Besides the standard U-Pick items they also had quite a few things to entertain the kiddos and make the trip that much more enjoyable. They had pony rides, a hay ride, a huge hay bale climbing station as well as a BBQ serving up hot dogs and sausages!
One of the things that I really loved about Andrew's Scenic Acres was all the sunflowers!! You can go there to pick a variety of berries and other produce, as well as flowers. There were sunflowers everywhere and they were so pretty. The boy-o was pretty enthralled with them and loved the "prickly" texture of the head where the seeds grow.
We decided to pick ourselves some pears and apples. There were three kinds of each sort of fruit and I think we ended up with a pretty good mixture of them all. The trees were loaded with delicious ripe fruit, and we certainly took full advantage of the "sample 3" rule employed at the farm!! Eating a fresh, ripe pear or apple straight off the tree is a sensation that everyone should get to experience.
The boy-o wasn't much help with picking the fruit, but I have a feeling he's going to enjoy eating his homemade fruit purees.
It was quite chilly out at the farm so we made sure to bundle up nice and warm. Our carrier was the perfect mode of transportation for this event since it meant we didn't have to try and push a stroller around the field, and it also helped provide some extra body heat for warmth. All the ladies that we met at the farm had to stop and smile at the boy-o, and really, with a face like that can you blame them?!
After we finished picking our fruit we stopped for a lunch break. Hubby and I had hotdogs from the BBQ and some homemade fruit juices that the farm makes with their berries. They were DELICIOUS! Boy-o looked pretty jealous of our hotdogs but had to settle for a bottle.
So all in all we had a fantastic Family Fun Day at Andrew's Scenic Acres. We picked some apples and pears, and we also bought a cooking pumpkin, an orange squash and a spaghetti squash. We used the pumpkin to make the boy-o some puree, I made the Pumpkin Toffee Muffins listed in a previous post, and we made some Pumpkin Meatloaf! So many delicious uses for pumpkin.
Part of the reason that I really wanted to go check out this U-Pick is that I'm a huge supporter of buying locally when you can, and recognizing that farmers are the people who feed us. There is an excellent organization called Farmer's Feed Cities that I highly recommend you check out! They have all sorts of helpful information and excellent resources to spread the word. Think about it, when was the last time you visited a Farmer's Market, went to a U-Pick, or checked which country your produce in the grocery store has come from?
I challenge everyone this week to look at the labels on their produce the next time they go to the grocery store. Where did the product come from? Is it in season? Is there a local alternative? Support your friendly farmers and eat local when you can. After all, our farmers are the people who feed us.
