week 37: let the peeping begin!
this week on the little dream farm
Dearest Gentle Reader,
Gosh, I’ve always wanted to start a Farm Note off like Lady Whistledown. Doesn’t it just have the most lovely ring to it?
Now that that’s out of my system, Chris and I have something fun in the works and this week I wanted to tell you all about it!
Before I dive in, I’d like to tell you about my absolute favorite protein powder.
Too many protein powders on the market have really crappy ingredients. That’s why we’ve chosen a brand with all-natural protein powder made with five protein sources and no artificial sweeteners or sugar alcohols.
It is essential we get adequate protein (recommended is 0.8g/kg or 0.36g/lb per day) and in a decade of coaching clients in nutrition and fitness, this is one place where many clients fall short. It’s critical when we’re young and growing but far more important as we age in order to support a healthy appetite and satiety, ensure muscle maintenance and retention, and aid in physical function.
Every morning Chris and I make ourselves a protein shake. Chris adds fruit and veggies to his but I keep mine simple—one heaping scoop of protein, big handful of ice, 3/4 cup of whole milk, 3/4 cup of water. I blend this up in this super handy blender and off I go—22 grams of protein (another 5 grams with the whole milk) right off the bat first thing in the morning.
Our favorite flavors:
Creamy Chocolate Peanut Butter (this is Chris’ fave!)
Strawberries n’ Cream (this is my fave!)
Other flavors we can’t get enough of:
Be sure to let me know what you think once you order them and make your shakes—we think you’ll LOVE these flavors like we do!
And now, onto the Farm Note
Working from home certainly has it’s perks. One of them being that our leave stacks up like crazy…so much so that we have to force ourselves to take it or we risk Chris not being able to carry his over into the next calendar year (my military leave carries on a little longer, to a point).
This year that’s freeing us up to take every Friday off beginning this past Friday all the way through Thanksgiving.
What a dream!
So what are we doing with our Friday Freedom, you might ask?
We’re peeping!
Leaf peeping, that is!
Chris is the one running the show on our leaf peeping adventures. He’s subscribed to weekly fall foliage reports in both New York and Vermont and he’s making up a plan for us each week.
We’ll start out first by heading as far north as the maps are currently showing fall color, and we’ll work our way south, both east and west, as the season progresses.
It works out great because we get to go further while there’s more daylight and we start getting closer to home as we get less and less daylight hours.
Typically, he’ll add the following to our adventures:
A sunrise hike, if possible
A drive on a scenic highway/byway
A drive up a mountain or lookout for the view
A stop at one (or a few) local cafes and/or bakeries
A stop into one (or a few) local farm markets or stores
A stop by one (or a few) local farms for apples, cider, pumpkins, jams, hot fresh cider donuts, or fall veggies
A stop into a place to pick up a great local lunch
This week we had a date with our electrician Friday afternoon to do some work inside our house, so we had to be home midday.
That gave us plenty of time to head towards Manchester and Dorset, Vermont…two of our favorite little nearby places, especially in the fall!
I won’t share these round ups every week (unless you’re dying to read them and then by all means let me know and I’ll include a much shortened version in each week’s note with other topics!) but to give you an idea, here’s what our first Fall Friday Freedom Leaf Peeping Adventure (what a name!) looked like:
A quick stop by Laughing Child Farm (Pawlet, VT - they grow the best sweet potatoes you can find in Vermont, New York, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire) to grab some of their own sweet potatoes and also some homemade chicken pot pie and bone broth from Greener Pastures Farm (Wells, VT).
Next up, Mach’s Market (Pawlet, VT), one of our favorite places to go and sit outside at their sweet little cafe tables and have some of their incredible wood fired pizza and locally baked fresh desserts. On this trip we picked up a bunch of yummy snacks!
Then onto Mettowee Mint (Dorset, VT) to admire all their gorgeous fall offerings and pick up some gardening supplies for next year’s growing season. Check out this pumpkin arch they had on display!
Over to HN Williams General Store (Dorset, VT), which is a local gas station with the most fabulous market of local goodies and our very first time there! We got a breakfast sandwich that was ham, egg, and cheddar on a Portuguese muffin that knocked our socks off!
We popped into The Maple Reserve Cafe (Manchester, VT), a newer place we’ve not yet been that served us up the most perfectly hot, perfectly sweet, delicious maple latte (with Vermont maple syrup!) we’ve had in ages!
Then we topped the morning off with a nice long stroll through Northshire Bookstore (Manchester, VT) - our favorite bookstore in the world. Fun fact about Chris and I is that every place we ever visit we try and stop by the local university or college in that area and check out the campus and we always make sure to find a local bookstore. We’ve been to so many through the years, and Northshire (also one in Saratoga Springs, NY) is hands down one of the very best! Chris picked up two Michael Lewis books he’s not read yet and I spent a ton of time paging through interior design books…daydreaming, per usual.
That took us right up to the time we needed to get back on the road to head back to the farm, and while there’s not a whole lot of color yet this far south, certainly we could feel it in the air and see it in the fields and in the Green Mountains—the early fall tinge that starts to turn everything a pinch of golden.
I’d love to leave you with a “Here’s a list of where we’re headed to next!” but Chris is building our weekly adventure based on the info in the foliage reports, the weather, and the best day of the weekend for us to get off the farm and have fun.
If you’d like to check out the fall foliage reports for New York and Vermont:
Use this link to sign up for the New York fall foliage report.
Use this link to sign up for the Vermont fall foliage report.
But also be sure, if you live somewhere that gets good fall color, to do a quick search and see if you can sign up for a foliage report where you live!
Here’s to leaf peeping season!!
I wanted to share with you a roundup of the things we use the most for our seven cats…affectionately referred to as The Furmers, as many of you know! The items are all listed and linked below!
Cat Water Fountain - the cats DO drink more water with a fountain
Replacement Cat Fountain Pump Filters - change this every few months
Replacement Cat Fountain Water Filter - change this every few months
Steel Cat Litter Scoop - durable and easy to clean
Fragrance Free Clumping Litter - we’ve tried them all—this one always wins
XL Enclosed Litter Box - we throw away the swinging door but keep the lid on
Cat Nail Clipper - we’ve use regular nail clippers for people but I like this one best
Darwin’s Raw Cat Food - use our code FURMERS and get 50% off your first order - we feed our seven cats raw chicken and turkey
Litter Catcher Mat - you can place this longways or sideways and either way it does the job!
Metal Grooming Cat Brush - this is the best I’ve found to get that loose under coat and keep the cats nicely brushed and groomed, especially BWK who tends to get matting on her back and sides
Cat Bowls - we’ve used many different styles over the years but we’ve had these the longest!
*Note: Not all, but most of these links are affiliate links. That’s no matter to you, as it costs you nothing. However, if you make a purchase, we -may- receive a teeny weeny commission.
Your peeping adventures sound wonderful! Our leaves here in Ontario, Canada have already started to change. I have a feeling we’re in for a spectacular show of colors this year!
I have a question about the cat fountain you use…is it a corded fountain or is it cordless? I’m looking for a good cordless fountain for my boys that doesn’t make a lot of noise. I have a scaredy cat 🙀 in my house and any weird noise sends him to the hills for cover. I’d like to make sure the scared boy gets enough water and is comfortable with the fountain
I highly recommend Veterans Memorial Highway at Whiteface Mountain. You can drive to the top and if you are really adventurous hike the 1/4 mile to the summit. I’ve only done it in the summer but fall foliage must be spectacular up there.