Balance Rock Farm

So a friend of mine, having heard about my local journey, told me about another local shop called Balance Rock Farm, in Berlin, MA. And, as luck would have it, the very next day my 2YO decided that he would go ahead and forgo his daily 3 hour nap and settle for a half hour nap from which he would awake crying hysterically until I went up to retrieve him. I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth; I mean really, what's better than 2 1/2 extra hours with an exhausted, clingy, whiny, tiny 2YO that's coming down with a cold? But, I am on a mission. So despite my dream of sitting at home and entertaining said tiny person, I made the tough decision to belt everyone in the car, put on a video, and head out to the farm.

6.3 miles and 16 minutes later we drove past, did a double-take, turned around, and pulled in to a tiny little building next to an old farm house and across from a large cow barn. This was promising. I retrieved my little crew from the car and brought them inside the little shop (it didn't have an automatic door but thankfully it was open for business).

"Candy me?" asked my 2YO making a beeline for the kid-level bowl of miniature candy canes just inside the entrance.

"No, no, honey" I replied, moving to replace the fistful he had already grabbed up.

The cashier looked over and in an oh so helpful voice said, "It's okay, he can have one. That's what they're there for."

Oh so helpful.

"One," I replied

"Can I have one?" piped up my 4YO.

"No, honey you already had a candy cane from your friend's birthday party at school."

We left the candy canes behind and explored the two small rooms. They had local honey and maple syrup. They had bird seed in large paper sacks (my husband refused to buy the one at Loews in a tightly woven unrecycleable plastic bag). They also had several refrigerators filled with milk, orange juice, butter, eggs, cheese and various meats. Oh, and two large open containers of cookie-looking dog biscuits.

"No, no! Don't eat that. It's not a cookie. It's doggie food. Yucky!" I pulled the soggy biscuit away from my 2YO.

"Mommy, can I have some money?" I look over at my 4YO, standing in front of two coin-op candy machines containing M&Ms and Skittles. The candy canes weren't enough?

"No, you don't need any more candy today." I continue my perusal of the local products. Well, mostly local. The orange juice claims to be local from concentrate but I've lived in New England for quite awhile and never seen the local orange grove so I'm suspicious at best. They have some gouda cheese from a local place, and she explains that this time of year they're short on local products so they get butter and things from Cabot Farm. They're in Vermont so, not neccessarily local but could be worse.

"Mommy, there's money already in here!" my 4YO exclaims excitedly. He reaches up and grabs a little paper cup from on top of the candy machine and twists the nob. A waterfall of M&Ms pours out of the little metal door.

"Me?" calls my 2YO.

I grab another cup and split the M&Ms between them. I gain another 2 minutes to look around.

The freezer and refrigerator have a nice assortment of meats. I pick up a Ziplock bag containing two enormous chicken breasts (4.55 lbs total for $16.49), an indeterminate number of pork chops wrapped in butcher paper (2 lbs 9 oz for $13.16), and 2 lb ham steak (sorry I already cooked that and forgot to keep the wrapper with the price and I was so not going digging through our garbage for it, not even for you my loyal blog readers).

"Mommy, can we get some Twizzlers?" Are you kidding me!? I turn around to find my boys standing at a low shelf full of Twizzlers, Snickers bars, etc; a veritable cornucopia of individually wrapped sugar-highs that would invariably lead to a complete lack of interest in whatever well balanced meal I attempted to put in front of my kids at dinner time. What is it with these people and the candy?

I hustle the gang over to the little cash register and pay for our things. The lady is nice and it turns out that this is a family-run farm and she lives in the farm house next door. They have a barn full of cows across the street and as we're heading out her daughter-in-law offers to take us over to look in the windows so the kids can see the cows.

We each lift up a child to look in through a conveniently broken window, careful not to step on the shards of glass lying below. "Are there any outside?" my 4YO asks her.

"Yeah, they take turns staying in when it's really cold. Their...emissions help to keep the barn warm so the pipes don't freeze," she responded.

You learn something new everyday.

So all in all I think I have a new resource for some local foods, and if I ever run out of candy I know right where to go. I can now make beef, pork and/or chicken maple syrup with honey casseroles. I feel that I'm making progress.

My journey will continue. I am convinced that there must be a way to find local fruits and vegetables even this time of year. I mean, I don't intend to rip up our foundation and dig out a root cellar but surely someone else has one. When I find them, I'll let you know.