From left, Tom Webster, his son Nathan, 8, daughter Maryam, 13, and wife Tracy of Bakersfield enjoy feeding the goats while visiting Basilwood Farm on their way home from a stay at a nearby Airbnb.
Then a segment on local television exploded the business. “I had to go buy more goats, because I didn’t have enoughmilk to fill the orders,” Jill said. “It was a blessing and a curse all at the same time.” Eventually, the growing need for farm store space and storage forced the Spruances to abandon themain house. “Wewere down to the den, one bedroomand the kitchen,” she said, so they upsized the business by moving to a smaller home on the property. Putting out thewelcomemat In pre-COVID days, the farm was a busy hub for all sorts of pop-up events, field trips and workshops for making bath bombs, cheese and more. Those were largely canceled as the pandemic set in, and even the farm store closed for a time. There is a greater sense of normalcy now with the return of pop-up events and the lure of the farm store. For example, the Webster family—fresh from a stay at
an area Airbnb—stopped by one Saturday as they traveled home to Bakersfield. The foursome—father Tom, mother Tracy, daughter Maryam and son Nathan—browsed leisurely and sampled scents before settling on products chosen specifically for each family member and skin type. Goat’smilk products “are really goodmoisturizers and they don’t give you a lot of buildup on your skin,” Tracy said just before the family headed out to meet the goats. On the farm, the Basilwood teamhopes everyone feels as comfortable as a friend or family member. “We have always looked at this as sort of sharing our property,” Jill said. “People get that feeling when they’re here—they don’t feel like they’re intruding. The farm store is our old house, so you kind of feel like you’re welcoming people into your home.”
Cyndee Fontana-Ott cbmagazine@californiabountiful.com
MORE ONLINE Learn more about goats and their playful and sneaky personalities. Find this and more at californiabountiful.com.
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September/October 2021
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