Paul's Birthday - Dinner on the Farm

After stopping home for some time with the dogs and an outfit change, we got back in the car and headed over the river and through the woods for the rest of Paul's birthday celebration.

Dinner on the Farm has been on our radar for awhile and when I saw that an event was scheduled on Paul's birthday, I took it as a sign!  I am glad I planned in advance, because the event sold out!

Dinner on the Farm is held throughout the summer at a different farm each time.  Our evening was spent at Common Harvest Farm.  The Dinner on the Farm model includes a farm tour, music, dinner and drinks with a portion of the proceeds benefiting organizations whose work supports local farming.

Each event also features a local brewer.  Can you guess where our first stop was after we got there on this sticky, hot evening?

Paul thought the beer from Lucette Brewing Company was a fine choice for a summer evening outdoors.

For those that wanted a non-alcoholic option, Joia Sodas hit the spot.  

Did I mention it was hot?  Luckily Paul and I brought our sun hats.  They were a hit with the photographers/videographers there, so I think we will be making into some of the official shots from the evening.

Part of the Dinner on the Farm experience is a tour of the farm.  Our tour guide was the eldest daughter of the couple that owns the farm.

Farm Tour

This draft horse is HUGE.  I think one of its back legs alone weighs more than me.

farm implements (some for the tractor and some for the horses) with a hoop house in the background

garlic drying

The farm doesn't use pesticides or herbicides so the fields were weedy. The chard was winning!

Piglets! This one was quite charming.

Piglets!  This one was quite hot and lazy.

Gorgeous sheep.  I didn't catch the breed.

Whatever breed it is, it has a heart shaped bum!

The crowd hanging out before dinner.

Jack Klatt and the Cat Swingers played some great music while we waited for the food.

Some dinner ingredients being roasted.

Photo by Paul - catching me during a little down time.  There was a lot of waiting for the food.

Luckily, Lucette brought a few kegs to keep the masses hydrated and happy.

The wood oven was used to roast veggies and to cook the flat bread we had with dinner.  

Photo by Paul - Birthday beer delivery!

The menu!  The menu was created by Ben Pichler and Jim McIntosh from Grand Cafe and Erik Sather from Bar La Grassa.

At long last...dinner!  We waited until the end of the giant line, so they were out of one of the dishes, but it was still a tasty dinner.  And, dessert was rhubarb crisp with honey ice cream, which is always welcome in my world!

And with that, we said our goodbyes to a few people we enjoyed chatting with that evening and headed towards home.  What a long and wonderful day it was!