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Sun Otter Tours showcase local family farms

June 14, 2018

Sun Otter Tours LLC shares excitement and passion for the local landscape with clients on its Coastal Farms Tour, which highlights the rich biodiversity and proud heritage of family-owned farms in Southern Delaware.

Members of the tour were treated to a beautiful day soaked in sunshine during their visits to Goat Joy Farm in Harbeson, Lavender Fields in Milton and Black Hog Farmstead in Lewes. They explored the elements that make these farms important to the community as well as different from one another.

Sun Otter Tours owners Jody and Steve Dengler, who are coastal Delaware residents, welcomed guests onto their tour bus, which originally provided transportation for CHEER Center members. It has gone through a complete makeover to display custom graphics and quotes from their mission statement.

The first stop on the tour was Goat Joy, a part of Ritter Family Farms, nestled on roughly 1,000 acres behind St. George’s Chapel in Harbeson. Upon stepping off the bus, guests were guided by owner Laura Ritter toward the stables that house their famous goats. As part of the experience, guests were able to interact with many goats on the premises from babies to adults, and could even watch the process of milking the goats and feed baby goats with a bottle of milk.

This hands-on experience is something that Laura and her daughter Amanda have truly embraced when creating Goat Yoga and Goat Socials. Amanda, an ardent animal lover and current student at the University of Delaware, was a major influence in combining the joys of interacting with animals and maintaining a healthy mind and spirit to create the Goat Yoga sessions that take place every weekend.

“The benefits of animal therapy are endless. There are only positives when being able to work together with the goats in a relaxed atmosphere to enjoy the benefits of a fun and unique experience,” said Laura. “We have even been invited to share Goat Yoga with artists and VIPs at the Firefly Music Festival in Dover this year, which will be amazing.”

Laura’s husband is a fourth-generation farmer, and this was evident with vast crops on the property, not to mention animals like peacocks, mini horses, and their new kitten that thinks it is a goat. While working on current events such as Goat Yoga and the family-oriented Goat Socials, the farm plans on having a corn maze to add to the fall festivities on the Eastern Shore.

The next stop on the tour was the five-acre historic property of Lavender Fields at Warrington Manor in Milton. Owner Marie Mayor joined guests to show them around the property and inform them about various operations going on all over the premises.

Marie Mayor and Sharron Harris have been growing lavender at this farm since 2003, but have traced its lineage back as early as the 1600s.

The farm boasts up to 3,000 lavender plants and has specialty gardens such as the Herb and Flower Garden, the award-winning Dahlia Garden, the Specimen Hosta Garden, the Native Wildflower Garden, and the Bee and Butterfly Garden where honey is produced by bees and sold to guests.

Lavender Fields offers a stunning array of plant species, buildings both old and new for processing and sales, a meditation labyrinth, and much more, plus an endless variety of products made from the lavender and other plants on site. Restaurateurs and brewers visit to purchase fresh and locally grown plants for dishes or divine drinks, and there is a retail store filled with items.

Lavender Fields owners take pride in offering unique and beneficial products to all those who visit, including 38 varieties of handcrafted soaps, bath salts, mineral oils, lip balms, shea butters, creams, bug spray, hand sanitizer, culinary lavender sugar, homemade goods, a lavender cookbook and much more.

The final tour stop was the sustainable and science-based Black Hog Farmstead in Lewes, where guests were met by husband and wife owners John and Helen Feliciani.

The Felicianis have been on this property located close to the natural watershed of Prettyman Creek for 30 years; they pride themselves on education efforts, and caring for rare and uncommon plants. The farmstead is also home to a bed and breakfast, and it hosts a farm-to-table dinner every month using many ingredients grown on site.

Helen led the group around the property, pointing out the rare and unusual species of plants on site, as well as more common plants including fruits, vegetables, and spices. Some examples are lettuce, tomatoes, arugula, cantaloupes, sunflowers, eggplant, fennel, various beans, carrots, beets, eight varieties of garlic, asparagus, onions, and many more.

With a variety of plant species and foods grown at Black Hog Farmstead, many community members are involved through having particular plants on site because of restrictions in neighborhood homeowners associations. It is also important for the farm to educate and promote a sustainable lifestyle to the many children who tour it every year.

Sun Otter Tours offers tours throughout the year with many different locations and themes.

“My husband and I enjoy informing the community about the treasures that are in our own backyard. We want to instill and embrace a sense of spirit, adventure and curiosity in both ourselves and our guests. Seeing the enjoyment and engagement of our guests on all of our tours is truly what this is about. We want to serve our community the best we can and inspire adults to indulge in their natural curiosity,” said Certified Tour Guide and Sun Otter co-owner Jody Dengler.

For more information on the farms visited, go to www.ritterfamilyfarms.com, www.lavenderfieldsde.com, and www.blackhogfarmstead.com. For information on upcoming excursions through Sun Otter Tours, go to www.sunotter.com.

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