Bebe Birds: And On Stone Barns Farm We Gathered Eggs...

Eeee I Eeee I Ohhhhh...boy! This past weekend, the day before the Lords day, we navigated our way outside of the hustle that's Brooklyn and into the calm of the country, where rolling hills filled the landscape as far as the eye could see. Bebe Bird grinned upon waking from his car ride slumber realizing "nope, we're not in ~~Kansas~~ Brooklyn anymore." The sight of chickens roaming free, sounds of pigs oinking, and cows mooing gave it away. This delighted my city loving boy to his core. We discovered Stone Barns Center back in 2011 when we attended our first Harvest Fest with Z's family-a yearly tradition we hope to continue to kick Autumn off to a crisp start. Stone Barns is everything (and more) one could wish for in a farm. It's beauty is captivating. Only 25 miles north of Manhattan this 80 acre farm is designed to increase awareness of healthy seasonal and sustainable foods as well as educate farmers and children alike. There is amazing farm to table dishes at Blue Hill Cafe and Blue Hill at Stone Barns (reservations required for the latter) and classes to boot.

This past weekend, in celebration of my arrival on this planet (a la birthday), we ventured north to Stone Barns Center and took Bebe Bird on his first hands on egg collection. We arrived late. I was anxious we may have missed the whole gathering ritual. We hadn't. Breathe Out! We learned that the remaining time left of the allotted 45 minutes given to gatherers was 20 minutes. It turned out to be all the time we needed for the "always on the go" toddler we had with us. You see, when we over heard Bebe Bird declare "All done!" we knew we were given a 5 minute warning to make a graceful exit otherwise suffer the consequences when all HE(Double Hockey STICKS) could potentially breaks loose. And we just couldn't do that to the chickens on a Saturday morning.

So 20 minutes it was and it was, in fact, perfect! We packed a lot of punch into our 20 minutes. Bebe Bird got to pet the chickens (don't worry we scrubbed his hands raw after), he saw their coup collected their eggs and placed them into a basket where they will be washed and sold at Stone Barns Blue Hill Market. Afterward we saw sheep, cows and pigs...I mean large pigs. Turkeys greeted us and Bebe Bird sat on a tractor. We went to Stone Barns farmers market where we enjoyed pies on a stick, gathered fresh veggies and strolled around. We ate lunch at the famously delicious Blue Hill Cafe and missed the story hour that was under a tree from waiting in said cafe's line (such is life!) Our Fall visit to Stone Barns was a success. It was quiet and kid accessible.

If you live in NYC or close to and want to take your bebe bird to the farm here's an idea for a weekend excursion:

1. In the morning or early afternoon take your bebe bird to gather chicken eggs from the coup: (11am or 12pm.) You will need to purchase tickets in advance- about $10 a person. The only downfall is you don't get any eggs to take home with you unless you purchase them (in addition to your tickets) at the market. I guess you're just paying for the experience?!?!

2. Pack your own lunch and sit under a tree. If time allows hit up Blue Hill Cafe. The food is fresh and tasty-talk about farm to table.

3. Attend the free story time on the farm from 2pm-2:30pm.

4. Explore the farm (check out all the animals-cows, pigs, chickens, sheep)

5. Before leaving stop by the farmers market (closes at 4pm) for some tasty treats like the apple pie pops or fresh veggies like corn, squash and pumpkin.

6. Don't forget the visitors center where you can find some fun goodies like wood farm trucks, farmers market kids kitchen set and books like Charlotte's Webb. As well as great kitchen accessories and books for the bigger kids (like us).

If you are up for a real adventure and want to add hay ride and family friendly activities to your visit then I suggest hitting up 2012's Harvest Fest at Stone Barns on October 6, 2012. Its a lot more crowded then our current trip but definitely worth the visit.