As you can tell from my blog, I LOVE to travel. But my life of travel has not always been this way. As I think I've mentioned before, if the trip didn't include a cattle auction or a horse auction or a junk sale, my family didn't make it. Times were tougher for my family than they are now, so if the trip didn't involve a way to make some income, my father deemed it not worthy of taking. So, I was NOT surprised to find the I had not visited such a gem of a place about an hour and a half from my roots. Nestled outside of Little Rock, Arkansas, on the banks of the Arkansas River, television host, P. Allen Smith, has chosen to build his home, The Garden Home Retreat. For those of you not familiar with P. Allen Smith, he hosts three television shows. You can see him on P. Allen Smith Garden Style, or P. Allen Smith Garden Home, or P. Allen Smith's Garden to Table. He has been nicknamed "The Martha Stewart of the South"! His 600+ acre farm boasts 55 heritage poultry species (according to 1874 standards). P. Allen Smith has dedicated his life to educating others on good stewardship of this earth we call Home. He has opened his home to share his "design, gardening, preservation and eco-friendly building practices for all to experience." And I am a better person for having visited Moss Mountain Farm. I find that I learn so much while traveling, and P. Allen Smith's Moss Mountain Farm was no exception. I grew up in the rural community of Bee Branch, Arkansas and I have traveled many of the small country lanes of Arkansas but I had never been to this particular location. There are only a couple ways to get to the farm. You can come from Little Rock or meander through the winding roads from Conway, past Toad Suck, and through Bigelow, the way I chose. On this path, we literally saw moss on the mountain on the way to the farm! We (and about 80 others) were the first guests of the 2019 spring season. Next week will be the peak of the daffodil season, but we did get to see some daffodils on our tour. Our lunch tour included a tour of P. Allen Smith's vegetable garden, rose garden, terraced gardens, Poultryville, Garden Home and eHow cottage, as well as other farm animals. At the end of the tour, we were told we had walked about 2 miles! This tour is NOT for the faint of heart. There are steep inclines and the path is gravel. I would recommend comfortable walking shoes with a decent grip. And the lunch was delicious! A hearty Farm to Table salad with chicken and your choice of Buttermilk Pecan Pie or Coconut Cake. After walking, we were ready for that rest and refreshment. As an added bonus, P. Allen Smith was available that day to join us! (Helpful Hint: There are three long tables set up for lunch and P. Allen Smith sat at the middle of the middle long table.) After lunch he graciously sat and answered questions and then autographed the cookbooks and other items (available for purchase at the Gift Shop). After lunch, we were able to tour his home at our own pace. And as you will see from the photos below, it is gorgeous and his views of the Arkansas River are enviable! There are a couple of other things to mention. And the first is of utmost importance to many of us. There ARE public restrooms complete with flushing toilets and running water. You never know about that when you're out in the country! The second is that there were only two tour groups for about 80 people so the tour groups were quite large. If someone from Moss Farm is reading, please consider adding more docents. It was very difficult to hear the docent for the majority of the tour. But please don't let that one fact keep you from going, it is STILL a wonderful tour and lunch! So, if this blogpost has piqued your interest, click here to get your tickets to visit P. Allen Smith's Moss Mountain Farm. I think you will find it enjoyable AND educational! Lunch and tour tickets are $96.75 plus taxes and fees. read more

Allen is kissing a laying hen you only eat thete eggs.By the te they stop layingthey arr tough they used to be eaten back in the days they ate every thing everthing that .Yes I eat meat. I was raised by a cattleman on Texas. read more

So many resources, but so wasted. Kissing his Chicken, then eating it. GO VEG, ALLEN, GO VEG! You certainly have the room to grow your own food! And the table with all the Rose Petals...Silliest thing I've ever seen, and what about guests that are allergic to roses...like 40% of the population. "Welcome to this silly looking table. Kerchoo!" What has happened, Allen, you used to be great, now your show is so 'in-elegant' and dumb. Your expensive, time-consuming crafts need to stop. Oh, well...one less household that will never watch your show again. This morning was just more than we could stand. Maybe you don't care, because when you cut out all the commercials, your show is only 15 minutes long. read more