I am giving in and just saying it—it’s fall. It really is. I have been trying to live in denial but as I type this today it is totally fall weather outside. The pictures above show my fabulous mums and pumpkins (and notice that adorable pumpkin holder!) that I got at a local small family business–Anderson’s. Their selection was fabulous and I loved being able to support a nice local small town business. When the mums start really opening they are going to be amazing.
Speaking of fall–this past Sunday some of the North Iowa bloggers (no—we don’t need any excuse to get together because we just love being with each other!) went on a fabulous Fresh on the Farm Franklin County Farm Crawl. It included 3 places: Enchanted Acres, Carlson Tree Farm and Koenig’s Acres. All three places had fabulous things to share with visitors and I am so impressed with what Franklin County, Iowa does. Of course I had to do a little collage of my day.
Who doesn’t love turkey, goats and chickens??? There was so much to see at each place it was hard to take it all in at times but we did our best. There were yummy foods to sample, wines to taste and vegetables, fruits, jams, flour and meat all for sale. All in all I would say it was the perfect day with the exception of those pesky biting minuscule pirate bugs. I don’t know who invited them but I wish they had not RSVP’ed.
When I got home I spread out some of the spoils of the day and thought you would like to see some of the great items that were for sale at the various places.
The overview:
Some unique and tasty jellies from Amazing Grace Milk Shoppe
Pumpkin Butter and some tasty dips from Enchanted Acres
Some amazing locally grown, harvested and milled whole wheat flour from Cathy’s Country Cook’n
This weekend I am going to be part of the Franklin County 3rd Annual Harvest Bloggers Tour. I am dragging Mr. Diamond along. (If you are new to the blog and don’t know who Mr. Diamond is click here) I am so excited to be a part of this and can not wait to see what this great county has to show us this weekend.
It is sponsored jointly by the Franklin County Farm Bureau and Franklin County Tourism (@HamptonIowa1). The weekend will include staying at Country Heritage B& B, tours of various facilities including Latham Hi-Tech Seeds, Reeve Electric Association Plant,Franklin County Historical Museum, an evening at Windsor Theater and much, much more. Did I mention COMBINE RIDES????? Yes! That in and of itself is enough to make me giddy!!!
Next week I will be highlighting Franklin County, Iowa in my posts and am excited to be able to share with you all that I am going to encounter this weekend. The added bonus is that Jeni of Jeni Eats and Donna of DonnaHup.com will be there as well so our North Iowa Bloggers group will be well represented as well as having the opportunity to meet some other bloggers.
So tune in next week and share all things Franklin County with me. Thank you to this great county for sponsoring this and providing me with a lot of blogworthy posts!
Bonus Pictures
Picture by Jennifer Flaa
One of the many goats at Enchanted Acres
So you need a pumpkin or gourd? Enchanted Acres can direct you to the perfect one!
Shannon Latham loves her chickens from Hoover’s Hatchery (Oh yes–I still need to do a post on THAT trip!)
Bruschetta at Carlson Tree farm made by some great young ladies!
More pumpkins and gourds for sale at Koenig’s Acres
