Saturday, July 21, 2012

Shelburne Farms


 Wagon ride around the farm

Two weekends ago, my friend came up from Boston to visit and we went around to a few spots I'd never been before. One stop was at Shelburne Farms. Shelburne Farms is a huge 1400 acre working farm and education center. Not to mention an absolutely beautiful place to visit on a clear summer afternoon. We arrived just in time to catch the 3:30 guided tour of the farm and so we hopped on the tour.

I purposely situated myself in the back of the wagon so that I would have a good, clear shot from behind  to take lots of photos. Some came out better than others, but here are a few I liked:

Random, awesome bus in the parking lot

Boat in Shelburne Bay

A view from a far of the farm barn

Tree-lined road

Sheep caretaker and Sheepdogs

Sheep

The first stop on the tour was a stop at the farm barn where we got to see where they make their famous cheddar cheese. Unfortunately, when we arrived, they had already finished the cheesemaking for the day, so we just got to see the equipment used through the window. I may or may not have blogged about it, but I have tried my hand at cheesemaking a few times in the past few months. I do make some nice paneer but I'd like to be able to make some hard cheese.... they made it look so easy in Georgia....

Cheesemaking equipment

Twister, anyone?

From the barns, we headed over to the Inn at Shelburne farms which was the original house of the property belonging to a member of the Vanderbilt family. That explains the size, right?

The Inn at Shelburne Farms

Inside the Inn

A guessing game for kids with a few vegetables that I couldn't even name...

The last stop was the gardens outside the Inn. The Inn is in the process of restoring the gardens to their former glory. I thought they looked quite beautiful even without the restoration....



To conclude the tour, we headed back to the welcome center and got to sample some cheddar cheese produced right there on the premise from the farm's own cows.


6-9 month cheese, 1-year, 2-year, 3-year cheese, tractor cheese, smoked cheese..... ohhh... I was in cheese heaven!!!


Next time you are in the Burlington, VT area, this is a must see... especially if you love cheese! 

For prices, tours and events, check their website: http://www.shelburnefarms.org/

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