Weckerly Corn Roast

Yesterday was the annual Weckerly Corn Roast. I don't know how many years they've been doing this, but my husband's been going for the past forty-five years, longer than I've been alive...and except for the years when we had moved away, we look forward to this event every summer. The Weckerly's grow the best sweet corn around--I have no idea how big their farm actually is, but it's just miles and acres of rolling hills full of fields of sweet and field corn and every year to celebrate the harvest, they invite all their friends and family for this huge picnic. People come from all around, bringing a dish to share, to sit and catch up on the past year, relax in the sunshine, and enjoy good friends and good food--the best way I know of to spend a summer day.

Michael tried to be everywhere at once. His first stop was the inflatable pool and I think he spent the entire rest of the day running around cold and dripping wet. We went to visit their last pig, Petunia, who saved herself from slaughter by becoming pregnant. She lives a pampered life for a pig, listens to the radio left on along with the lights so she never feels alone or scared of the dark, and she feasts on all sorts of garden goodies, corn meal, and, her favorite: lots of Twinkies. There's also a chicken coop this year and Michael got to pet some of the hens. So now they've got farm fresh eggs to go with all that bacon and ham from the piggies!

I have a favorite tree there that sits out in the middle of a field all by itself. It's huge and magnificent, looking out over the rest of the farm. I always walk out to see it and take some pictures. I imagine if I lived there, I'd want to sit out under that tree every day...either reading, relaxing or just daydreaming, enjoying the peaceful scenery under the cool shade of the branches above.

Then there's the food...Every possible picnic treat you can imagine, lined up for all to enjoy. Stuffed hot peppers, rigatonis and sweet sausage, all sorts of salads and side dishes, and the desserts! Cakes and pies and cookies, oh my! There's usually a few piles of watermelon to dig into, and chips and dips to nibble on as well while waiting for the first batch of corn from the roaster. Oooohhh...the corn!! I did say they grow the sweetest corn around--truly, no other corn compares. We've even had the privilege of picking a few ears straight from the field and eating them raw--so sweet, so crisp! I can't even buy store bought corn anymore--it just always disappoints after you've had Weckerly's corn. It's really that good!

So, here is a picture of my tree and a few other shots of the farm:

My tree