Yesterday we took a trip to a farm shop - something that we don’t do often enough. It was situated in picturesque, rural surroundings and even the arrival of heavy drizzle didn’t spoil the occasion.
As we arrived, we were surprised to see not one peacock, but several, all parading across the car parking area. One was sitting atop a wall imperiously, like a king surveying his kingdom.
As you can see, they are quite magnificent. The photo doesn’t do justice to their beautiful hues, which seemed to shimmer.
After parking up, we wandered slowly over to have a closer look at the pig pen. The marshmallow-coloured piggies inside were unbelievably cute. They appeared to spend all their time either eating, fighting or sleeping. Their large, wet button-noses nuzzled our hands. We could have spent ages watching them, were it not for the rain.
To the left of the pig pen were some adorable cows (mostly sooty black-colour, with a single black and white grazing amongst them). The largest of them all had her front legs on one of the railings corralling them in. She looked like she was debating whether to effect an escape. They do have the ability to jump over fences, up to a certain height, so we didn’t hang around too long and walked over to the farm shop several feet away.
Once inside the shop, there were so many delicious-looking items it was hard to choose what to buy. There was fresh meat, frozen meat, pies, pasties, sausage rolls, scotch eggs and more.
A small table contained things for those of us with a sweet tooth: rocky roads, chocolate tiffins etc.
After browsing for quite some time, we decided to buy most of the aforementioned! Sadly, we didn’t have the presence of mind to photograph anything before we devoured it!
On a more serious note, please support your local farmers. Produce from farm shops and farmers’ markets is invariably delicious. You will be helping to support jobs in farming. It keeps more money in the local economy. The food will be fresher as it hasn’t had to travel long distances, it tastes great and is nutritious. Very beneficial all round!