Gordon Dossett Tourist at home | North Meadow Farm: Tours, cheese and a Flemish Giant | Local News
Do we locals ever act as tourists at home? A tourist dives into some of the best spots of a place, eager to experience what it has to offer. Too often, we locals — ok, I’ll speak for myself — too often, I settle into a routine and skip the places tourists travel hours to seek out. I decided to be a tourist in the Northshire, and see what I was missing. This article is part of an occasional series.
Saint Colette could talk to birds and attended church with a baby lamb. When Saint Francis Jerome preached, oxen and horses knelt to listen. Saint Brigid nurtured a wild boar and a cow followed her wherever she went. Saints seem to have vanished generations ago, but among many local farmers deserving sainthood, I’d include Lysa Cross of North Meadow Farm. She tends to: Flopsy, the Flemish Giant Rabbit; Magic, the farm’s first rescue sheep; Gronk, the stud for a herd of heifers; and hundreds of other creatures roaming the farm. She tends to her animals, yes, but it’s not too fanciful to imagine a huge holiday table at the Cross home, animals all around it, with her presiding. She easily recalls that Oscar “came from a very loving lady who got cancer and couldn’t take care of her sheep.” That lady had placed all of her flock, except Oscar, and “of course, [Lysa said] I’ll take him.” Daffodil is the daughter of the farm’s first goat, “who passed away this summer.” Jeff came to North Meadow very skinny, but “we found bunnies love rolled oats” — and not just any rolled oats but Bob’s Red Mill, and “then of course [all the rabbits] had to have rolled oats” (fancier oats than I eat for breakfast).
North Meadow Farm is a hybrid. First off, it is a place where visitors and locals can pop in and see (mostly) friendly animals, always in a safe setting. On winter weekends, the farm is a good option for non-skiers in the family and kids, who can see animals and warm up with hot chocolate and smores around a…
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