Prairie Home Farm to host 20th anniversary party Sunday

COEUR d'ALENE — Children scoured the pumpkin patch, throwing their arms around the autumn orange gourds and testing their weight.

Once they picked the perfect pumpkins, they scampered away to climb on the tire swing, pet the pigs or enjoy a close encounter with the most docile turkey with a most colorful rainbow wing.

“This is my pumpkin. I’m going to carve it,” Genesis Preparatory Academy kindergartner Jenna Jackman said during a Wednesday morning field trip, holding her prized produce. "Do you want to come see the turkey now?”

Festive fall Saturday and Wednesday mornings at Prairie Home Farm come complete with the laughter of little ones, whinnies, brays, oinks and bleats from the livestock yard and an atmospheric aroma of spiced apples on the air. Daisy, a persuasive basset hound, successfully solicits for belly rubs and customers come and go as they pick up handmade Lil' Punkin Pie Co. creations.

Surrounded by housing developments near the Coeur d'Alene/Hayden border, the 1920 5-acre Prairie Home farmstead at 7790 N. Atlas Road offers agritourism and nostalgia through its activities, products and decor.

At the heart of it all is owner, operator, baker, Master Gardener, farmer and former critical care nurse Linda Swenson, who is throwing Prairie Home Farm's 20th birthday party from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.

“I’m really very sentimental this year because of the 20 years," Swenson said. "I’m doing a ton of reflecting.”

When Swenson first started Prairie Home Farm, it was open Wednesdays and every other Sunday for one month of the year.

"I worked 12-hour shifts as a nurse and I used all my vacation pay for October," she said.

She completed a Master Gardener program in 2001, moved to the farm in 2002 and opened it in 2004.

“It just seemed to make sense,” she said.

The farm came with two geese, which brought great joy to her heart.

"I wanted to grab people off the street to come and see them," Swenson said. "I didn’t know this life when I was a kid. I literally wanted to show everyone.”

She has since expanded the farm to have many more furry and feathered friends, as well as family-friendly activities and her Lil' Punkin Pie Co., through which she sells handmade farm fruit pies.

Swenson often works into the wee hours to fulfill her pie orders, then opens for field trips before opening to the public.

“It really is a labor of love,” she said.

Maureen Larson has been a returning guest since the farm opened.

"I’ve come here for 20 years, since the beginning, with my family,” she said. “I’ve got lots of grandkids, they’re all grown, but they all have pictures of being here over 20 years. It’s so amazing having this place here all these years."

Hilary Whipps of Coeur d’Alene brought her 14-month-old and 3-year-old daughters to the farm to pick pumpkins and enjoy the agricultural ambiance. Whipps said she was a frequent visitor to Prairie Home even before she had kids.

“She has her pies, which are so special," Whipps said. "All the hot chocolate and walking around her little farm, it just puts you in the mood for the season.”

The pumpkin patch is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. every Wednesday and Saturday in October. Other days in October are available for field trips and events. Farm admission is $3. Pumpkins are $.49 per pound.

For the 20th anniversary, farm admission is free and pumpkins will be $.20 per pound. The celebration will also include food and craft vendors, face painting and more.

Info: prairiehomefarm.com

    Prairie Home Farm owner Linda Swenson gives Brennon Pickett and his son, Uriah Pickett, 9, goodie bags Wednesday morning. A 20th birthday celebration will be held at the farm from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.
  

    Hilary Whipps of Coeur d’Alene, with 14-month-old daughter Shay and 3-year-old daughter Arie, inspect a pumpkin Wednesday morning at Prairie Home Farm.

    Kunekune pigs are among the friendly (and cute!) creatures at Prairie Home Farm.
  

    The pumpkin patch is a popular destination for visitors during the month of October at Prairie Home Farm.
  

    This is Prairie Home Farm's Daisy, a basset hound with a fondness for belly rubs.
  

    Zoey Williams, 2, center, befriends a docile turkey at Prairie Home Farm as Marcie Nebinger, left, and Conor McDaniel share a little pumpkin fun Wednesday morning.