A Tour of Blueberry Hill Farm

In my everyday life, time elapses like the weather changes in Ireland – so quickly I do not even realize it’s happening.  Often, I eat out of habit and consume whatever I managed to hurriedly pick up from the grocery store the week before.  I hardly give a second thought to what I’m putting in my body and the effort behind the process of production.  For me, all that changed when I arrived at Blueberry Hill Farm.  During my tour, the first activity I had the opportunity to participate in was milking Vickie the cow.  At first, I practiced on the rubber udder, and as my confidence grew, so too did my ability.  The first warm stream of pure milk I managed to pump out of Vickie sent a wave of excitement pulsing through my body.  Before I knew it, I was able to use both hands in a back and forth motion to extract the milk squirt by squirt. The satisfied feeling of having helped produce that which I eat on my cereal every morning was enough to make me hungry.  I joined the rest of the group for the early bird breakfast in the farmhouse and had my first chance to try a fried goose egg.  I added fresh bread with homemade jam and homemade butter to my plate, complete with a hot cup of coffee.  Eating the way farmers do made me want to switch occupations.  After breakfast, I bottle fed a lamb and suckle bucket fed Ramona the calf.  Ramona reminded me of a big dog, the way she ran towards me when I called her name.  Although I have spent very little time around animals in my life, I felt immediately at ease around the Blueberry Hill Farm animals. Feeding Tina and Elvis, the dark haired, big snouted pigs was next on the agenda, and the way they hungrily yanked the vegetables off of the plates we used to feed them made me realize where the phrase ‘You’re eating like a pig’ came from.  I discovered they like being scratched behind their ears, and even though I’m not an animal rights activist, it made me feel very comfortable knowing that Tina and Elvis are given plenty of space to roam and healthy food to help them grow strong.  I found the vegetables that are helping them become strong, growing in the polytunnel next to the barn.  I tried fresh chives and an almost ripe peach that had fallen from the tree.  I helped to plant lettuce and got to water the tomatoes.  I learned about the various species of flowers growing and for the first time noticed the different parts that make up a grape vine.  After gardening, we were taught about the art of building beehives and what an integral part bees play in our daily lives.  I learned that bees are the only insects that produce food for humans and that every third bite of food humans eat is made possible by the pollination process of bees.  I had no idea bees are such an important component in modern day society.  The next activity was my favorite, as we got to greet the animals and let them out of their little houses.  Laughing as they tickled my palm, I fed the chickens out of my hand.  I loved watching the hens flutter from one side of the yard to the other, and I picked out the rooster, as I heard him crow “Cockadoodledo!”  After playing with the animals, we went back to the farmhouse to make homemade butter and homemade scones.  While the scones baked, we went on a treasure hunt throughout the farm, piecing together everything we had learned throughout the day.  As it turns out, I learned more than I realized.  My time at Blueberry Hill Farm concluded with eating the scones and butter I helped to make and signing the guest book.  Amazing to me were the people from all over the world who have visited the farm to grow closer to nature.  Even if I’m not able to live on a farm or help produce the food I consume on a daily basis, I love knowing other people face the same struggles and also seek the knowledge and naturalistic perspective that can only come from a tour of Blueberry Hill Farm in Sneem, Ireland.