Pamela's Joyful Life

Lessons from the Zoo

2009-09-22T18:37:00.010-05:00

Most people go to the Zoo when they are a small child, me that wasn’t the case. The only Zoo I got to see was the one running around on my farm! I know some of you are are shaking your head right now and thinking-no Disney movies, no vacations and now no Zoo! What kind of childhood did you have?!? I had a great one and wouldn’t change it for anything. It was spent mostly outdoors with some PBS mixed in rollie pollies and mud pies.

Elephants love plaing in the mud just like I do!

Not long ago, I went to the Nashville Zoo with Jeremy. The funny part about this is I acted like a little kid! My favorite parts were watching the elephants and giraffes. The elephants had the biggest and floppiest ears ever! They liked to play in the water to cool off and one really like playing with a log. The elephant playing with the log reminded me of a dog palying with a stick. The giraffes just fascinated me. They were beautiful in a unique way. Maybe it was their spots and the color of the spots. Their long necks reminded me so much of the plant eating dinosaurs! If you combined an elephant and a giraffe you would have a dinosaur or just something out of a scary movie.

How's the weather up there?

What made me laugh, then sad was the farm animals at the zoo. I laughed cause farm animals are just ordinary, every day animals to me and why would they be at the zoo? Then I realized that the little kids around me and their parents had never seen farm animals in person before. They (kids and parents) were calling a cow a horse and a sheep was a goat and a goat was a sheep! This really made me see that we need to better educate public (not just kids) about where their food comes from.

A cow is not a horse......

One of my favorite things about the Nashville Zoo everything reminded me of the animals natural habitat. When I was walking, sometimes I would forget that I was in a zoo! All of the animals were fun to watch. When it stops raining you should take a day and enjoy the jungle...zoo!

How many birds can you count?

Next time you go to the Zoo make sure to stop by the farm animals section and listen to what people say and don't wait 20-something yrs to go see all the wonderful animals!

Life is Just Peachy!

2009-09-16T20:27:00.008-05:00

This blog is coming to you a little late, but it’s too sweet not to write about. When I was a little girl my Pa’s favorite snack seemed to be peaches. So, I was looking forward to visiting a few peach orchards and then I got sick. Luckily, the Friday before I got sick I went out to Pratt’s Orchard. It’s located right off the interstate. You can actually see the peach trees driving down I 65!

Farmer Jack Pratt weighing freshly picked peaches.

Peach trees surround their farm. If one wanted I am sure they could get lost in the trees (note to self peach orchards could be the new cornmaze lol!). The peaches were huge and looked perfect. It was hot, but people were coming out by the carloads to pick peaches. After I tasted one I knew why-JUICY. All the rain this summer made these peaches have the sweetest and juiciest taste ever! Good thing no one took my picture because I had it dripping down my chin!

Picture Perfect Peaches!

Seeing that I was going home to West TN, I decided to get a basket full of ripe peaches from the Peach House. The Peach House is where you can buy pre picked peaches. After talking to my mom we decided to make Peach Preserves. Canning is one of those little things I was very fortunate to have grown up around. Making peach preserves is very easy. The hardest part was keeping my dad from eating all peaches! My dad said it was the best peaches he had eaten in a loooong time, basically since the orchard on our farm got bad disease and the trees died.

Try these on a biscuit! Yum!

It’s too late for you to go out and get peaches from TN. Peach season starts June 1st, make sure to write it down on your calendar! To get more info on Pratt's go to PickTnProducts.org .

I am back and blue!

2009-09-01T16:41:00.011-05:00

I am back!!! Sorry, for being such a blogging slacker! This past month I have been super duper sick and I am just now catching up on "real" work, so I can blog. Even though I have been a sick little girl, somehow I have been able to still have a few adventures......These next few blogs will be a step back in time and I will update you to the present happenings of my crazy life.

First, lets go back before I was sick to a farm visit and photo shoot I did at Blueberries on the Buffalo farm. Left Nashville bright and early to get to Lawencburg around 7:00am. This way we could get some great pics before people started to get there and before it got blazing hot!

Drew getting the "berry" perfect shot!

When we got there we were greeted by the farmers Dan and Debbie in front of their big red barn. They are a Pick Your Own Blueberry patch, which was beatuiful with the dew still on the bushes in the early morning light.

Blueberries still on the bush

Truthfully, I wasn't a big blueberry fan. I love blueberry muffins, but not eatting blueberries by themself. They always had a tart taste that I just didn't like. Oh, how I became a lover of blueberries after this visit. These farm fresh berries tasted soooo good! I was amazed the difference in the taste of these berries straight from the farm and store bought. If you ever have a chance to eat blueberries straight from the farm-do it! yummm!

Dan holding blackberries

Being a farm girl, I have ate and picked my fair share of blackberries. They are everywhere on my farm, so when Farmer Dan asked if I wanted to taste their blackberries-I was like sure. Never did I realize that these blackberries came from a THORNLESS bush and was huge. They were nothing like my little fence row blackberries! Of course they tasted yummy as well.

The BIGGEST blackberries ever!

If you are looking for a nice country drive head down to Lawenceburg and pick you some berries for your trip home!

Great Burgers, Steaks, and Friends Hidden in Small Town Tennessee

2009-07-01T18:16:00.008-05:00

When you go to college and live in the dorms there is a huge chance that you are going to get a weird roomie. For me, I was very fortunate that my new roomie would be someone that I would become great friends with. Even though, Leah and I were from two different sides of West TN we already knew each other. We met the summer before our senior yr of high school at Volunteer Girls State. Then a mutual friend of ours told me she was looking for a roomie and I was needing one. We were freshmen roommates and friends ever since.

Lately, I haven't been making it to West TN to hang out with all my friends due to work travels, etc. It had been about a year since I stayed in Lauderdale Co with Leah. LC reminds me a lot of where I come from with it being small and rural. While I was in LC I went to a wedding, and to two different dining spots.

Big Daddy's Diner in Gates

We ate lunch at a little place called, Big Daddy's (formally known as Miss Evie's) in the big city of Gates (j/k). First off i like this place cause it is half gas station, half store, and half restaurant. The outside looks like an old country store. Inside the restaurant part there is all kinds of Elvis memorabilia, old licence plates, and old farm equipment. According to Leah everything is good, so with that I ordered a cheeseburger with spicy fries. I was craving a big juicy burger and this hit the spot. It was fun just eating and getting to hang out.

I think Leah likes the burger!

After the wedding, we went to Chisholm Lake. It's restaurant and I really can't tell you how to get there, even though I have been many, many times. You have to go through Nankipoo (trust me I can't make this stuff up), turn right after the Pic Sweet Fields, go down long road till it turns into a gravel road, somewhere you turn by the big tree (that use to have a sign, but got stolen)........basically it's in the middle of no where and it's on stilts. Enough about getting there lets talk about the food! You have the chose of steak or crab legs. Yep, a very simple menu. I always get steak and its huge! They cook it a medium rare perfect. Make sure if you go to bring cash, cause they don't accept credit cards. Bring a big group and stay late. There is always fun at Chisholm Lake!

Leah and I at Chisholm Lake.

Spending time with Leah was a lot of fun and I am kicking myself for not making time to hang out with my friends like I should. I can't wait to get back to LC and to hang out with my girly!

Stop and take a look around-You might see someone you know!

2009-06-24T17:12:00.009-05:00

Have you ever been driving down the road and thought to yourself that the place you were passing on the side of the road looked like a neat place to stop? How many of you then actually stop? Well last week I was being guided by my GPS and came across two really neat antique stores. The first one I stopped at had all kinds of neat old treasures. They had old quilts, furniture, magazines, and old family photos (which I thought was weird and sad). I found a few cute items including pig and sheep ordainments, a birdhouse made of an old TN license plate, and an old Boy Scout book in really good condition published in 1911.

With all of my new/old purchases I was heading back to Nashville when I saw the Cumberland Mountain General Store. It just looked like a place I just had to see. Once I walked in, it was like a time warp. There was so much cool old stuff, it was everywhere.

Cumberland Mountain General Store

While I was looking around I picked up some items that I wanted to buy. These included numerous old flour sacks, an old canister set, a corn maze sign, and a 1920 book on cattle diseases. When I sat them on the counter, the girl standing beside me said my name. Shocked I looked up and it was my friend Jenifer. It is such a small world! She actually worked there in the back in an old soda fountain shop. It had just closed for the day, but she let me go back and take a look. It looks just like the soda shops in the movies where the girls are wearing poodle skirts! While I was there I had to get a scoop of chocolate chip ice cream.

Time warp back to the 1950's

This time last year Jenifer and I were in Europe together!

Once I told my mom about this place she wanted to go. So, this weekend we are going to load up in the mini van and make the trek over to Clarkrange, TN. To see more about Cumberland Mountain General Store watch them on Tennessee Crossroads
http://wnpt.org/productions/crossroads/2009_jun.html .

The owners are super nice!

Christmas in July and Pig inside a General Store

2009-06-23T20:02:00.010-05:00

Farm visits are one of the best things about my job. I love going out to a farm and talking to farmers. Recently, I went out to Sycamore Springs Christmas Tree Farm. It is located close to Allardt home of the Pumpkin Festival where they weigh in the largest pumpkin (I hope to go this year!) The family I went to visit is the Pennycuffs and I worked with their daughter Kacie in tourism. Such a great family! The visit was probably one of the best/most fun I had ever had.

Kacie making the best lunch ever!

The farm is a start up Christmas tree farm which means they won’t have any trees ready for sale. They are going to sale some vegetables with the main focus on fall. They have planted pumpkins and Indian corn. Being so close to the Pumpkin Festival they are thinking about having bluegrass music and their own pulled pork that weekend. They have had to battle quite a few elements since beginning their agritourism venture. The drought hit them hard and they lost a lot of trees, they battle the wildlife over their vegetables, and a few weeks ago a tornado. A tornado came right by their house and took out part of their retail shelter they had help building with TAEP funds.

Future Christmas Trees!

After the farm visit I got an inclusive tour of were they live. We went to Alvin C. York’s home and across the road is a beautiful old grist mill. Then we went to the Bible School he built. After he built the Bible School he worked to have a high school built and it is called the Alvin C. York Agricultural Institute. This school has the largest high school campus in the US.

We stopped by a store called Forbus. Here, you walk past large wooden statues of Indians to open a door to the past. The first thing I noticed was the smell of fudge, which I got to sample. The chocolate fudge is extremely good. This place is not just known for its fudge, but for the people who come here on a daily bases. Older gentlemen come and play a card game called Pig. This is apparently a big deal, because its been on ESPN. We walked to the back and sure enough there were at least ten men wearing overalls playing Pig!

Play Pig at Forbus General Store

It was a great day with great people!

Workshops and Wineries

2009-06-18T20:44:00.005-05:00

With work I travel a lot to workshops and conferences. This week I went to Baxter, TN for the Tennessee Sustainable Tourism Workshop. You are probably thinking what in the world is in Baxter and what is sustainable tourism? The workshop was held at Delmonaco Winery and Vineyard in Baxter. Sustainable Tourism is sustaining the environment, culture and heritage of a region while at the same time sustaining the economic growth through tourism. I am involved because agritourism has always been sustaining the environment and the rich farming history of our state since the first pick your own. They are doing four workshops across the state and this was the second. To find out more about what Tennessee is doing about Sustainable Tourism go to http://www.tnvacation.com/sustainable/ .

Delmonaco Winery and Vinyard

Inside the winery

The workshop couldn’t have been at a prettier place! Delmonico Winery and Vineyard is gorgeous. It’s also huge! That’s how they were able to host a workshop of 100 people. They host all kinds of events from weddings to corporate parties. When you stop by make sure to try the Muscadine and Blackberry wines. I hear they are really good. They have wine tastings everyday and on the weekends they have concerts. What fun would it be to bring a picnic, sit among the vines, and listen to live music! To find out more about Delmonaco Winery and Vineyard go to http://delmonacowinery.com/default.aspx

The vineyard

Flippin Out About Floating the Buffalo

2009-06-18T19:29:00.009-05:00

My parents are very strict compared to other parents when I was growing up. For example, I had to be in bed on week nights by 9:00pm no matter what. One thing that they wouldn’t let me do that always made me so mad was floating the Buffalo. The Buffalo River is very close and all of my friends would go during the summer. Fast forward to now and my brother wanting to go spend the day on the Buffalo with our nephews.

My nephews, my brother, and me before floating on the Buffalo

When the morning came for our trip I was so, so excited! I had waited so long to get to spend a fun and relaxing day just floating along. We took two canoes. We put the first canoe in and it went floating down the river without a hitch. Then came our canoe with three people in it. Within seconds of getting in the canoe we were flipping over into the very cold water. My oldest nephew had trouble keeping balance in the middle and flipped us. This is the first of many times our canoe flipped. I will give you a a brief overview of our flippin good time of flippin the canoe.

Tyler livin it up on the Buffalo!

So, everyone thought it would be fun to splash me with water. When I went to splash them back my oldest nephew screamed like a little girl and flipped us over. Flip three and four were kind of scary. We came to a fork in the river and my oldest nephew (do you see a trend) wanted to take the left side which looked a little bit more difficult than the right side. It was going good until we ran smack into a dead tree and flipped over. Once I was in the water the current kept sucking me under the tree. When I was able to get free my nephew threw me a life jacket after I informed everyone I couldn’t swim. The fourth flip was when we were trying to get the canoe to land so we could get in. It hit a tree and flpped over and hit me in the head! That’s not even the worse part. The lifejacket strap got caught around my neck!

My brother just floating along!

Now, I have talked all about the scary flips, but it was a lot of fun. We stopped and did some swimming. We also stopped and had a lunch that consisted of turkey and soggy bread. My nephews loved the soggy bread so much they ate the entire loaf, weird I know!

Never ride in a canoe with Bo!!!

Guess, now I realize why my parents were so hesitant to let me float the Buffalo. One thing that I know that I is the next time I will wear a real life jacket and not to be in the same canoe as my oldest nephew!!! We lost 1 paddle, 1 chair, 1 sunglasses, and 3 flip floppies. I gained 15 bruises and a fun Saturday!

Can I Order Sweet Potato Fries and Toliet Paper?

2009-06-15T20:58:00.005-05:00

There are so many neat, hidden little restaurants in the Nashville area. My friend and former co-worker, Jane came to town to visit. It was such a busy weekend, I only got to see her for lunch on Saturday. We had lunch at Puckett’s Grocery and Restaurant in Franklin. It was a great time getting to hang out with her and my other friends.

Jane, Wendy, Jan, and I at Puckett's in Franklin

When we drove through downtown Franklin, there were people walking everywhere. It was like a scene out of a movie where all the townsfolk are having a great time in the town square.

Puckett’s Grocery and Restaurant is really a unique place. Just like its name states it is a restaurant and a real grocery store. When we sat down the first thing I noticed were the shelves around the restaurant filled with all kinds of different items like, toilet paper, Jiffy Pop, and washing detergent. I thought it was just for looks, but if you want to buy the toilet paper you can!

The food was yummy too. We had sweet potato fries, a true southern favorite. For lunch I had the Strawberry Field Salad with Strawberry dressing. Puckett’s is known for their hamburgers and next time I will have try one. They also, have a stage for local talent to perform concerts.

This summer, I am going to make it back to downtown Franklin and explore all the neat little shops. It will make for a fun day walking around and enjoying the beautiful downtown Franklin. If you are down in the area make sure you stop by Puckett’s Grocery and Restaurant and order some sweet potato fries!

Nashville is for the Birds...

2009-06-10T17:00:00.006-05:00

When friends come to stay with me in Nashville it means one thing- an excuse to go out and have fun! This past weekend there were two different weddings going on and we had a house full. Megan was our party coordinator for Friday night. She called me up and asked “What do you think about going to the Bluebird Café?” My answer “Yes, get us tickets ASAP!”

Once again, you would probably have thought I had already been to one of Nashville’s top hot spots. You and the lady from England, who had planned on coming to the Bluebird a year in advance. In her British accent she told me all the places in Nashville and Tennessee she had been. Talking to her made me a little embarrassed, because I haven’t been to half the places she spoke about. This conversation has made me determined to become a tourist in my on state and actually visit all the wonderful attractions Tennessee has to offer!

Lauren and I standing in front of The Bluebird Cafe

Just going to throw this out there, but the Bluebird was nothing like I expected. Which if it was I wouldn’t have much to write about! First, when we pulled up I was very confused. We were at a strip mall. There was an insurance company, a paint store, and a store with a cool red lamp for sale. On the very end was a canopy that had Bluebird Café on it with people standing outside. We were met by a very lively man with a cane who checked our tickets and sent us in. I recommend calling ahead cause they sell out fast and it was a sold out night.

Picture may not be great, but the music was!

The room is very small and we had really good seats in the pews. They have a few random church pews that you can reserve. In the middle, the songwriters sit with their guitars and keyboard. People were sitting right next to the songwriters. They songwriters went around and each told a story about the song they have written and then they played it. Some of the songs were hilarious, some I had never heard of, and some if I turned on my radio I could hear it now. Scott Sanford, Lisa Shaffer, CJ Watson and Dani Carroll were the songwriters. They had written hits for Garth Brooks, Brad Paisley, David Cooke, and Martina Mcbride.

Inside the Bluebird Cafe

Wow! The music was awesome and I love hearing the songwriters tell stories of how they came up with the song or about who recorded it. We had such a good time! I want to kick myself for not being like the British lady and planned to come hear were country songs are born! It was only $10.00 to get in and it was better than some concerts I have paid $50.00 for. Don’t be like me and just wait around till you have visitors to go to the Bluebird, it’s too much fun to wait around for!

Fun times!

Does Anyone Want This Last Bite of Hotdog?

2009-06-09T18:22:00.005-05:00

Living in Nashville has its pluses and negatives for me. The only real negatives is not living on the farm and not being closer to the ones I love. Right now, I am on my deck in Nashville and if I close my eyes just enough I can hear the sounds of the country. The cows in the pasture, the goats wanting to be fed, birds singing, squirrels acting like silly squirrels….

The positives of living in Nashville is there are a lot of different activities to occupy your time. Take for instance the Sounds game I went to last week. I have been living in Nashville for two years and never went and cheered on the Nashville Sounds. A group of the fun Aggies in the MTN area have started hanging out at least once a month (Thanks, Kim!).

Kelsey and Melissa enjoying a ballpark hotdog!

When we got to the ball game it was rainy and cold. It could have been coming a hurricane and these hard core fun havers would had sit it through! My first question was who were we playing? The answer was the Iowa Cubs. This just made me laugh. I may haven’t seen the Sounds play before, but I have cheered on the Iowa Cubs before. A few years back I interned in Iowa and we would go to the games. I caught myself accidently cheering on the Cubs. Opps!

I love that the scoreboard is a guitar!

The game was fun and the Sounds won (Sorry Cubbies). What made it fun was getting to hang out with all my Ag friends that I don’t get see that often and meeting new people. So, it took two years for me to go to my first game and I am already planning to catch one real soon!

Susan, Mel, Me, and Kelsey all smiles at the game!

Flashbacks of Governor's School for Agriculture

2009-06-08T16:35:00.009-05:00

Last week, Tennessee Governor’s School for the Agricultural Sciences 2009 class stopped by the Department of Ag. This was very exciting for me, because I was a councilor for the first TGSAS in the summer of 2004. When the students got of the bus for their tour of the Department, all I could do was smile and think of the fun times I had five years ago. Never did I imagine that some of the students I was a councilor for would end up being some of best friends and sorority sisters.

2004 TGSAS Class when I was a councilor

TGSAS is held at the University of Tennessee at Martin for four weeks during the summer. Thirty-two of the state’s top agricultural students get hands on experience of the diversity of agriculture. Through this educational experience they earn college credit and get to travel across the state and out of state to learn about agriculture.

Tom Womack talks to TGSAS about the history

of Ellington Agriculture Center

After the students got off the bus they were welcomed by Deputy Commissioner of Agriculture, Terry Oliver and Public Affairs for Agriculture, Tom Womack. They got an overview of the different departments that make up TDA and the history of Ellington Agriculture Center. The students got a chance to tour the Moss Building (a beautiful plantation house, where the Commissioner of Agriculture’s office is located) and the Agriculture Museum. While they were touring I got a chance to catch up with some of the councilors and to hear the latest about UTM.

TGSAS pose for a picture at the Tennessee Dept. Ag

TGSAS is a great program and it is an honor to be selected to participate. The educational benefit of this program is amazing. If you want to find out more about TGSAS or know someone who would like to apply for next year go to http://www.utm.edu/departments/caas/tgsas/.

Flippy Floppies in FL and SHARK!

2009-06-03T17:53:00.012-05:00

Most people grow up taking family vacations. Well I am not most people. The first time I went to Gatlingburg was to State FFA Convention my freshmen year of high school and I have yet to go on "vacation" there. My parents are older and did the family vacation thing with my brother and sister. Now this is not a sob story of how deprive I was as a child (actually I was probably spoiled), but to show you why I love to travel. One place I always wanted to go was the beach. Now just to set things straight I have been to beaches before, but not one in Florida.

Heather, Me, Allie, and Lauren on the beach!

When the opportunity came about to take a short trip to the beach I jumped on it. Like most trips, it started out as a large number of folks going. It ended up being four of us girls, Lauren, Allie, Heather, and I. After I picked Heather up from the airport (she had been in China for 2 wks) we headed to Destin, Fl. We left around 11:00pm and got there around 7:30am. Yes, we are crazy!

Heather went straight from China to the beach!

The beach was beautiful and our condo (Thanks, Miss Beth!) was really nice. One thing that always scared me of the beach was not sharks or jellyfish, but being bored. I like adventure and doing/seeing new things. So, I packed books and magazines to occupy my time. The days went by fast on the beach and we always planned what we would get into at night. SEAFOOD was always top priority at night, then shopping, and going to AJ's- not always in that order.

Our waiter saved the day, by fixing Allie's car!

To fill my adventurous side, we decided to go parasailing. This was something that sounded fun and I hadn't ever done before. One problem, I am afraid of heights! Yikes! After being drug out of the car we got on a boat with crazy driving captain. The boat ride was exciting, until I realized I was going to go 800 ft in the air! Allie and I went up together and what a pair we were. She was afraid of going under the water and I was afraid of being in the air! Once strapped in and flying across the ocean, I was glad I had not chickened out. While we were up there we saw a shark, which was the coolest part about the parasailing trip.

Heather and Lauren didn't see the scary shark!

Being from Tennessee, we decided to go hunting the last night in Destin. There was no need to wear orange vests or take a shotgun. All you need is a cute little pink hardhat and a cup to go crab hunting. This was yet another new experience for me and it was a lot of fun. We had trouble finding the little crabbies at first. I am sure it had nothing to do with us laughing and being loud. Then we saw them everywhere and chased them all over the beach!

The killer crab we caught and me.

My first time at the beach is defiantly not going to be my last. I recommend taking along your best friends and don't be afraid to try new things!

Fun times!!!

A Little Bit of Chicken Fried

2009-06-02T18:24:00.006-05:00

Just recently my one of my roommates, Emily, and friend Jason went to Memphis. This was not a fun road trip like I normally have. This time it was for a funeral. It was a very sad day and the trip down there seemed to take forever. Right now, I am going to skip over half the day to the ride home.

It was after 2pm and we were all starving and a little lost. Jason suggested we go to the restaurant Bigfoot, but it was downtown and we didn't want chance getting in traffic. He had watched an episode of Man vs Food and they ate fried chicken somewhere in Memphis. We made a few calls (seeing that we had no idea what this fried chicken place was called or located) and found out it the name of the restaurant was Gus's Famous Fried Chicken. It was right outside of Memphis off I-40 in a ittty bitty town of Mason. There is no signage off the interstate, but it was easy to get to.

Jason made the comment that if this was not good chicken, I could pour my glass of sweet tea on him. When we drove up, I was almost positive he was going to get a bath of sweet tea. The place didn't look at all like it did on TV and it was really small. We walked in and it was deserted, but it was 2:30pm. We sat down in the homey little restaurant and ordered. When I got my sweet tea wasn't impressed. With my mind made up, I just knew the chicken wasn't going to be good.

Jason and Emily playing with their food!

Oh, how I was wrong! It was the spiciest and juiciest fried chicken I had ever had! We all ordered the two piece white meat chicken dinner. It came with french fries and white bread. The sweet tea was not the best, but the chicken defiantly made up for it. Gus's Famous Fried Chicken is a must stop for anyone who likes fried chicken. The next time I am going to Memphis, I will be stopping in Mason.

Gus's Famous Fried Chicken has a spicy taste to it.

The Family Secret to Great Sausage....Mud Pies

2009-05-26T22:11:00.010-05:00

Going home to my farm makes me so happy. My family has been farmers as far back as we can trace. My fifth or so great grandfather actually delivered beef from his farm to George Washington and his troops. Today, farm fresh meat is all the rage. Over a year ago my dad and I started making sausage form our pigs. We sell it retail at my dad’s gas station. My dad also, sells tenderloin and biscuits from our pork. In the summer we have some of the best BBQ sandwiches you have ever tasted!

This is my Pa with some of his pigs many yrs ago

Our pork comes from our corn feed, registered Hampshire pigs. We cut it up so it will be easier to put into the grinder. It comes out of the grinder all nice and mushy like. This is perfect for mixing in the Bartholomew Family Recipe Seasoning. The secret to making the perfect sausage is the seasoning and the mixing of the seasoning. When I was a little girl I played for hours making mud pies. Mixing the seasoning into the ground pork is like playing in the mud-cause you are going to get real messy!

Fresh pork coming out of the grinder

Making sure I put the right amount of seasoning

One day my dad and I might expand into selling farm fresh beef from our farm.....following in the footsteps of my ancestors! To find out where to find farm fresh meat in your area go to http://www.picktnproducts.org/ .

Chocolate Milk and a Moon Pie

2009-05-24T13:07:00.008-05:00

One of my favorite things in the world is chocolate milk. When I was a little girl my Pa would go to town and get me some chocolate milk (not an RC cola) and a Moon Pie almost every afternoon. The chocolate milk wasn't in plastic bottles, but in the carton. We would warm up the Moon Pie in the microwave and share it. Then wash it down with the chocolate milk. Sweet memories!

Whole Milk and Chocolate milk from Hatcher's Family Dairy.

This past week I had the opportunity to go to the Hatcher's Family Dairy in College Grove, TN. I have been out there numerous times for work. The Hatchers have been in the dairy business for a long time before they decided to start bottling their own milk. They now have a processing facility, retail store, do farm tours, and are experimenting with making their own ice cream.

Over a year ago, two of my out of state friends came down to visit Tennessee. We went all over Nashville and middle Tennessee. One of the stops was Hatcher's Family Dairy and they loved it!

Bart from Missouri and Ashley from North Dakota visit Hatcher's Family Dairy

Hatcher's Chocolate Milk is some of the best chocolate milk I have ever drank! It is so rich and thick. The Whole Milk is great too. Make sure you shake it real good, cause all of the cream is at the top. One thing that I love about buying milk straight from the farmer is that expiration date is longer. You don't have to ship it from the farm to the processing plant to the grocery store to your home. You should defiantly make a trip out to Hatcher's Family Dairy. If you can't make it out to the farm, you can get their milk in some stores. Check out their website for a listing of stores and to find out more http://www.hatcherfamilydairy.com/ .

Strawberry Photo Shoot

2009-05-21T16:21:00.010-05:00

People ask me all the time what exactly do I do at my job. My title Agritourism Coordinator really confuses people. Agritourism is anything that brings people to the farm. Like Pick Your Own fruits and vegetables, wineries, cornmazes and pumpkin patches, farm tours and festivals, and on farm retail of fresh farm products. Everyday of work is different.

Yesterday, I had a photo shoot. The star of the photo shoot was surprisingly not me, but of fresh from a Tennessee farm strawberries. The state photographer, Andrew, and I spent the entire day outside taking pictures of strawberries and strawberry pickers. We went to three different Pick Your Own Strawberry patches in Portland, TN. The farms we stopped at were Bradley Kountry Acres in Cottontown, Bottomveiw Farms and Crafton Farms. The pictures that we take are used for marketing purposes like on http://www.picktnproducts.org/, brochures, or advertisements promoting Tennessee Farmers.

Andrew, State Photographer, taking pictures of strawberries at Bradley Kountry Acres

Most of our time taking pictures was at Bradley Kountry Acres. They are known for their strawberries, but have other fruits and vegetables as well. They have blackberries which were blooming, peach trees which had little greenish peaches, a greenhouse full of flowers, and all kinds of vegetables.

Fresh cut Broccoli (I took some home and it taste so much better than store bought)

When doing a photo shoot it is important to get pictures of the fruits and vegetables, but it is also important to get pictures of people. We did a mini photo glam shoot with this little girl who was about three. She had her blond hair in pig tails. She was soooo cute! She loved eating strawberries and this made for an adorable picture. You may see this picture in an advertisement soon!

My favorite picture of the day was of Mile Bradley, the farmer himself. If you go to his farm you now know what he looks like and be sure to go up and talk to him.

Mike Bradley with strawberries he grew.

These beautiful strawberries are some that I got from the Bradley's. It is an entire flat and I promise there was not one bad strawberry in the bunch. Unfortunately, I tried to make a cobbler out of some and it wasn't pretty. In the past, I have always had my mom there to help me and they turned out great. I got the recipe from my mom and made it. It smelt WONDERFUL! Yet, the crust wasn't raising to the top. Called my mom and she asked "Did you use self rising flour?" My response, "There is more than one type of flour?!?!?" Haha, lesson learned!

What to do with all these strawberries???

The Rain Made Us Eat 2 Much!!!

2009-05-18T17:13:00.007-05:00

Last year a group of friends and I attended the Crawfish Boil in Nashville. It was a neat experience for me cause I had never eaten crawfish before. They look kinda gross, but were surprisingly tasty. Plus, Three Doors Down performed and we sat on blankets listening to the bands. This year plans were to relive the fun of the crawfish boil. Due to 16 days of rain and mud factor, we gave the crawfish boil a rain check.

One of my roomies from Candylynn and friend, Lauren, came up to for the fun having. Her and my current roomie, Emily and I were not going to let the rain ruin our weekend! Emily came up with our nights agenda and we were not dissapointed!

We started the night with sushi from Virago. If you go make sure you make reservations, cause they are packed. When you walk through the doors the atmosphere changes to a more hip modern style. Everything from the seatin to the lighting makes Virago unique. We started with an appitizer, Edamame. Whenever I eat sushi I like to order Edamame, which is boiled soybeans with a little bit of seasoning.

Crispy Fire Crunch Roll from Virago

Sushi! Lauren and I split three rolls and we had plenty left over. We had a YumYum roll (tuna, salmon, cream cheese), Crispy Fire Crunch roll (shrimp, spicy mayo, cream cheese), and Aloha roll (shrimp, toasted coconut, bacon, pineapple, macadamia nuts). My favorite was the Aloha roll. If you like shrimp and pineapples this is for you. It had the right balance of sweetness. The Crispy Fire Crunch roll is going to be a new favorite due tangy/spicy but not catch your mouth on fire taste.

Emily and Lauren enjoying yummy sushi!

After, being stuffed on sushi we walked around downtown for awhile and laughed at our silly selves. Then it was time for dessert from the Melting Pot! This was another new experience for me. When Lauren and Emily mentioned chocolate, I was in no questions asked! We ordered the S'more dessert which they bring out in a pan and heat it at your table. It was chocolate with marshmallows on top. You also get a tray of assorted food to dip in the warm chocolate. My favorite was the strawberries, bananas, and rice krispies. Talk about the most yummiest desert I have ever eaten!

Lauren and I eating chocolate covered strawberries at the Melting Pot!

Both of these restaurants I recommend if you are in Nashville. Both are a little pricey, but are sooo worth it!

Strawberry Pickin Time!

2009-05-15T20:45:00.007-05:00

Today, I battled a storm to go pick strawberries. Literally, it hailed (sounded like popcorn on my truck) and I saw lightning hit a transformer! It sure was worth it to get yummy strawberries from Valley Home Farm. It took me about an hour to get there from Nashville and it was such a beautiful drive. Once you get off I-24, there farms and amazing farm houses that have been there for years. With all the rain, everything was so green it made me want to pull my truck over and go walking through the lush pastures.

Ok, lets talk strawberries! My Pa always said if it rained on the first of the month that it would rain 15 days. Which has not been the best thing for the strawberry farmers. When its raining most people don't want to get out to buy strawberries, let alone get muddy picking them. To me getting a fresh straight from the farm strawberry is worth going through a small hurricane. Nothing that you can buy from a store can beat the taste of yummy strawberry you just picked yourself.

Valley Home Farm is located in Wartrace, which is in Bedford Co. It is a 320 acre farm with an on farm retail store. They sell strawberry jam, strawberry cakes and pies, strawberry bread, and of course strawberries. I absolutely just fell in love with their Strawberry Honey Popsicles! Love them!

Check out Valley Home Farm's website http://www.valleyhomefarm.com/

Picking strawberries is a fun activity for yourself, a group of friends, and the entire family! The month of May is strawberry season, so go visit a local farm or farmers market to find fresh strawberries! You can go to http://www.picktnproducts.org/ for a listing of strawberries in your area.

Graduation Weekend at Martin

2009-05-12T16:39:00.000-05:00

Going to Martin is like going home. I did spend six of my best years there, but it only took five years for me to earn my degree in Agriculture Education. Graduating early is like leaving the party at 10:30! This weekend was graduation at UT Martin and one of my best friends, Heather, was graduating. This gave me an excuse to go back to visit with friends and to do some farm visits.

Friday was a stormy, yucky day. The safest place to be in Martin during a storm is Caddy's- this coming from Stuart and Cody. Luckily, for me who doesn't partake in all activities that normally go on at Caddy's they serve a very yummy lunch. My meal included a juicy cheeseburger with steaming hott crispy fries. They have sweet tea you can pour yourself straight from the pitcher.

Below is a pic of our Caddy's lunch crew with our server, Kara.

A group of us went to Century Farm Winery in Jackson. This winery is one of Tennessee's 33 wineries across the state. It is a working farm and has been in their family for over 150 years. Jo O'Cain showed us around the winery and vineyard. She answered many questions from the growing of the grapes to the production of the wine. They have won blue ribbons for some of their wines. This year they are getting local strawberries from Green Acers in Milan, which is a PYO strawberry and pumpkin patch, for Strawberry wine. Later that night Cody marinated pork loin in the Traminette wine and it was DELICIOUS! If you are in the West Tennessee are stop by Century Farm Winery and try some of their wines!

Check out them out :
http://www.centuryfarmwinery.com/

Heather's big day finally got here on Saturday. She text me the entire time and even sent me a video message while other UTM students were walking across the stage!! haha! Oh, how have times changed. We at lunch at Candylynn (my home for 5yrs) and then went to Heather's home in Dyer Co for dinner. The day was a lot of fun and so was the night when we got back to Candylynn.

This is the some of the Candylynn Crew.

Sigma Alpha's are so hott they had to call the firemen! haha!