Change is in the air…
What a fabulous summer we had! While we are still planning to enjoy several more weeks of summer weather, the kids are heading back to school and the leaves are beginning to turn. This means it is time to return to routines and embrace the changes that a new season brings. At East Hill Farm, these changes include stacking and storing the last of the hay and bringing the animals closer to the barns. Pre-school students will begin to join us for barn tours and middle school students will soon be here for Farm School. Homemade donuts are paired with apple cider to greet folks upon their weekend arrival. These weekends include tractor-drawn wagon rides to the pumpkin pile, turkey dinner every Sunday at noon, making fall a magical time of year at the Farm. We look forward to the cooler, crisper temperatures that make for exhilarating hikes, gathering around a campfire in sweatshirts and jeans, picking apples (and eventually pumpkins), and the foliage!
Even though we don’t have formal vegetable gardens, produce can be found around the grounds ready for harvest. This pumpkin patch grew near the compost bins. The herb garden behind the kitchen has delicious Spanish mint and there are tomatoes, corn and sunflowers right outside the small dining room. We continue to purchase some local produce for your enjoyment.
We will once again be participating in a statewide foliage tracking project with the New Hampshire Division of Travel and Tourism Development. Participants from different regions across the state send in foliage reports twice each week throughout the season. In these reports, we describe what colors we are seeing, where we are seeing them, what trees have begun to turn, and what percent of peak we are experiencing. Check out visitnh.gov to see foliage reports. You can also use the interactive foliage tracker to see when each part of the state is predicted to peak. You can even take the Foliage Tracker on the go by downloading the app for your smartphone!
Be on the lookout for our Facebook updates on Mount Monadnock’s foliage. We want all of our Farm Friends to experience the foliage right along with us. The best way to experience autumn at EHF is, of course, to be here in person!
What changes do YOU most look forward to this fall?