Get Ready: Weekend Full Of Country

Ponies and tractors, fresh food, earthy turnips to just-picked kale or braids of fresh garlic; goats that smile, deliciously scented candles and skeins of brightly hued yarns - find the treasures of the country artisans and farms in Connecticut at farm markets served up this weekend - right in time for the pre-Thanksgiving Day preparations. (Or grab some hot coffee and beeline it to watch the tractor pulls on Sunday morning in Killingworth.)

Two days, packed full. Think ahead for fresh balsam or red-berried holly and wreaths to store in an outdoor shed, because Thanksgiving day is Thursday, Nov. 26 - and then it’s just about three weeks to Christmas. Find gifting ideas galore from fresh evergreens to holiday pies (order now, pick up later) or shop for treats to tuck into gift bags or baskets. Most vendors will help make your holidays festive and a real celebration with hand-crafted beauty, scents or a way to pamper yourself to stay well during the busiest times.

In 1863, Abraham Lincoln, declared the last Thursday in November to be a “National Day of Thanksgiving.”

Hand-made quality gifts, fresh (seasonal) produce and other delights at the holiday (indoor) edition of Hebron Farmers Market on Saturday, Nov. 21. Inside the First Congregational Church Hall, doors open at 10 a.m. Inside, find Unwind Body & Mind offers chair massages and ways to help relax and stay healthy. Country Family Soaps, handmade soap, lip balms, lotions created to pamper your skin and beauty. Candles by Laura has a selection of holiday scents. Botticello Farms can help with bountiful table decorations, fresh balsam and poinsettias. (For all market vendors or more information about finding a farm or artist after the event, visit www.hebronfarmersmarket.com.)

Kevin and Chris Bassette along with partner, Henry Killam and children Abby, Olivia, Dina, Henry, and Jamie, own Killam & Bassette Farmstead. Stock up on their homemade jams or take home free-range eggs. Warm homemade scarves and quality fleece blankets are cozy - or ask about a visit to their farm.

The folks at Ladies of Levita Road will have pasteurized milk, yogurt and cheese. The farm also will be at Coventry Farmers’s Market’s Winterfresh (indoors) event on Sunday, listed below.

Also Saturday:
That’s “Tater” (above) and he’s one of the 14 minis up for auction on Saturday, Nov. 21. (There’s also four goats, a Morab, an Arab and seven Quarter horses, plus six more rescue horses from UConn.)

The Connecticut Department of Agriculture auction is at UConn Horsebarn Hill arena. Preview is 10 a.m.; auction at 1 p.m. For information call Linda Wenner, state animal control officer, (860) 713-2567. All animals have current health certificates, have recently been fully vaccinated, and horses have negative Coggins tests.Funds raised benefit the Animal Abuse Cost Recovery Account.

Sunday:

The Running Brook Farms Third Annual Tractor Pull is Sunday, Nov. 22, in Killingworth. Weigh in at 7 a.m.; pulling starts at 8:30 a.m. Kids can visit with Santa; refreshments will be available. Location is 219 Route 80, Killingworth. (Rain/snow date is Saturday, Nov. 28. Hey, you never know with New England weather.)

The first ever WinterFresh Coventry Farmers’s Market is Sunday, 11 a.m. to 2, p.m. at Coventry High School, 78 Ripley Hill Rd. (just off Route 31) in Coventry.

According to Winter Caplanson, market representative, “Connecticut farmers are still harvesting - did you know that even when we get snow cover, the hardy vegetables will still be fine?”

Folks who ordered turkeys from Highland Thistle Farm can pick them up on Sunday, and there may be some available for those lucky enough to be there. Seasonal produce (fresh) includes kale, Romaine and green leaf head lettuce, white Japanese hakurie turnips, herbs, baby bok choi, broccoli, garlic, and much more.

Farms include Two Guys from Woodbridge; Dondero Orchards, apples, pears, butternut squash, cabbage, made-on-the-farm jams, jellies, pickles, and apple and pumpkin pies; KD Crop Farm, potatoes, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, kohlrabi, cauliflower, broccoli, squash, turnips, kale, eggs, and pickles. Grass-fed beef, lamb, and fresh seafood, too.Beaver Brook Farm will bring lamb, veal, pastured chicken, lamb sausage, and savory lamb stew.

Farm to Hearth Flatbread pizzas will be made to order when you arrive or boxed for take out. (Don’t miss this - the talented chef uses amazingly fresh ingredients.)

Life is to be savored, and that means heading out to find real things that grow, move and snort. Because, as Lincoln said “in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.”

We’re gathering up a wheelbarrow of yarns for the zoo of freshly-knit sweaters (including some for dogs) - coming off the needles that will be showcased on our network - yarns from different farms, blended (alpaca, mohair blends, buffalo, some other wonderful-to-knit, warm-to-wear surprises) fibers - all from Connecticut farms and artisans.