Life is Just Peachy!

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 .

Christmas in July and Pig inside a General Store

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!

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

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/ .