A car pulled in a little while ago. That's unusual for a Sunday afternoon, especially now that the farmstand is closed. It was a young couple and their baby, looking for the pumpkin patch that used to be up the road. They were disappointed that it wasn't open. Darryl had been to the patch many times as a kid. He and Heather wanted 18 month old Cadence, their daughter, to pick her first pumpkin this year. Cadence had other plans. She was sound asleep. I have a few pumpkins left. There's not much to pick from but they were welcome to what they'd like. They chose four; two traditional jackolanterns, a white Lumina and a small orange pumpkin Heather's nephew would be able to carry around.
They spotted the cow and goats in the pasture. And the ducks. Darryl did a duck-and-cover when two of the Bourbon Red tom turkeys came up from the back yard, fanned out and looking bigger than they really are, and gobbled. I laughed a little and assured him that Tom and Junior are very friendly. While we were talking Taylor came out with the house bunny. She lead us to the other bunnies. A rooster in the hen house crowed. That started our walk to the hoop house the pullets live in so that they could see them.
After lots of "this is so cool" and "Honey, I told you we need a garden next year! Now you see why!" and "fresh vegetables are so expensive" comments I decided to send them home with vegetables. After putting on my boots (I'd been stocking footed until then) and grabbing a half-bushel basket we headed for the garden. I pointed out the potatoes. They look like dead weeds. "Those are potatoes." Darryl didn't know they grow under ground. He was amazed when I reached into the soil and brought up a large red potato. I dug around until I had five beautiful, perfect potatoes, which I placed in the basket. They like carrots so we headed to the back of the garden. They'd never pulled carrots before. I was having a blast. It's not often that I run into young families who are so excited about fresh vegetables. "That's the first carrot I ever pulled!" We snapped the greens off and fed them to the cow and goats. I noticed Darryl carried that first carrot with him instead of putting it in the basket. Heather ohhh'ed and ahh'ed and talked a mile a minute. We talked about what she'd like to grow next year. I pointed out the greenhouse and invited her to visit in the spring, and that I'd send her back to her new garden with seedlings.
"Heather, we could have boiled dinner tonight. We just need to get a ham." I asked if they liked turnip in their boiled dinner. "I love it!" We walked across the garden to the row of rutabaga. We happen to call turnip turnip...and rutabaga turnip in this neck of the woods. I think maybe it's a New England thing. I chose one that looked big enough for this family of three to have enough leftovers for a second meal, and explained how to peel it easily. How about cabbage? I didn't think I had any left but they could substitute some Brussels sprouts if they like those. And they do! I showed them how to pick the sprouts. "Twist and pull." Heather repeated "twist and pull" every time she picked a sprout.
There are a few red tomatoes left on some very frost-damaged plants in one of the hoop houses. I picked three and placed them in the basket. Heather asked me if I know how much one of those tomatoes would cost in the store. I do. "That's a $3 tomato!" We headed back to the house, talking non stop. This couple enjoys good food. They cook together. Their excitement made me excited about what I do all over again. This is why I grow food. Providing food for people who know what they're eating is satisfying. We bagged up the three tomatoes, the Brussels sprouts, four pounds of carrots, the five perfect potatoes, and the rutabaga. I explained that they should wash the carrots, let them dry, and store them in the fridge. Darryl opened his wallet and asked what he owed me. Nothing. My pleasure. Honestly - it was my pleasure. I had so much fun with them. Baby Cadence never budged. What a sound sleeper. That means I didn't get to teach her how to pull carrots, but I will next time. I'm really looking forward to next time.