LINNEUS, Maine — Jon McQuarrie and Tessa Flannery started their quest to build a farm with a rabbit for the grandkids, just in case they wanted to join the local 4H club.
Booths filled with local goods were set up at the Gallifreyan Farm open house Sunday in Linneus. (Courtesy of Rosalind Morgan)
A year ago they started Gallifreyan Farm on the Codfish Ridge Road in Linneus and have never looked back. Setting the needs of their animals as their priority, they have been erecting buildings and setting up pastures for them ever since. Plants got a nod this year with the addition of an orchard, raised beds and a high tunnel greenhouse.
On Sunday, July 1, the couple unveiled their passion project to the public with an open farm day. They reached out to a couple of other local businesses: Wynes Trailside Popcorn, Bayberry Fields, Scentsy and It’s A Beard Thing, the Houlton Humane Society and musicians Brad Hutchinson and Trish King to offer up something for everyone.
According to their website, “Our dream started many years ago as we sought for more efficient and effective vegetable production on a quarter-acre lot in our quiet Houlton neighborhood. We quickly realized that we were able to produce enough vegetables for us, and most of our non-farming family, utilizing just over 200 square feet of garden. While there are lots of neat-o whiz-bang chemicals out there that might help produce higher crop yields, they also cost a lot money, and sprinkling nuclear green mystery stuff on our gardens just didn’t sit well with us.”
During Sunday’s event, there was food available, a dunk tank, chicken poop bingo, face painting and of course the real stars — the animals. Proceeds from the dunk tank and goodies from the grill, (food donated by Hannaford) helped raise money for the Houlton Humane Society.
Children were not the only ones happy to have an up-close encounter with the likes of an emu, rabbit, alpacas, turkey and chickens. Most of the farm’s critters were in their respective homes, after all the rabbits have their own air conditioner.
However, the aforementioned animals were front and center to accept their due attention. A rooster even joined Trish and Brad onstage for a time.
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- Alpacas were but one of the many animals on display at the Gallifreyan Farm on the Codfish Ridge Road in Linneus Sunday as part of an open house. (Courtesy of Rosalind Morgan)
