Stratford/St. Mary's Road Trip

Today was just the most perfect Summer's day! It was sunny, breezy and the temperature was just right. It was the perfect day for a road trip for my daughter and I.

Since we were so busy yesterday I wasn't able to make it to my usual Saturday markets. Luckily though I had recently found out that Stratford now had a Sunday market at Montforte Dairy at 49 Griffith Rd. I figured that I would go check it out. I ended up getting some pork, peaches, apricots, potatoes, carrots, arugula, onions, and a loaf of bread.

After visiting the market we headed out to the Wildwood Conservation Area to have our lunch. While we were there we put our feet in the water and checked out the playground. I'd like to go back there soon to explore a little more. It was a very nice place to stop and have a picnic.

Our next stop was to McCully's Hill Farm for their 2nd annual 'In Your Face Pie Fest'

This was my second time visiting the farm. It's located just outside St. Mary's on the way to Stratford (see: www.mccullys.ca) This is such a great place. The store on the property sells a good variety of local food items, such as honey, produce, meats, and what seems like a million different flavours of jams, pickled items, and preserves. The meats really caught my eye though--they have turkey, chicken, rabbit, duck, black angus beef, lamb, pork, bison, and even elk--and they're all natural. On our first visit we also indulged in some organic ice cream. It was very yummy!

On this trip I checked out their pie festival. I had heard a lot about this event over the last couple of weeks and decided that I'd have to go to it and see what it was all about. The main event is their pie eating competition. My daughter loved watching them all trying to eat their pie with their hands (blueberry, of course). There was also a children's pie eating contest but we didn't get a chance to see this one.

Other than than watching the contest my daughter participated in some crafts (making pies out of play-doh), had her face painted, and we ate some pie. We also took a walk around the property and took a look at the Community Garden Co-op that they have there. In the Spring, members of the community were invited to cultivate a 10x10 or 5x10 plot on their land to grow their own vegetable garden. These plots were offered at no-charge with the simple request to provide McCully's with a portion of their crop to sell at the market, with proceeds going to support the Co-op. I think that's a really sweet deal! Especially for people who would love to have a garden but who may not have the land or yard to do it on. I was happy to see so many gardens and all of the variety of produce growing; like tomatoes, beans, corn, and brussel sprouts.

Once we left McCully's we stopped to pick up some raspberries in Uniondale at Mitchdale Farms (963229 Road 96--don't worry there are lots of signs). When I was there I was told that this would be their last week for raspberries already since the season started so early this year. He also told me that they do not carry the fall raspberries. But do not fear!--fall raspberries are always available elsewhere (like Heeman's!)!

Our last stop of the day was to Aarden Farms for some corn (196709 19th Line, Lakeside--on main road between Hwy 7 and Kintore). This was a busy area. I guess everyone else was stopping in for some corn on their way home!

Overall we had a great day. We went for a drive, enjoyed the nice weather, met some new people, and came home with loads of goodies. I just live for this time of the year!!! Nothing beats July/August in Southwestern Ontario!