I like supporting small, local businesses and when I can also get farm fresh products while supporting small and local it is a win for everyone involved in the transaction. Eggs and milk that were produced and gathered this morning on a clean, small farm have an unbelievably delicious taste that can't be described. Ultra-pasteurized milk that stays "fresh" for 2 months just can't even compete in terms of taste and nutrients of grass-fed, free range cows that are well tended personally by a family, and the same goes for chickens.

Today I met one of the owners of Day Spring Farm and along with her were her three children (homeschooled) who were helping out. The family runs a very small farm and supplies locals with fresh chicken, lamb and beef, eggs, and milk. Due to state laws farms in Virginia cannot sell raw milk so people join together, sort of like a CSA for dairy, and buy shares of a cow and then pay monthly a portion of the feed and boarding costs. In the spring my children will get to go and visit the cows and chickens that will be supplying some of our food. I love that the family has a little metal money box set out and the entire system is run on the honesty policy. You pay for your monthly feed/board fees and then add in money for whatever else you have ordered whether it be eggs or meat. You just jot down the amount you are leaving and list what you've bought and go on your way.


As I was driving to Philomont today to pick up our milk and eggs for the first time I really enjoyed being in rural northern Virginia. Most people associate sprawl, Tyson's Corner, the Metro and other congested, commercial areas of this part of the state when they think of Northern Virginia. But just a few miles outside of all that congestion is beautiful farm land and horse country. You just can't believe how horse mad the areas of Middleburg, Leesburg and Purcellville are. All along the older roads are old stone churches, hand stacked stone walls, paddocks full of horses, big country houses that have a unique colonial look to them. There are small country general stores and old mills that you can tour, wineries and farms. It is well worth the time if you are ever in this part of the country and want to see some beautiful scenery to get on Route 50 and just drive west.

-Jess