Until our next trip, this will be my last post about the Vermont Cheese Trail.  It’s been so nice to remember these beautiful and delicious days. As I’ve said before, I was excited to show Jeff Shelburne Farms. Visiting this historic property was a highlight of my year last year and on this trip I got to explore an area I’d never seen before, the Children’s Farmyard.

The Children’s Farmyard is located in the huge U-shaped Farm Barn. There is a bakery, cheese factory, environmental education center, and lots of animals you can visit and learn about including, sheep, donkeys, pigs, goats, turkeys, chickens, and cows.

Of course most activities are geared towards children, but we thoroughly enjoyed strolling around the beautiful setting, watching little kids enthusiastically chase chickens and pet the farm animals. The Farmyard has interactive activities scheduled each day that allow visitors to learn about sustainable agriculture and animal husbandry including opportunities to milk a cow, collect eggs, brush a goat, and explore the garden. There is also a little Farm Cart Cafe with delicious sounding lunches, but unfortunately we arrived too late to try it. One benefit of arriving late in the day, however, was watching everyone try to collect the errant chickens that were scattered around the farmyard to put them safely in the coop for the night.

Shelburne Farms is located on a series of large rolling hills at the edge of Lake Champlain. We hiked up a hill behind the Farmyard to explore the kitchen garden with a view of the surrounding Green Mountains.

Before we left, Jeff met a bearded friend.