Article by Leni Hurley

On 11 October, a group of about 10 adults and 4 children gatherd at Sprankenhof, a family-run, organic fruit and vegetable farm on the outskirts of the village of Udenhout, a 25 minutes bycicle ride from Anne’s house in Tilburg! Before we started on our farm tour, we gathered in the barn, where we were treated to a lovely ‘vlierbessen’ lemonade (elderberry). In the garden, we traipsed after our host, fruitpicking (and eating) as we went along. We were very lucky, for the weather, though cold, was bright and the sun showed the beautiful, small-scale local Brabant landscape at it’s best. We tasted strawberries, black- and blueberries and a marble-size kiwi that grew on a lattice work of low, overhanging trees. We talked to the chickens in (and outside of) their various runs, as they ran up as close as they could get, begging for – and getting some of – the fruit collected in our baskets. Meanwhile our host collected a lot of eggs, some of which found their way onto our breakfast tables the next morning! The children enjoyed themselves on their very own scavenger hunt. However, we saw lots of them for, like ourselves, they enjoyed picking and eating fruit and listening to our host as he explained what came before the farm got it’s current designation and how it evolved into what it now is.

At the end of the tour, we returned to the barn for a lovely spread of farm products, including fruit yoghurts and lemonades. It was a memorable and very pleasurable, easy-going outing. Thank you, organising ‘committee’, for organising it. And thank you, Anita, for coming up with the idea! Interested? See www.sprankenhof.com.