Sunday, August 20, 2017

Alstede Farms, Chester, NJ...

The path to finding the perfect sunflower field was not an easy one.
It didn't just happen.
Timing was everything and our timing was off, ever so slightly.
I kept reading about them on the internet,
one was too far, one was already spent...
people were sharing pictures but they had been taken a week earlier...
grrrr, I wanted to see one, not too far, and one that was blooming at that moment.

- you could say I was obsessed -

Our search started in Chester, NJ,
that was a bit of a dud, but we took pictures anyway...no surprise there.


You can see it was a large field, plenty of sunflowers, but most of them had faded.
On it's day, I'll bet it was beautiful!


The sunflowers were huge, most were bending forward.


- the hubs -


- me of course -




I did find one or two that had yet to open...


and just a few that were pretty as could be!










There was an outdoors farmers market...with beautiful produce,












and an indoor farm store with produce and bakery items.

ps...I forgot to say that this is a beautiful farm and we had a marvelous day.
Missing the sunflowers was our fault.
We have been here before and we have always had a wonderful time!!

The perfect sunflower field was here, in Chester County, Pa., just in case you missed that post.

27 comments:

Anvilcloud said...

I had been meaning to get back to ous in good light, but it has been hard to come by, and the flowers are probably too spent now anyway.

eileeninmd said...

Hello Debbie, love the pretty sunflowers. It is cool to see them turn toward the sunlight. Great photos of you and your hubby. The market looks wonderful too, looks of yummy fruit. Happy Sunday, enjoy your day and new week ahead!

Marie Smith said...

What beautiful fruit and veg, Debbie. They were worth the trip!

Brian King said...

The field may not have been at peak, but their produce looks awesome! It's nice that you have sunflower fields to visit. They're not a common thing here.

Beside a babbling brook... said...

What a fantastic store though!!!!!!!!!

Look at those heirloom tomatoes. They are things of beauty!

Happy Sunday!

Changes in the wind said...

What a treat to see all those sunflowers and the market was to die for...

Unknown said...

Hello Debbie,
Farmer Kurt Alstede here and thank you so much for your recent visit. Our sunflower maze can be found in peak bloom from the middle of July through early August. The bloom period passes rather quickly so make sure that you mark it on your calendar so that you won't miss it next year. Our website and facebook pages are also excellent ways to stay up to date on all of our fresh discoveries. Thanks again for your visit and don't forget that our giant corn maze opens up on Labor Day weekend!
Best Regards,
Farmer Kurt

Adam said...

first farm store I've seen have donuts, yum

Pam said...

Looks like a great day to be out and about! I love those sunflowers.

Pam said...

Looks like a great day to be out and about! I love those sunflowers.

Debbie said...

what i didn't say, and should have said, was that we had an awesome time and i'm sorry i didn't say it!! the farm was beautiful and there were a lot of great activities for families. i always LOVE that. i am going to add to my post what fun we had, and as far as the sunflower field, that was our fault - we were a day late and a buck short!!!

this was not our first visit and i am ashamed that i did not say nicer things in the post about the farm, because it is wonderful!!!!

Prunella Pepperpot said...

The Outdoor Market looks such fun and their produce delicious!! The sunflowers are gorgeous to see. Like a rose garden it is very difficult to get the timing just right!
Have a wonderful new week Debbie :)

Sally said...

The produce and fruit! Everything looks great; I'd love to have some of the peaches. :)

xoxo

Gordon said...

Well Debbie you may not have got a full field, but my goodness those individual flowers are fantastic. And the produce at the farmers market looks amazing.
Have a good week ,Gordon.

Ruth Hiebert said...

The sunflowers are pretty, but all that good produce is making me hungry.

Latane Barton said...

I love sunflowers but from afar. Their heads get heavy and they droop and that makes me sad. But, birds are happy so that's a good thing.

Michelle said...

Sunflowers are almost the perfect flower.

The Furry Gnome said...

Wonderful time of year! All that fresh fruit and veggies!

Judy said...

I'll take some of those Cherries, a couple of tomatoes and one Sunflower head, please.

Elizabeth Edwards said...

look at all the fresh vegs, yum! ( ;

Lowcarb team member said...

Those veggies look amazing ...

All the best Jan

Jenn Jilks said...

Don't you love harvest time!!!!

Conniecrafter said...

That farm looks a lot like the one close by our house, Greg was the same way wanted to get the sunflowers but he didn't want to drive 2 hours for them and here they were just 15 minutes away at a local farm :) You will be ready for them next year :) Looks like they had some really good produce too!! Love the pic of the sunflower with the bees!

LeAnn said...

Again, you take the most amazing trips and discover such a variety of things to do and see. I did smile at the limping sunflowers. The photos of these are lovely too. I especially like the ones with the two of you in them. You always look like you are having such a good time.
The Farmer's market produce does look wonderful.
Enjoyed the photos as always! Hugs~

21 Wits said...

Oh my what a place to roam about! This is a wonderful discovery, unbelievable it all is. You both are as sweet as ever too!

UplayOnline said...

All that fresh fruit and veggies!


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Ida said...

Still a great bunch of sunflower shots & it looks like you had a fun time. Who doesn't enjoy all the wonderful fresh produce found at a Farmers Market.