Down on the Farm

When I was a child growing up on a small farm in Virginia’s rural
Blue Ridge Mountains, it never occurred to me that wading through yellow
grass among cattle who watched with casual indifference or throwing
newly split armfuls of firewood onto the back of Dad’s pickup each fall
was anything but normal. My friends all grew up like this, among cattle
and horses, even chickens and rabbits, and the pastures and woods of our
parents’ grazing lands were our playgrounds.

But as our society grows ever more urban and suburban, many people,
even those who may have grown up on farms, are becoming increasingly
alienated from rural landscapes. Now, thanks to the hospitality of
several working-farm bed-and-breakfasts in the Mid-Atlantic, even city
dwellers can experience a taste of life down on the farm, sometimes
referred to as a “farmcation.”

Whether you just want to sit in a rocking chair on a long front porch
and watch sheep graze or you actually want to get down and dirty taking
care of horses and Alpacas, these farms provide plenty of opportunity
for getting back to the land.

Juniper Moon Farm—also called Camp JMF—offers a variety of workshops
throughout the year on an 11-acre sheep farm outside Charlottesville,
VA. Among them is a weekend session on poultry keeping (Sept. 7-9),
where participants learn how to care for chickens, ducks, or geese, and
can purchase a coop in advance to take home two healthy, egg-laying
hens—which means almost instant breakfast the next morning.

But one doesn’t have to be into chickens to enjoy a weekend at
Juniper Moon (434-589-4455, fiberfarm.com), which offers accommodations
for four in a bunkhouse.
Farm owner and shepherdess Susan Gibbs
opened Juniper Moon three years ago after moving her herd of about 100
mostly Cormo sheep (as well as a few Angora goats and Babydoll Southdown
sheep) from her previous farm on Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts. A
former CBS network news producer, Gibbs gave up her career in a quest to
find out what she really wanted to do with her life. “I was in a
bookstore one day and saw a book about raising sheep,” she says.
“Something in my head just clicked.” Today, she also operates a
successful yarn CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), selling mainly to
spinners and knitters, along with her bed-and-breakfast and farm
workshops.

And while Gibbs offers a popular shepherding camp, where people can
learn about everything from trimming hooves and catching sheep to fence
building and veterinary skills, there are less intense offerings, too.

Among them is a cheese-making weekend (August 2-5 and August 23-26),
where participants go through the process from start to finish,
including milking dairy goats and cows and making 10 to 15 different
cheeses that they can take home. Gibbs also offers a yarn-dyeing
workshop (August 10-12), where guests not only learn how to hand-dye
yarn but also leave the class with enough yarn to make a sweater. Gibbs
says the farm’s most popular workshop is culinary camp (August 16-19).
Gibbs, who attended culinary school, teaches participants of all skill
levels basic techniques and how to cook without recipes. She tailors the
classes to each group and individual participant.

The weekend workshops range from $350-600 and generally include all
meals and accommodations. And even for those who only want to be farmers
for a weekend (and are not interested in becoming shepherds or cheese
makers), Camp JMF can be empowering, Gibbs says. She’s seen women in the
shepherding camp discover they can build a fence by themselves. “It’s
really confidence building,” says Gibbs, “as most of our guests are
women.”

Equine enthusiasts can try a different experience. Whether they are
novices or skilled equestrians, they can spend a weekend on a working
horse farm about an hour from Baltimore at Fairwinds Farm and Stables
(410-658-8187, fairwindsstables.com) near North East, just off
Interstate 95. Fairwinds, located on 52 acres in the heart of Maryland
horse country, features a restored Victorian farmhouse bed-and-breakfast
that welcomes families with children as well as couples and singles.

Owners JoAnn and Ted Dawson purchased the farm 14 years ago and
currently have 25 horses of their own, although they also accommodate
guests traveling with horses. “Our niche is actually people who have
never ridden before,” says JoAnn, noting that most of their patronage
comes from people “looking for a farm experience.” Rooms start at $95 a
night, with a $10 discount for those who bring their own horses.

The couple offers riding lessons in an indoor ring and also takes
guests out on trails. Hayrides, carriage rides, and pony rides are
available, too. A highlight of the hayride, especially for kids, is
taking along homing pigeons, which are released during the ride. Guests
can watch them fly back to the farmhouse.

If they’d like, visitors can also help gather eggs from the Dawsons’
chickens and then enjoy those same eggs for breakfast, and they can go
fishing at the farm pond. Fairwinds also recently began offering formal
tea parties, especially popular with groups of women looking for a day
retreat, where they serve sandwiches, desserts, and teas followed by a
carriage ride.

“I grew up on a farm, and I believe everyone should have exposure to
the lifestyle,” JoAnn says. “Sometimes people even help us clean the
stalls. It opens a new world to them.”

She loves to watch her guests go through a transition on the trail
rides. “Sometimes guests are initially terrified of the horses, but then
they relax,” she says. “It’s very laid-back and informal here, a way
for people to get away from the stress of everyday life.”

Another type of farmcation is offered at Stargazer Bed and Breakfast
at Sunset Hills Farm (724-586-2412, stargazerbedandbreakfast.com), north
of Pittsburgh. Proprietors David and Laurye Feller raise and breed
show-quality Alpacas on the 70-acre property.

One of the farm’s most popular offerings is the opportunity to shadow
a farm manager for a day. Guests learn about the diets of Alpacas, how
to care for them, halter-train them for a show, as well as basic
veterinary skills. The workshop lasts four to five hours.

“We see a lot of parent-child teams coming for this,” says Brian
Edward Leach, director of sales and marketing at Sunset Hills. The cost
is $25 a person in addition to the cost of accommodations and breakfast,
which ranges from $79-125 a night.

At Sunset Hills, there is a choice of lodgings. In addition to a
cabin, guests can stay in part of a two-story barn, where an upstairs
windows overlooks the hills and valleys of Butler County, while another
looks directly into the Alpaca barn, putting guests right next to the
pack of 150 animals.

The owners are also known for being proponents of “full-circle
farming,” meaning they look at ways to use their whole property to
produce income. The Fellers do this by raising and selling animals
(they’re among the largest Alpaca breeders in the United States),
operating the B & B, producing fleece, and running a retail store to
sell it.

The farm is hosting its first Fiber Fest June 23-24, offering classes
and seminars on raising Alpacas and showcasing fiber products from
around the globe. The owners are hoping it will become an annual event.

Getting There

Juniper Moon Farm (1036 Venable Rd., Palmyra, VA) is
about a three-and-a-half-hour drive from Baltimore. Head south on I-95,
skirting D.C. on I-495 West. Merge back onto I-95 toward Richmond, and
take the I-295 Beltway around Richmond to I-64 West toward
Charlottesville. Get off at Exit 143, taking Route 208 toward Louisa.
Take Rt. 659 for 4.5 miles, and make a right on Route 601. Travel about 4
miles. Juniper Moon is on the left.

Fairwinds Farm and Stables (41 Tailwinds Ln., North
East) is an hour northeast of Baltimore. Take I-95 North to Exit 100B,
and take a left on Route 272. Follow 3.8 miles. The farm is on the
right.

Sunset Hills Farm (1120 Three Degree Rd., Butler,
PA) is a five-hour drive from Baltimore. Take I-70 West toward
Pittsburgh, merging onto I-76 at Breezewood. Take Exit 39 to Route 8
North. Go 6.5 miles, and turn left onto Route 228. Go one mile and turn
right onto Davis Road. After 1.5 miles, merge onto Glade Run Road.
Travel two miles to Three Degree Road. The farm is on the left.