The Wrangler and I had to make a Big Box Store run to the 'burbs on Saturday to pick up various supplies, which got me feeling a little down. I love our farm and the small towns nearby, but I'm not too keen on some of the large surrounding cities: traffic, crowds, scrappy strip malls. I do realize that I'm starting to sound OLD. Perhaps tranquility, peace, and quiet age us faster than noise and chaos?!Today the Wrangler and I got our country groove back by taking a scenic 15-minute drive down Old Castle Road to the Bates Nut Farm. The 100-acre ranch and general store is probably the closest you can come to something like my beloved Vermont Country Store here in Southern California. The drive was incredible. Winding roads lined with coniferous trees (reminiscent of my native Minnesota), with "peeks of peaks" in the distance. As much as I'd like to bemoan the dusty, dry ranches of northern San Diego county that are so unlike the lush green rolling hills I dream of, I'm struck by the beauty in this desert landscape.
The Bates Nut Farm has spacious--and dog-friendly--picnic areas under shady trees, and hospitable ducks, geese, sheep, llamas, and goats. The ostriches and miniature donkeys are, perhaps, of the grumpy sort, as they are kept a bit beyond reach. The pumpkin patch opens in late September, so I know where I'll be getting my pumpkins this year. But next year, I'll be getting them from my own patch.
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