Farmer’s Markets have always called to me. I am not sure if it is the bright colors of the produce, the smell of earth, or the gratitude I have, knowing what it takes to get this food to a table. Perhaps it is genetic, stemming from the deep farming roots which run through my father’s side of the family.
I don’t know why specifically I seek these attractions out, I just know that I could spend hours lost in the discovery of everything which a Farmer’s Market offers. Fresh produce, herbs, flowers, jars of homemade produce, all seem to ground me a little, to the earth which they are grown. It was no surprise then, that while researching things to do in the Petoskey area, I was drawn to “Bill’s Farm Market”. It had been rated 17 of the top 37 things to see/do in this location. Sometimes small towns are limited in what they offer, so I didn’t have high expectations but we were determined to fulfill our alphabet goal on this trip, so we selected the “Farm Market” as our letter “F”.
Driving along the quiet lane, the popular city soon turned into the rolling fields of farmland, which surround the area. It was easy to imagine that we might have taken a wrong turn. With just a touch of fall chill in the air, the fields glistened under the morning dew. Here, there was no traffic. It was so peaceful and was proving to be a beautiful drive, along a yet another road we wouldn’t normally travel if it wasn’t for an ABC Adventure.
Still, I couldn’t imagine how this site had gained so much popularity, every review on a popular travel site had sung the praises, still I was a skeptic. Surely this market, located nearly 8 miles away from any town, didn’t attract nearly the population which went out of the way to rave about it. As we crested the final half mile, traffic came to a standstill.
I have been to many Farm Markets over the years. I never imagined that we would find a traffic back up, waiting to enter the popular location, especially on a Monday! I was like a child heading to an amusement park as we waited for a parking space to free up. This place promised to be something extraordinary!
I had read that the high hoop tunnel, holding the market was directly attached to the farmhouse. “Bill” had taken it over in 1982. He and his brother Don still reside in the home where they had been raised. In fact, the farm has been in the family for over 100 years!
The market bustles with activity from June through December. It quietly moves through the seasons as it offers over 20 varieties of fresh flowers, 10 kinds of herbs and too many varieties of foods to mention, all grown in front of the house and in the beautiful valley which wraps around like an embrace, dotted only by cows quietly grazing on the hills.
On this August day, the smell of fresh peaches mingles with the cow manure, drawing throngs of people into the covered high tunnel. I am transformed to student, determined to learn the secret of the super sized produce filling the bins.
I stand transfixed, marveling at the 20 varieties of fresh flowers recently picked from the farm. Cow poop and clean air, I am told are the magic which makes this happen. Soon the fields will be full of pumpkins and gourds as the season moves into fall.
Perhaps we will take a fall drive to see the pumpkins and gourds which will soon fill the fields. A hay ride might just be the way to pass a few hours. Or maybe, as the snow begins to turn this setting into a Currier and Ives postcard, we will return for a Christmas tree, wreath or sleigh ride.
With a final glance out over the valley, which surrounds the farm, I imagine the snow beginning to fall here this winter, transforming the scene to a Currier and Ives postcard. Each season offers its own unique adventure of food, flowers, hay rides, sleigh rides, wreathes and trees. For now, I will simply revel in the beauty of this location, content to have discovered this fabulous place.
As I file my letter “F” away, this adventure now complete, “We will be back”, I whisper, to no one in particular.
Bill’s Farm Market 4450 East Mitchell Rd., Petoskey, MI 49770 (231)-347-6735