Down On The Farm

Last week, Martin and I visited Loma Vista Farm, a local, real live farm, right here in Vallejo. It's a venture between the Vallejo School District and Friends of the Farm, a non-profit, community based organization. The day we were there, we arrived as a field trip of over 100 kids was just leaving. It was obvious, from the general din and commotion, they'd all had an exhilarating morning, and, after our visit, their excitement was easy to understand. It was probably the first time most of the children had seen 90% of the things they'd just experienced.

Since my main purpose in visiting was to see the greenhouse, that's where we began...




I was absolutely blown away at its size, and the amount and variety of things growing therein. And, (Oh, rapture!) much of it was for sale!!! I bought a gorgeous bromeliad, a cactus and a succulent, a varigated-leaf nasturtium, and a catnip plant, which has already nearly doubled in size! I can hardly wait to harvest and dry the catnip and make some toys for our fur kids.

Of course, every greenhouse needs a resident cat - here's "Spirit" (so named because he and his camera-shy sister, Pumpkin, first showed up on Halloween.)

All around the grounds are various vegetable patches and orchards...
Here's a gourd garden...

And here's the "Pizza Garden"... full of tomatoes, garlic, onions, basil, oregano, etc... Yum!

A wonderful assortment of animals lives on the farm...

I kept my distance from these guys, since one of the worst beatings I ever received in my life was from my grandmother's gander, Cicero...

The din in the poultry yards was almost as deafening as the children, including from this guy, who gave us a wonderful gobbledigook serenade every minute or so!




Martin had never heard the song of the Bovine before, so was absolutely delighted when this guy repeatedly bellowed for us!

And here's Rita, the head farmer, who keeps everything running smoothly. Rita got her degree in Horticultural Therapy, then came to the farm as an intern years ago, and never left. What a happy accident leading to a rewarding and wonderful life! Thanks, Rita, for a fun afternoon!