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A Hidden Treasure

Dig in at Retreat Farm. This one-of-a-kind place has something for everyone.

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morgan horses behind fence
The Passion for Horses

Morgans are spirited and sometimes barely contained equine explosions with highly independent spirits that seem only to bend to human will and training by the slimmest of choices…theirs. Indeed, the Morgan has been called “the horse that chooses you.” As it happens, Manchester, Vermont, is home to one of the most renowned Morgan breeding farms in the world…

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alpaca in winter
An Affection for Alpaca

Shopping for warm socks, I befriend a herd of alpacas. If you take the farm tour to meet the alpacas up close and personal, which of course you must, you will see what I saw when Sandy walks into the pens: a dedicated farmer plus any number of alpacas having a little love fest. Here’s the story…

Food & Drink

cocktails with herb garnishes
Earthly Spirits

Restaurant chefs and good home cooks know that using fresh herbs elevates a fine dish to a sublime one. The same is true of cocktails – almost every herb we enjoy in cooking can be mixed with spirits or wine to produce an exceptional drink…

Food & Drink

eggs in carton
Eggs

Have you ever experienced the rich, clean, and creamy flavor of an egg a day or two after it appeared in the nest, from a hen that ranged freely in her yard and scratched up her own food? A farm-fresh egg can vary in size, and has a higher nutritional value than a supermarket egg. The shells often range in color from snowy white to pale blue, or pink, to dark brown – and any shade in between….

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Lucas and Louisa with Goats
Picture This

In my next life, I want to come back as a dairy goat, preferably a lush-bearded, long-eared, snow white Saanen like Orion. Orion is six years old and comes from a distinguished line of Swiss ancestors. She is plump, healthy, and fully content with her lot in life. How could she not be? She is the “queen” at Big Picture Farm in Townshend…

Food & Drink

A Literary Agent Finds Cheese-Making Success at Consider Bardwell Farm

“Farming has taught me a lot about publishing,” she says. “When I’m back in New York and I hear editors tip-toeing around an author, being too polite, or not getting to the point about something, I look at them and say, ‘Why don’t you just be direct?’”

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A Leap of Faith at Wing and a Prayer Farm

High on a hill off a dirt road in Shaftsbury is Wing and a Prayer Farm, where Tammy White lovingly raises Angora goats, rescued alpacas, and Shetland, Cotswold, Merino and Cormo sheep. The animals aren’t raised for the freezer—but rather for fiber.