted the event. It was such a treat to see so many great paleo writers and fans in one place! 

The afternoon began with a tour of the farm led by Diana's husband, Andrew Rodgers, farmer extraordinaire. It was so cool to hear about the operations of the farm, from planting to harvesting to breeding.

Of course, my favorite part was taking pictures of all the animals (so much so that I did not take a single picture of the amazing food!). Is it me or are these Berkshire pigs extremely photogenic? Scroll down for several more photos of them. They were totally working it for the camera!

I always LOVE to see goats. Have you ever seen a baby goat run? If not, go find a video right now (maybe start with this one and this one). It's pretty much the best thing on earth. I just adore goats, and the ones at Clark Farm were extra adorable.

Also, the farm itself was just gorgeous. The photo below was taken from the entrance. We got there a little late (that's how my mom and I roll), so the tour had already begun. I like how this photo showcases all the green, but when you look more closely you see all the people on the tour as little pops of color below the trees.

The buildings are pretty, too!

As promised, here are the pigs again. One of them was really ready for its closeup! Pigs are pretty smart and I think it knew I was taking its picture.

The farm was also replete with beautiful flowers, from these rows of snapdragons to high walls of bright sunflowers.

Here are the goats again, because how could I not??

After the tour we settled down in the barn for a satisfying meal of skirt steak skewers, peach and basil salad, cucumber salad, beets with onions, potato salad, and gluten-free brownies. We got to hear from each one of the authors, who then signed books and just chatted with everyone. It was such a refreshing afternoon!

There was also this precious ginger farm cat, who was absolutely adorable interacting with one of the toddlers visiting the farm. So friendly and low key!

I'll leave you with one last picture of a pensive goat, looking wistfully into the distance.

What's your favorite farm animal? Have you had the chance to visit any local farms?

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