Emma and Barina {the calves} at Farm Day

Today we loaded up Emma and Barina in the trailer, drove in the torrential rains, down the freeway in backed up traffic to make it to Marin County Farm Day. 

Farm Day provides hands-on educational experiences outside the classroom, including stations designed by the Marin Master Gardeners. Approximately 30 Northern California ranchers, farmers, producers and educators provide interactive exhibits on agriculture, health, farm animals, gardens and environmental education.

This was Emma and Barina's first public outing and they did great! 

Kids that normally don't get the chance to see a farm animal up close were able to pet and look at these calves.  The Jersey calf belongs to Bryce's fellow 4H member and schoolmate, Gracie, Justice her calf is 4 months old and will also be shown at the fair this summer.

 

My nephew, Gavin, will be showing Emma in the Sonoma-Marin fair this summer....I think they've bonded.

Our Tri-Valley 4H had a display of rabbits and cavies for kids to pet and learn about.  This type of event is always a great opportunity for the 4H members to teach other kids and adults about the animals they care for.  Lots of questions were asked and they were able to answer them with confidence.

All Marin County elementary schools have the opportunity to participate in an essay contest and a poster contest.  Cash prizes and ribbons are awarded at the event.

Bryce walked down to see if his school received a prize.

Second place for the poster his school created.  There are five K through 1 students at Bryce's one-room school, so each grade was responsible for one section of the poster.

 Northbay Dairy Women had a booth with the help of current Dairy Princess, Emile Strand. 

  

There are many hands-on booths the kids can participate in....here they are planting pumpkin seeds to take home.

Looming {is that a word?}demonstrations were happening as well.

Clo the Cow of Clover Stornetta made an appearance.  Paige and her cousin, Leila  followed Clo around for a while.

Our friend, Willy, gave roping demonstrations and taught kids how to handle a rope with the Novato Horsemen group.

The sheep belong to the Pozzi family, who are M.C. Farm Bureau board members and were a big hit.

And sometimes some of the most educational demonstrations take place at the end of an event, when only a few attendees remain.  Bunny breeding session....that's all I'm sayin'. 

Farm Friend Friday Following at http://www.verdefarm.com/

I love to hear from you! To leave a comment, click on the “Post a Comment” link below. Have a peaceful day.

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Marin County Farm Bureau V.I.P. Luncheon

As many of you already know, Dominic is the current President of Marin County Farm Bureau and yesterday the organization held it's annual V.I.P. Luncheon.  The attendees usually include; all of our elected representatives, many of our county department heads, planning commissioners and planning staff and many other agriculture organizations.  This is an opportunity to bring the ranchers and all of our elected representatives together to get to know each other a little better on a more personal level.

Each year this luncheon is hosted on a Marin County ranch.  This year it was at the Pomi Ranch {aka: deer camp}.  By holding the event at a local ranch, our elected representatives can experience first hand where we, as ranchers live and the type of lifestyles we lead with the hopes of them better understanding where we're coming from when we speak on county and state issues.

Here's a glimpse of how the luncheon progressed.....


Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey was one of the first to arrive at noon.

Dominic, Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey, Alisa Stevenson





Congresswoman Woolsey and her aide, Wendy Friefeld talking with Gerry Corda and Dominic.

Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey & Mark Pomi



Supervisor Judy Arnold with Martin Pozzi & Mike Lawson



Supervisor Steve Kinsey and Suzy Golt of Marin Humane Society



Ellie Rilla from UC Ag Ext., Stacy Carlsen-Ag Commissioner & Lisa Bush



Gary Sack-CFBF & Bob Berner-Executive Director MALT




Linda Dahl-Director  MC Parks &Open Space with Tim Little-Undersheriff



Newly appointed Assistant Chief to Marin Co. F.D., Jason Weber






















David Escobar, Sam Dolcini, Stacy Carlsen & Dan Nackerman

The tables were set and lunch was ready by 12:30.

Included on the menu was barbecued tri tip.



Fellow rancher, Jeff Rowley, donated his time to cook for the day.

My father-in-law, George, made his creamy mushroom saffron risotto for the crowd.  So Good.  We also had a nice, fresh green salad as well.




V.I.P. Wines; important at any V.I.P event



Looks like everyone enjoyed lunch and we lucked out with a nice, sunny day.

Pete Theran; Planning Commissioner

Congresswoman Woolsey addresses the crowd





Supervisor Kinsey speaks to the crowd








Dominic introduces Jim Judd, who is running for Congress.

 

Dominic with Dominic Rowley who also helped to cook and the 'clean up crew'



My kids shaking dice after cleaning up.

Oooh......I think it's time to go.



Happy Thursday!



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How to BBQ 500 Chicken Halves-Western Weekend Style

It's BBQ time.  Only 500 chicken halves at once!  Sunday was final day of Western Weekend in Pt. Reyes Station and Marin County Farm Bureau , of which Dominic is the current President, puts on it's largest fund raiser of the year.  A chicken BBQ. 

Remember the BBQ pit burning party at deer camp we had last week?  Well Sunday, Dominic and crew put all of those pits to use.  The deep pits were lit at 6 a.m. with mesquite briquettes and by 7 a.m. the chicken halves were put on. 

The kids and I drove over to Pomi's deer camp, Red Hill Gun Club (where the BBQing takes place) at around 10 a.m. to check on the progress and snap some photos and maybe score a little sampling :)

When we arrived, one pot was completely done.  At this point, some of the 'special sauce' is poured into the pot and it is left to simmer over very low heat creating steam in the pot which produces a very moist and tender chicken half.

The combined process of the 'special sauce', barbecuing technique and steaming is a long time family recipe between some of the ranch families in the area and has been used for decades.  The chicken is not marinated in the sauce, but used during the cooking process as a baste and in the steaming portion of the process as well.

The kids and I did score a sample.......finger licken' good!

Ron Pomi (right) and Matt Field (left) are flipping 24 (or so) chicken halves at once with two grates.

Matt, Ron and Petie Ielmorini are placing some chickens in one of the huge pots to simmer and steam.

Dominic is finishing up the last batch by basting some of the chicken halves with the special sauce using a homemade basting brush made out of bay leaf branches.

The chicken is then driven out to Pt. Reyes Station where the event takes place.

We arrive in Pt. Reyes Station just in time to put the finishing touches on the 4-H "Three Little Pigs" float.

The three little pigs are SO cute!

Camilla Taylor as the Big Bad Wolf.

The chicken BBQ  is set up in theToby's Feed Barn parking lot.

The parade begins at noon.

The Nave group has been around for at least a decade and performs quite the comical routine.

The teddy bear line.

Palace Market float.

Every parade needs an antique tractor.

Bonnie and Clyde made an appearance.

Bryce was so excited to ride on the float and throw out 4-H stickers to the spectators.

Our float driver, John Taylor with his son, Billy Joe.

This is where we watched the parade from.  Perfect seat!

Cowgirls. 

Horse and Carriage #1.

And #2.

Native American dancers.

Even a fire shooting snail.

Top of the snail.

This was my favorite float.

It's a rolling saloon.  Complete with band on one side,

and kitchen on the other side and dancers all around.  It just made you want to join in!

After the parade, we walked over to the BBQ and along the way, I had to check out the home baked goods. 

Tomales FFA volunteers serving up the chicken.

Regina Pozzi serving salad.

The dining area.

Clover Stornetta donates all the milk, ice cream and butter to Marin County Farm Bureau for this event.

Mike Griffen, from Clover, along with his crew also donate their time cooking beans as well.

Happy diners.

Raspberry pie was calling my name.  SO GOOD!

Bryce wanted a bite.  I think it was a bit too tart for his taste, but perfect for mine.

Happy Monday!

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