Brownies Have Sweet Time on the Farm

Brownie Troop 30221 recently toured Houlden Farm in North Grafton with Ruth Houlden, who  taught the girls about the 20 varieties of pumpkins grown on the family-owned farm.

They also learned that asparagus plants grow for about 25 years, yielding harvests of asparagus each year. The girls toured the greenhouse which is so colorful right now as it is full of all kinds of gourds. The girls learned that if they leave a gourd in the snow over the winter, that by spring, the gourd will be as hard as wood.

Houlden taught the girls how they could make a birdhouse out of a large goose shaped gourd. The girls also saw a large basket of her "treasures" that she has found while working the farm such as marbles dating back over 100 years; a bone which was certified by a paleontologist to be at least 11,000 years old; glass bottles and a coin dating back to the 1800s.

The girls had a wonderful time learning about a real working farm. As a thank you, the troop sang Houlden the Brownie Smile song.

The girls would like to thank her for her hospitality and for the gift of popping corn.