Kimberly may be getting ready for her next New Hampshire escape, and this blog has been discontinued. Thanks for visiting and happy travels!

Around every corner in New England you'll find someone some where retorting, "...yada yada yada...I love fall...yada yada yada..." But this might be the first time you hear, "I love gourds." Welcome to my weird world...I LOVE gourds. The kaleidoscope of colors, confusing shapes and tantilizing textures woo me. Year after year, there's not much new, but they still steal my heart, as the dozens of frames whiz by, film canisters dropping to my feet. Brookdale Fruit Farm is a family favorite year round...so of course, the fall brings a cornucopia of apples, pumpkins and gourds.

Greeting you on Route 130 is the farm's giant hay bale man, complete with gourd eyes and nose. His lap situated always for the feverish frenzy of parents wanting photos of the kids on such a display of New England cheer. Robust orange pumpkins spill out of crates, over wagons and onto the parking lot, while the smallest of tots and the oldest of pops, spins them round hoping they've finally found their chosen one. The gourds steal your gaze, ok, maybe just mine, and keep you staring. They're beautiful! The hardest decision of the day lies in how much you can spend, and which ones should you choose. Base your next painting project at home on these natural delights, and bring those same feelings home.

Inside you'll find a bushel and a peck of everything fall. Please try the McCoun apples...they are my favorite! Warm cider or cocoa sits in their carafes with tiny cups beside them...a perfect way to shop. The Brookdale gift shop offers items such as Stonewall Kitchen products or Burt's Bees, items made from NH, and others hand made else where and sweet no matter where they came from. Know someone interested in bird houses? Garden sculptures or bulbs?...It might be a time for some early holiday shopping at Brookdale.

It's also nice to know how your food is being grown and cared for in today's world of genetically altered everything. [Have you seen the size of today's children!?] Brookdale offers a small selection of fruits and vegetables that will keep you away from any Stop & Shop. At Brookdale, they have received awards for staying true to clean water and air, healthy soil, sustainable forestry, improved habitat and open space, and a quality environment for all. It was also one of the first orchards in NH to adopt Integrated Pest Management strategies to reduce pesticide use and enhance environmental quality. Feel free to snap right into that Mac!

Brookdale Farms
Route 130
Hollis, NH