Sunday, July 13, 2008

Tangerini’s Spring Street Farm

The nesting urge has got me feeling rushed to squeeze in a few last activities before the baby comes. So, on Friday when I got an e-mail from Tangerini’s Farm saying the pick-your-own-blueberries were ready, and Jen responded to the idea with YES YES YES!, we dragged ourselves out of bed early on Saturday to go pick some delicious, farm-fresh yumminess.

After filling only a third of my bucket, I had to retreat to the shade, where a affectionate farm-cat kept me company. Chris, on the other hand, was a blueberry-picking machine. He developed a two-handed strategy where he would grab for clusters of berries all at once. You can see in his eyes that he made a game of it. The nice lady who rang up our combined blueberry pile boggled a bit when we came in with ten pounds of berries.



Here’s Chris. That thing off in the back left of the picture is a nifty inflatable scarecrow.



The tiny wild blueberries of New England supposedly taste better, but not only were these delicious, but they were as fat as the tip of my finger, and the bushes were loaded. By comparison, the four highbrush blueberries I have planted in our yard are pitiful. Chris and I are in agreement that as a future project, we will have to plant more blueberry bushes somewhere in our yard where they will get better sun. But in the mean time, it’s really nice to have a nearby place where we can get our berry fix.



Tangerini’s Spring Street Farm is a fantastic place for families to bring their children. First of all there is ice-cream. The Maple Walnut is to die for. Then there are the different types of berries to pick, the chickens to chase, and the goats to feed. And there is a hay maze in the barn, and sometimes there are kittens And evidently there are hay-rides now and then, and a summer camp program of some sort.



And for the grown-ups, there are plants and produce to buy. The farm also does CSA’s – weekly crates of assorted produce for an up-front fee - which I would enthusiastically do, if we weren’t already growing our own garden.

The tractor-paths in the fields are open for free to walk in, and not only are the views gorgeous, but the wildlife is abundant. We have seen red-winged blackbirds, cat birds, oriels, some sort of sand piper, and pheasant. I haven’t even begun to look at the native plants flourishing around the edges, but since they seem to be an organic farm, there appears to be quite a variety.

If you live anywhere near the town of Millis, then support a great local business by visiting Tangerini’s!

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