I woke up this morning to the sound of rain pelting the roof. I wanted to just stay in bed. But I also wanted to go with a group from Willow Street Yoga to Rocklands Farm - and I had agreed to be a car pool driver. So, after a bit, I got up and began to get ready.
Rocklands Farm is perhaps a typical small farm near a big city. It has a diverse business growing vegetables and several types of farm animals for community supported agriculture, is a venue for weddings and other events, and has started a small winery.
By the time we got to the farm, the rain had stopped. Of course, everything was wet, and the air was cool and damp.
Our first activity was an hour of yoga in the barn. The barn isn't used for farming anymore, but as a rustic event space. It also isn't heated, and the temperature was just in the mid 50s. The floor was heavy, unfinished, wood planks - warped to various degrees. This environment brought a little more edge and immediacy to the practice.
Next, we went for a tour of the farm. We met Scout, an energetic farm dog who believes humans exist to throw a tennis ball for her to chase. We looked at their fall garden - sweet potatoes, turnips, radishes, arugula and other greens, and much more. Then we hiked out across the wet pasture to a fenced area with the free range laying hens. After watching them for a while, we went on, past a couple of wary sheep, to another area where the pigs are kept. There were all ages and sizes, scattered over the hillside when we walked up, but over the next few minutes they congregated over by us, until the farm guide was worried they would find a way through the fence, as the electric fence seemed to not be working.
We went back to the barn building for lunch, then shopped for farm produce before heading home down River Road, past the ridiculous mega mansions of Potomac, and back into the heavy city traffic on the Beltway.
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