Farm Stroll

Sunday was the McHenry County Farm Stroll and Market. Pat and Nancy went last year, and we’d been planning to go with them this year since then. Hilda and I started at Cashmore’s Produce and Ponics. The hydroponic barn has three long shelf units with about ½” of water running along the bottom under the plants. One unit had lettuce about ready to harvest, one had plants just getting started, and one was empty. I’m guessing that the rotation might require a calendar. It would for me, anyway.

Hilda by the hyrdoponics shelves

We walked around the gardens outside as well. There was lots of spaghetti squash, kale, chard, and broccoli. There was also so much of this plant that we wondered if it was a weed or a crop. I guessed weed because there was a nearly equal amount of velvet leaf growing in that bed. It looked so familiar, but there were no flowers to help in the identification. I looked up “purple stem spiny fruit” on Google Images and came up with Jimson weed, Datura stramonium. No wonder it looked familiar. Jane and I pulled a huge clump of it out of her mom’s garden before they sold the house. It’s a beautiful flower, and a North American native, but a poisonous plant. Jane didn’t want the liability.

Jimson weed

We met Pat and Nancy at WalMart, leaving their car in the parking lot. I drove while Nancy navigated on a tablet down to Marwood-Ridge Dairy in Union. A theme of the afternoon was amazement at how close the Farm Stroll locations were. On the map, it looked like we’d have to drive all day, but we were there in 20 minutes.

It was a long walk from the parking lot to the dairy barn. We saw the girls lounging in the shade. Hilda was glad that they got to be outside between milkings. She can hardly stand the thought of cows or chickens spending all their time indoors.

Cows in the shade

The farm had free range cats as well. This young female lounged outside one of the barns. Calicos are almost all female—the gene for black or orange fur color is on the X chromosome. To have black AND orange fur, the cat has to have 2 X’s, hence a female. Unless it is XXY, a male with Klinefelter’s syndrome. Chapter 11.

Calico cat

When we saw the barn, I realized I’d been to the farm years ago when I took an Ag in the Classroom course many summers ago. The barn has the original mortise and tenon construction, held together with wooden pegs. The upper level of the barn was filled with hay. Enough hay, the guide explained, for 8 years. Hay never goes bad.

The milking operation was downstairs. We entered through the milk room and walked through the pristine milking stanchions. Somebody had been busy cleaning since the morning milking. There was also a newly-washed cow in one of the stanchions with the farmer standing next to her explaining the his 65-cow operation.

Exceptionally clean display cow

Here’s a picture of Pat and Nancy walking down the road back to the car.

Pat and Nancy walking back to the car

Our next stop was Prairie Sky Orchard. Pat, Hilda, and Nancy posed in the giant chair. A stranger offered to take a picture of all of us, but it didn’t turn out as well as this one.

Left to right: Pat, Hilda, Nancy in a giant Adirondack chair

Our only goal was to score some cider doughnuts, and they were sold out. The orchard was well maintained with all the trees espaliered (trained to fences) and meticulously pruned. Lotta work there!

Espaliered apple trees

Our favorite spot was Cherry Lane, owned by Trudi Temple, the founder of Market Day. She may be retired now. I know that Market Day was taken over by some corporation and is no longer in existence. In any case, she is not hurting for money. The property has lots of nooks and crannies with gardens, benches, and small buildings. It also has 11 arrays of 16 solar panels each with trackers. At $1K/panel, that’s $176,000 in solar alone.

This is the barn at the entrance.

Barn at the entrance of Cherry Lane Farm with chicken statues above the door

This solid stone table and benches is in front of a charming little house where the toilet is located—in the corner of a completely furnished room including a narrow bed, desk and China cabinet. So cute!

Stone table and benches in front of a little house where the toilet is

There was a huge winterized gazebo with overstuffed chairs, a wood stove, a deer antler chandelier, and game tables.

Gazebo

Pat lounging in the gazebo

Rustic chair and ottoman in the gazebo

This is how rainwater is collected in one of the greenhouses. Note the hose at the bottom for watering.

Rainwater collection in a small greenhouse

This is the largest bottle tree I've ever seen.

Bottle tree

There's a classroom, but we don't know what they teach there. Note the log ceiling.

Classroom

We saw this great spangled fritillary foraging on New England aster.

Great spangled fritillary on New England aster

On our way to the alpaca farm, we drove right passed Cody’s Farm and Orchard. We had decided not to stroll there, but I pulled over so Nancy could check on the cider doughnut situation. The entrance was confusing. I pulled it where it said, “Enter” and found that there was nowhere to go from there. I followed some tracks in the grass and ended up doing an embarrassing loop through the play area. Oh well. At least Nancy was able to get half a dozen doughnuts, one for each of us and two to take home to Dad and Terry.

The rain started blowing through in waves after we left Trudi’s . Perhaps because of that, all of the alpacas were standing in a group when we got to ALsPACAs. Al, the owner, was standing in the pen with them, talking to visitors. I learned three things by simple observation: 1) alpacas stink; 2) alpacas hum, and 3) I am wicked allergic to alpacas. My eyes still itch just looking at the pictures.

Alpaca herd

Alpaca portrait

As I walked around, I came upon a wheelbarrow full of alpaca poop, where I learned from a sign that alpaca poop is a perfect 1-1-1 and does not have to be composted like “hot” horse manure. Also, alpacas establish latrine areas, where they will poop in the same place for years.

There was one late baby among the herd. Al described it as a “love child” conceived when someone left a gate open. It was born right before Labor Day, making it about three weeks old.

Alpaca baby

In this video, you will be able to hear the alpacas humming and see the baby nursing.

We returned to WalMart to retrieve the other car. Nancy and Pat made one more stop at a horse stable. Hilda and I went home to start getting dinner ready. We had a lovely pot roast with mashed potatoes and chocolate cake and milk for Pat’s birthday. It was a nice day.