Farm Work
The word “Cascina” translates from Italian as a “Farmhouse” and as this name implies Cascina Incocco is indeed a working multifunctional farm. Here you will find a host of livestock, terraced vineyards, groves, orchards and forests. In this serene setting you can relax and slow down to quieter way of life.
A large vegetable garden and fruit trees provide many of the foods to be found on the Incocco table. An ancient grapevine along a pergola shades the front of the house in the summer, in the autumn its’ enticing smell of ripening grapes has been known to be too much for some guests to resist and they partake of the sweet clusters before they can be harvested for jam !!!!!
(see photo at right!!)
Incocco is a place made for walking with the hills and woods full of nature’s edible abundance. These delicacies vary with the season, in the spring wild strawberries, asparagus and edible shoots, summer brings the wild blueberries and in the autumn boletus mushrooms and chestnuts to be roasted, boiled and eaten. Other foods are harvested from the Incocco farm cultivation and livestock.
Many animals both wild and domestic make their home at Incocco especially since owner Marjie Hedges is a veterinarian. Several riding horses are residents and enjoy being used to explore the countryside. As the farm is also approved as an equine artificial insemination station, at certain times of the year we can be hosting visiting brood mares with foals .
A small group of turkeys range freely around the property, in the daytime entertaining everyone with their variety of dances and antics; the sounds of chickens, quails, ducks and occasionally a donkey called Sophia are also part of the Incocco country atmosphere. The farm raises selected poultry of several unusual breeds and sells both reproduction stock and eggs to the local community. Free range chickens are very much in demand here where people value good food and quality production.
The month of May heralds the arrival of the exuberant Cuckoo whose morning verses take over from those of the owl, fox and nightingale. In the daytime a family of buzzards soar over the fields seeking mice and emitting their plaintive call. We have counted up to 15 great blue herons basking on our sunny hill also hoping to catch some dinner; a short bike trip can take you to their rookery in the pine trees above the lake. Herons and egrets can also be seen in our stream or the small fishing lake nearby catching minnows, frogs and crayfish or perhaps trying for those beautiful spotted salamanders.
Anyone wishing to walk in the peace at night and view the numerous stars readily visible from the Incocco hill, may easily encounter our resident badger munching under a hazelnut tree, hear the wild pigs rooting in the leaves, listen to the squeaks of the dormice high up in the trees or even startle up a small deer.
