Elodie Farms Visit

Just about every week our Dream and Discover homeschooling cooperative participates in a field trip organized and orchestrated by the talented super-mom, Nancy Walters. This week was a lovely little jaunt to Elodie Farms up in Rougemont, NC.


Elodie, owned and operated by fellow Durham Farmers Market vendor Dave Artigues, sits on 21 acres in the Piedmont of NC and is the home to a herd of 50 plus goats.


Dave graciously welcomed us to his 100+ year old farm house and introduced us to his goats, paint horse Sadie and his miniature guard donkey. Dave had a wonderful talent for speaking to the kids directly and with just enough detail to keep everybody interested without making things too complicated. He was ever willing to answer the endless questions and patiently listen to the numerous comments and anecdotes our group of avid young guests seemed to come up with. He started off in the pasture and then took us through the milking room and the cheese kitchen giving us a rudimentary explanation of the cheese making process.

All of the adults oohed and aahed at the lovely finished cheeses Dave pulled from the fridge and admired the parmesans and cheddars Dave has begun making.

We then returned to the pasture and got to feed the goats and other animals. Dave had recommended bringing pretzels as a snack for the goats and we had a large bag of with us that was soon gobbled down quite appreciatively by goats and horse and donkey alike. Dave also brought out a bag of leftover Halloween candy Smarties that he said the goats loved and this was indeed the case.

We ended our trip with a lovely picnic spread on the lawn under a huge old oak tree and feasted upon several varieties of goat cheeses. Dave gave me a tour of the dining areas within the farm house. They've converted the entire lower floor of the farm house to beautiful and intimate dining rooms for their monthly "Dinner On The Porch" events featuring the finest chefs from some of the Triangle’s favorite eateries. Can I dream that Paul and I will get to attend one of these lovely events sans children at some point within the next decade???

Emily and Bethany explored the farm and its impressive old trees (complete with swings) while Maddie and I rested in the porch front rocking chairs.
The day had started out a bit cool, but the sunny skies had helped to keep us warm. As the afternoon progressed, the clouds moved in and the temps plummeted. We finally gave up the battle to stave off the cold and piled into our cars to head back home.