Down on the (community) farm

Raising my children only a few towns over from where I grew up, there have been many “circle of life” moments. Soccer games in fields I once played on. Pretzels from “Bob’s store” (aka Bacon Street Farm in Natick). Visits to the school playground where I split my lip.

This past Saturday I had another of those moments when we brought our kids to Maple Magic Day at Natick Community Organic Farm. A “nonprofit, certified-organic farm providing productive open space, farm products, and hands-on education for all ages, year-round” the farm invited visitors on Saturday to enjoy homemade treats and learn how maple syrup is made.

Slipping through the mud (I did not wear the right shoes), watching my kids engage with the animals and learn the history of maple sugaring, I was taken back to a day during my childhood when I took the same tour – maybe it was during a school trip, or with my parents – but I had walked these same paths and watched the sap boiling in the same sugar shack.

Munching on the most delicious snack (fresh out of a wood-fired oven), I thought about how lucky were are to have such a great resource available in our backyard, if only to remind us about how easy our lives have become. The kids talked for hours about how maple syrup was made (and how long it takes to make), and we were inspired to stop for seeds so we could start our on vegetable garden in the backyard.

The next event big event at the farm is the Spring Spectacular – An Old-Fashioned Fair for the Whole Family and Seedling Sale – in May. You can bet that we’ll be there (but this time, I’ll be sure to wear my boots!)