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Fielder’s Choice
By Barry Burleson Field trip to a farm I have to tell you, I never thought at age 49 I would be on a field trip with a group of third graders. But maybe activities such as these, with my 8-year-old who is in elementary school, are keeping me young. Pam
and I debated for a week or so about which one of us was going to
accompany Erin and her classmates to Fiddlin’ Rooster Farm & Bakery
in Water Valley last Thursday. Thursday, typically, is a slower day here at the newspaper office. Plus, Pam has been on more than her share of field trips over the years with our three children as compared to truly. And, the decision became very easy when Erin smiled and said, “Daddy, please.” I
agreed to drive and carry three children. So myself, Erin and friends
Sonni and Abbi loaded up in the Sport Trac (which now apparently
belongs to my 16-year-old instead of me) and headed south on Highway 7
with the caravan of students, parents, grandparents and teachers. The
ride to and from Water Valley was about as entertaining as the
activities at the farm. Erin found Andy’s iPod in the truck, so there
was plenty of music and singing. We had one delay
near the Water Valley city limits for road resurfacing but arrived at
the farm on time and found several other groups of school children
there, too. Apparently, farms like these with activities such as a corn maze and hay ride have become big tourist attractions (agritourism). Most
of our children today never experience the farm life and know very
little about a farm and where their food comes from. They don’t enjoy
the great outdoors like they should. They’re in front of the TV
watching shows or on the computer playing games. That wasn’t true when I was growing up. I experienced the farm almost every day. I was blessed to be raised 12 miles from town with animals, a pond and a garden. Plus my best friend’s dad raised chickens, too. Last
week, the third graders and probably some of the adults learned a lot
by visiting what the Fiddlin’ Rooster Farm publicizes as the “classroom
in the corn.” Special attractions, in addition to
the corn maze and hay ride, included riding a cow train, sliding out of
the loft of a barn, playing in the corn pool and picking out a pumpkin. We enjoyed lunch – hot dogs, chips and cookies – at the picnic pavilion. The farm is located on County Road 102, one mile west of the intersection of Highway 32 and Highway 7 in Water Valley. I
thought the entire time I was there about how much fun it would be to
start such a tourist attraction back home in Alabama where I grew up.
Maybe I will pass that suggestion on to my sisters who still live in
that neck of the woods. And here’s a few farm facts, taken from the Fiddlin’ Rooster Farm’s brochure, that you might not know. Cows drink 25-50 gallons of water each day. That’s almost a bathtub full. Most hens will lay about 300 eggs per year. Pumpkins are really squash. They are 90 percent water. The largest pumpkin ever grown weighed more than 1,300 pounds.
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