Real Country

My last post reminded me how much I miss being involved with farm life. I looked online to find local farms to visit and chose Hidden Villa as our first farm destination. It was a quiet day on the farm without tons of people or animals.

Portable chicken coop:


Blake loved the "horsey on the top":


Imagine designing a nursing bra for this one:


It was warm so these guys were panting away:


Sheered sheep:


I have spent many years of my life working with different types of children in farm settings. I have done animal outreach programs, animal assisted therapy, and animal education in schools. You would think I would be prepared for my son's behavior. His favorite activity was to pick up a fistful of dirt or wood chips and chuck it in the faces of the animals. Halfway through my tirades of animal cruelty, I would watch as his busy body darted here and there to find the most dangerous thing to play with. More explanations of rusty fencing, drainage pipes, and old tractor pulls only led the child to wonder what is so fun about being on a farm. Hmmm, will he ever love being on a farm with his mother around? I just know that if left to his own devices he would come home with a rusty, metal bar jetting out of his forehead. Andrew did say he enjoyed watching a rodeo on TV so maybe I should sign him up for bull riding lessons next summer.

Reade hated the baby carrier so I had to carry him for most of the trip. He seemed to like the farm though.