Baaaah, don’t eat me. Though I am delicious.

After spending the better part of a year in mostly sub-zero temperatures followed by a handful of weeks dragging my heels through dust and gravel, my main objective once summer actually hits is to spend as much time as possible outdoors. Likewise, when green things start to poke through the ground, I like to buy my edibles directly from the source while the window of opportunity is open.

 If you’re summering in Calgary, don't want to commit to a weekend camping but need to get out of the city, there is no better way — with or without kids — to spend a sunny afternoon than to hop in the car, grab a coffee and poke around backcountry roads. Stop in at real farms to kick the dirt, inhale the air and listen to the cows and horses. Buy newly laid eggs, handmade pies, jars of put-up spiced apples, pickled beets, asparagus and produce plucked from the same ground you're standing on.

If at all possible, make these purchases in a little open country store with no walls and a built-in wooden money box with a jar of change set beside it, then walk a few yards and settle down in the grass (or on a hay bale, or a wagon strapped to some horses — in which case you’ll want to hang on) for an impromptu picnic. You can also do-it-yourself: Slap on the sunscreen and cruise a U-Pick with a deep basket in which to gather dinner. Nothing makes food taste better than a relationship with the place it comes from.

 In 2005, a handful of local farmers, producers, historians, artisans and rural merchants of all manner of curios gathered to form Country Drive, an organization that helps Albertans discover what’s right here in our big backyard. This year, 26 members have organized special weekend drives that feature open-houses of sorts at off-the-beaten-path locations you won’t otherwise stumble upon. (Most destinations are between Calgary and Red Deer, just a short detour off of the QE2.)

The spring Country Drive was recently held on the weekend of May 30 and 31 (and corresponded with Edgar Farms' Asparagus Festival); the summer Country Drive is scheduled for August 1 and 2, the harvest Country Drive is October 10 and 11, and a Christmas Country Drive will take place on December 5 and 6. On these weekends there are generally special events and demonstrations going on at each locale, but even if you don’t make it on these dates, the Country Drive website plots out the farms with printable maps of food producers, museums, artisans, events and other interesting locations — most of which are open throughout the summer (check for each location’s hours of operation). The site lets you know if something special is going on independently of the drives — June 21 is Strawberry Rhubarb Day, for example, where you can pick fruit at Ladybug Organic Garden to turn into jam at Ellis Bird Farm in the afternoon. On August 1 and 2, the Dickson Store Museum celebrates its 100th birthday.