Thanks to all our customers who joined in on the Harvest/Halloween fun at Rose Orchards this fall!
We’re delighted to let you know that we are remaining open every day and we’ll be cooking up your favorite pies for Thanksgiving, too!
So, stop by today, or call, to order your Thanksgiving Pies!
ROSE ORCHARDS FARM MARKET
PHONE: (203) 488-7996
We’re excited to announce the opening of a new attraction at Rose Orchards–a Corn Maze! It’s open weekends through the fall. Come see if you can find your way out!
We’ve tended this cornfield all spring and summer and it’s now the perfect height for our maze. So, come on over for some family fun!
We also have our traditional Hay Maze, which is open every day in the pumpkin patch.
Fall is here in all its glory, so come on over to Rose Orchards for some family fun!
ROSE ORCHARDS FARM MARKET
33 ROUTE 139
NORTH BRANFORD, CT 06471
TELEPHONE: 203-488-7996
We’re picking fresh, native sweet corn on our farm right now, so do stop by soon for some of the best, freshest Butter-and-Sugar Sweet Corn you’ve ever tasted!
Our own, Rose Orchards-grown, native Sweet Corn should be ready soon, hopefully within a week. We’ll let you know as soon as we’re picking native corn, so stay posted!
“Hi! I’m a week old and I finally chose my name! It’s ISABELLE! It has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?
My Mom’s Annabelle and I’m Isabelle. . . goes together nicely. My family has been trying out different names on me, but I really like the sound of “Isabelle” or just plain ”Belle.”
SEE YOU AROUND THE FARM!”
On nice days, if you’re lucky, you might get to meet Annabelle and her foal in the petting zoo. As she grows up, she’ll spend more time in the petting zoo, but for now we’re trying to let mother and baby have some privacy, too.
This morning we got quite a surprise! Annabelle had her baby overnight, and it’s a girl!
She’s a spotted draft, just like her dad.
How did she ever fit in Annabelle’s belly?
Annabelle seems to know that we won’t hurt her baby, but we still want to give them quiet time alone.
Annabelle and her baby will move out to a separate pen by the farm market in a few days. Until then, they’ll have some privacy.
This long stretch of rainy, cloudy weather has made it difficult to get planting done–and we haven’t made hay yet due to the absence of sun for more than a week–but the orchards are thriving with all of nature’s irrigation!
Peaches, apples, and pears are set well on the trees and taking on nice size. Here’s a peek at the fruit in the orchards, taken on this wet, rainy Sunday (June 21).
The Red Delicious apples are enjoying all the rainfall!
The Macoun apples, a real favorite among our locally-grown, native apples, are also doing well.
The Bosc pears, shimmering under the raindrops, are already taking on a rosy color.
The peaches, the first fruit we’ll be picking in the orchard later in July, have also been soaking up nature’s liquid and are sizing up nicely.
Of course, a walk around the farm isn’t complete without a quick visit with our animals. . .
Our baby Brown Swiss calf is now drinking his milk nicely from a pail, with a little gentle assistance. He’s still known to suck on your fingers, elbow, pants’ leg, or whatever may be in reach, as he’s still a baby. We’ve taken to calling him “Baby Bull” or “Brahma Bull” (due to his overly-large, wonderful ears that sometimes droop down), so we may call him “B.B.” for short.
Baby Bull does LOVE his milk!
Our Shire Workshorse, Annabelle, is progressly nicely with her pregnancy. She spends her days with our menagerie of animals by the Waterwheel Barn by the Creamery, and her nights alone in her cozy, comfy, private stall. When her time comes near to deliver (in July) we’ll give her and her new foal the privacy they deserve in the beginning as they bond. We expect she’ll be quite protective of her newborn and that she won’t want the other animals too close at that time. We’ll keep you posted!
Annabelle walks up to her private quarters with Al Rose, and Duke, our Golden Retriever, who is always nearby and who loves the horses, especially at feeding time. Duke’s been known to nibble on their grain, as the workhorses “share” their meal with him!
Annabelle’s sleeping quarters are in a barn with our Percheron Workhorses, so she has company nearby.
Bill and Vinny (below), our Dapple-Gray Percherons, will probably be quite surprised with the new addition to our horse family that we hope Annabelle will make in the near future!
How are YOU surviving all this rain?
June is definitely “Strawberry Time” at Rose Orchards and our native strawberries are some of the juiciest and sweetest we’re ever tasted!
Do stop by and enjoy these native berries, while they last. We have fresh-picked strawberries in the farm market, along with all the fixings for strawberry shortcake, including shortcake biscuits and whipped cream, so enjoy nature’s treat while they’re in season!
The newest member of the Rose Family is this adorable little Brown Swiss calf, which recently joined us from another farm in North Branford. Nathaniel Rose carries this week-old bull to his new home, where he will join the farm’s menagerie of other animals, including goats, llamas, sheep, and minature horse. He has mastered drinking milk from a pail and is lively and happy. We’re still trying to find just the right name for this little guy . . . any ideas?
