It’s still raining ! “Someone” up there is entertaining themselves at the expense of Gentle Giant Meadows Ranch…..rain clothes on, the rain stops, rain coat off, the heavens open and the deluge begins. Greg’s drain fix/makeover is currently looking very un-made over ! The site that is to be our new turkey pen is under heavy disguise as a big muddy puddle and the dinosaur backhoe is parked once again in the bonefield, rusting and redundant. One hole dug and NOT filled in ( may be waiting for you “Boise Idaho Malc !!!) but the rain hasn’t held up progress on other projects and Greg and his intrepid team of WWOOFER volunteers have been busily working through Greg’s ever growing list of “must do’s” and several “just come ups”.

The elusive drain (allegedly) in the pasture, despite Greg’s best efforts continues to be elusive !  Armed with shovels and a bucket full of enthusiasm the GGMR team including big brother John ( in silly hat), Brian and Sarah headed off into the upper field to try to find the source of the water which is threatening to enforce the issue of water wings to the livestock ! (the ducks are happy). It was a despondent group that returned to the barn wet and muddy to report that the elusive drain is still very much elusive (or, dare I say it, non existent !!). Next time Greg, next time, maybe.

It’s time to begin raising the sumo chickens…..aka Cornish Cross meat chickens and the brooder, unused and forgotten for the Winter months needed a wash and brush up ready for the arrival of the first two day old chicks. It had been noted that a couple of lurking insects of the stinging variety had been seen in the immediate vicinity of the insulated brooder but there was apparently no reason to believe that an entire colony had taken up residence in the nice warm, soft wadding…..a steady buzzzzzzzzz confirmed that they had and much head scratching ensued as Greg tried to work out the removal of the nest without giving me due cause to break out the swear jar and irritating the stingers to the point of aggression. Greg assumed responsibility for the cautious poking and the anxious search for the location of the well concealed nest, Brian and Sarah hoods up and sleeves down watched the proceedings from a safe distance and weren’t far behind Greg when the displaced and disgruntled bees came looking for someone to blame.

Lady lump our Shire mare has had an easy Winter and over the last weeks has I believe been less than happy to see her saddle and bridle dusted off and ready for use. After a quick brush down a surprised, overweight and very un-fit Lady has found herself tacked up in the barnyard with a novice rider anxiously aboard. Both Brian and Sarah have been anxiously waiting for the opportunity to ride and as Lady’s heavy hooves clip clopped out of the barnyard I’m not sure who’s smile was broader…..mine or theirs ! So, we’ve done walk…..who’s up for a little more excitement ? instinct tells me there will be no shortage of willing and very able volunteers. Thank you Brian and Sarah for making it all so easy !

It’s time to get this entry posted and so much more to tell….

Take care, keep safe. M         

Well, it looks like WWOOFER Brian is going to put me out of a job !!! I’d like to introduce today’s Almost Daily Diary, written by our guest editor, Brian….

 If you were to tell me that I was going to grab a sheep by its hind leg, fling it into the air while twisting it onto its back, and then throw it to the ground, I’d probably believe you. I have learned that crazy jobs of that sort are of the norm here at the ranch. That was my experience this rainy morning (yes, still raining) as Greg called Sarah and I over to doctor some of the sheep for cruels, a result of sharp grass or food cutting the inside of their cheek and causing an infection. “Just grab its back leg and throw it over”, was Greg’s simple instruction. If only it was that simple. First you have to catch the little devils as they fly by you jumping in the air, straw flying everywhere, while everyone is bleating at the top of their lungs. Catch, meaning grabbing that ever elusive hind foot. Then, against the animal’s wish (and your conscience), yank the leg up while with your other hand push and roll its body onto its back. At this point in the process, make sure that you aren’t close to the feeders so that you don’t bang the sheep’s head on one of them. Oops... The last step is to hold the feet in the air as Greg dashes over to holds its head between his legs and administer the shots. All of this happens within a matter of seconds. A quick shot and disinfecting spray later, the sheep is back up on its feet and eating like nothing ever happened. I would later apologize to the sheep for banging its head.

In order to calm our nerves and get the jitters out from this morning’s excitement, Greg took us into the barn to learn how to sharpen chainsaws. Just so everyone knows, we all still have a full set of nine fingers. Sarah was later tasked with using her design skills to work on some creative labels for the future farm tour, while I continued hacking off fingers in the barn.

All day long, actually I should say for about the past week, it has been raining off and on. For a southern boy who it used to the sunshine and hot, humid days, this is a big change. The constant cloud cover has left me waiting for the vampires to come flying out, followed by a million thirteen year old girls. However, the weather never seems to dampen our spirits, especially when it comes time to bring in all the animals for the evening. The cows, snot plastered all over their faces, trudge slowly into their pens while the sheep go sprinting by to be the first to their food with Bran hot on their heels. Lastly, with carrots in hand, we bring in the horses. It’s incredible to see how quickly the horses have grown to like Sarah and me. Well, it’s incredible how quickly the horses have figured out Sarah and I have lots of carrots. After a long, hard day of work, there’s nothing better than a huge, wet, hairy kiss from Lady. Unless it’s two, huge, wet, hairy kisses.

Note from Maureen….Not even a chocolate chip/peanut butter cookie or three ?

Take care, keep safe, M

It has been busy week….on and off the ranch. Here under a heavy canopy of angry grey clouds and persistent rain our current WWOOFER team, Brian and Sarah have discovered the not so idealistic realities of farming when the sun most definitely is not shining ! If our two intrepid volunteers have been disheartened by the current inclement weather it has not been apparent and it has been a happy week here on the ranch. Much has been achieved, “must dos” on Greg’s apparently ever expanding priority list have been “done” (and probably replaced by two more “must dos” !). One day a week “honorary WWOOFER”, big brother John and “Boise Idaho” Malc will be happy to note that a hole was dug…..a very big hole AND the hole is being filled in and even better….they didn’t have to do it !!! Our rusting dinosaur, the 580B Backhoe ( possibly made in the early 70s, hence about 40 years young !) rattled, groaned and rumbled from it’s grave in the bone yard. From high in the cab, Greg shouted orders ( ummm….requests !) to our two spade yielding WWOOFERs deep in the hole. In between emergency first aid (typically using  a dinosaur sized spanner and a lump hammer !)performed on the outdated and occasionally barely functional digger the huge rusty bucket lurched and years of well composted chicken poop joined the growing pile of relocated manure waiting to…. go back in the hole. Greg’s drain is almost functional again, Brian and Sarah got dirty….very dirty and Greg has a smile on his face.

Rodney the ram was looking a bit (a lot) scruffy. His dreadlocks were matted and greasy, his Spring moult looked like it was going to be complete (maybe) by next Winter. With the warmer weather (it WAS warm !) poor Rodney was looking hot and very uncomfortable, clearly it was time Rodney the ram had a salon style make over and we had just the team to make it work. Poor unsuspecting Rodney, the ram that can’t say no to a carrot morsel was lured from his field to the proposed site of the denuding. Sarah with the carrots, Brian had the less savoury butt end and Greg directed operations as the ram was positioned securely in the tilt table. Rodney apparently resigned himself to the inevitable and decided to make the situation at least tolerable by gracefully accepting the copious carrot offerings Sarah was contributing to the “keep Rodney happy” cause. Greg had the sheep shears, Brian and Sarah pulled and tugged at the matted dreadlocks and Rodney emerged from the tilt table a new man….20 pounds of matted fibre lighter.

I am happy to report after multiple reminders ( in truth, lots of nagging) my tree (one of my trees) has been put in the ground…...only three to go !

Time to go, it’s raining out there (again) and it’s almost 7.30am. Take care, keep safe. M

Thank Heaven’s I can take on a challenge !!! “You’ll NEVER tame those Soays” was the confidently negative counsel I was given by the previous owner of our bunch of mutinous, dreadlocked  Soay sheep. Those little animals can run like a whippet and jump like a gazelle….the prospect of a Soay sheep roundup was about as popular around here as a trip to the dentist and I hate dentists.( apologies to my lovely dentist !) The alternative to a never ending standoff with our new residents was to inflict myself on them and ultimately MAKE them like me…..and, luckily, I have. Today, Greg left a gate open. I’m sure the “oversight” was deliberate, designed to teach our young WWOOFERS Brian and Sarah the consequences of being careless. Whatever Greg’s reasoning,… the “no blame policy” most definitely was called into play when Galveston and Blondie the two Soay rams found an open gate. Greg was busily relocating rotten bug infested wood to the fire wood stack when two testosterone loaded, celibate rams nonchalantly meandered past, heading resolutely for the ewes and lambs. Something was clearly not right…..something was most definitely wrong, the boys were supposed to be sequestered in a pasture well away from the “girls” and there they were….scarily close and well within sniffing ( or worse) distance. Fortunately Galveston and Blondie have been well schooled in the “Maureen School of Persuasion” and, as Sarah headed off for the blackmail / enticement supply of bread, Brian headed off to re direct the rams who were by this time single mindedly heading in the direction of hormones on legs at the other end of the pasture. Galveston and Blondie had a decision to make, Brian may have bread……the girls may NOT be receptive. The rams fortunately opted for the potential bread bribe ( forget the girls !) and trotted on with Brian ( who had no treats !) back into their pasture.

Sarah arrived yesterday, I guess the hustle and bustle of busy New York feels a very long way away from the tranquil valley of waving cedar trees that is gentle Giant Meadows Ranch but our newest WWOOFER is very quickly settling in to farm life. It would be very easy to be intimidated by Lady and Quest our two giant Shire horses and all around the farm, in each stall and every pasture a potential disaster awaits the unwary WWOOFER . Sarah appears to have laid her fears to rest and today, carrot morsels in hand, Sarah has discovered the significant benefits of bribery.

Brian and Sarah had their first stick shift  tractor driving lesson this afternoon, fired up the chainsaw and operated the saw mill …..Greg was happy to report that no significant damage was inflicted on any farm structures or any WWOOFER persons during the course of the afternoon. I guess that means they graduated !

Brian was warned that it was recommended that he stretch before he mounted Lady our beautiful Shire Mare. Sadly, Brian had a temporary lapse of memory which only returned as his body stretched and groaned in compliance to her size. This morning we anticipated the “John Wayne” walk but clearly Brian’s body is more resilient than most and if he was hurting, we didn’t know it !

Well, another busy day tomorrow. Time I let Bran the Border Collie out to water a tree or ten and time we headed off to bed, Take care, keep safe, M XXXXXX

I guess it doesn’t matter how old they are, boys like to play in mud !! Off went Greg and most recent WWOOFER volunteer Brian, wire cutters, clippers, chainsaw, wire, staples, insulators, fence poles and a whole gaggle of sundry tools all stacked on the quad. Their afternoon’s mission, re-fencing Lulu’s field. The fencing in Lulu’s field suffered greatly over the past few years after a SUV tested it’s durability by reversing into the mail box stand which started a chain reaction of tumbling mail boxes and a jumble of broken post and wire. Mother Nature also tested it’s fortitude by sending a freak wind storm through, toppling a huge fir tree that had apparently survived intact  at least 80 years of previous wind storms. Last year Bambi the black tail doe( aka Doris the Destroyer) arrived with her offspring (and every relative in a twenty mile radius) to lay claim to our garden ( and contents !) and orchard ( leaves, fruit and bark). Deer are no respecters of fences and when going over became an issue Doris and her multiple  family members just went through !. With the grass and vegetation un grazed and beginning to resemble the Amazon jungle it was declared top of the priority list of “must do’s” ( at least for Wednesday). Once in the waist high, waving grass another…..an even more pressing  problem literally surfaced. As the quad settled fast into the sticky bubbling mud, it became apparent that Lulu’s pasture was quickly becoming Lulu’s lake and our intrepid two weren’t wearing life jackets. Instantaneously the new top priority project became flood control/ water diversion……aka a ditch ! A few minutes after 12 noon ( lunch time), Bran the Border collie and I set out on a search and rescue ( Brian needed his lunch) and it wasn’t long before I found my two mud babies, up to their knees in a freshly dug ditch system, as happy as clams watching the result of their labours as the newly diverted underground streams flowed. I guess if happiness must be measured by just how dirty you can get…..those two boys were surely in heaven !!!

Well, it’s a very wet and not very pleasant Saturday night, the rain is falling and the thermometer level is dropping fast. Brian is currently spending his well earned two days off the ranch, camping in the Pacific North West….probably without a life jacket (again), likely blowing mud bubbles and almost certainly under water again.  Have fun Brian…you deserve it !

Time for a nice warm dry bed….Take care, keep safe, M

Mother Nature is really playing games with the Pacific North West ! I am currently sporting a huge red scab… smack in the middle of my nose. I know it’s huge…GIANT, because I catch Greg looking at it and Mum J couldn’t distract her eyes all the time I was with her. The reason for my eye catching and very disturbing disfigurement …..I’m blaming the same Mother Nature. If the sun hadn’t been shining, I wouldn’t have been working in the garden ( for sure !!!). If I hadn’t been working in the garden, I wouldn’t have got a sun blister on my nose. Clearly, it’s mother Natures fault. We had a whole week of mid Summer temperatures, nothing to inspire M J ( Fox 13 meteorologist) not a green spot on the map not a bit of damp to excite the double Doppler…it was WONDERFUL. On Sunday it all changed, the clouds came rolling in and it rained On Monday we had heavy winds, torrential rain, MJ was ecstatic and the weather map went crazy. As the thunder clouds rolled over the barn we knew we were in trouble, as the winds picked up and the cedar trees began to wave we knew we were in big trouble ! The first sign of just how big came as the barn lights began to flicker then my Country Music on the radio went dead, Jim Reeves silenced ( now doesn’t that sound good Quatre ?). In the kitchen, an incubator full of turkey eggs almost ready to hatch. In the brooder shed, turkey poults accustomed to Summer sunshine were huddling three deep under the heat lamp. PANIC  !!!  Fluffy, down covered, squeaking little turkeys were scooped up unceremoniously from their spacious pen hastily dropped into a sparse wire cage and transferred into the waiting farm truck, engine running. It was like a well planned (well, maybe not !!) bank heist !. At the last minute our 25 precious turkey eggs quickly cooling in the incubator were whisked out of the barn kitchen and joined their already hatched and very unhappy caged siblings. In my kitchen, cables all over the floor, counters cleared, wood pellets freely scattered and the unmistakeable and not too pleasant aroma of poultry poo. The generator kept our turkeys alive….we had a sandwich for dinner. Who’d be a farmer ? Us I guess !!!

           Now we have rain all week….and insult to injury, I still have my big ( HUGE) sun blister on my not insignificant nose. DOH.

We want to extend a welcome to Brian our newest WWOOFER volunteer who arrived here from Georgia yesterday. Brian will be here at the ranch for a month and we hope that he leaves here with very happy memories and a whole lot of experiences. Brian arrived at the barn just as we were bringing Quest and Lady, our big Shire horses home for the night and hit the ground running. Gentle Giant Meadows Ranch is not a place for the fainthearted and for the uninitiated, Quest our big bay gelding is a little (LOT) intimidating. Clearly, the stall door was a safe area and wisely, Brian spent his first evening at the barn, eyes wide and at a very safe distance from teeth and feet.  Our newest WWOOFER volunteer has settled in and spent yesterday in the rain. Well, we are in the Pacific NW ! He and Greg got to work fencing, up to his knees in mud, fast running water and jungle like vegetation….and he is still smiling. Brian mucked out the cows and sheep, groomed the horses, picked out their hooves and he hasn’t packed up his car and left for Georgia. We think we will keep him around for a while. 

Time to go, take care, keep safe, M                    

I think I may have to do more volunteering for Community functions ! Greg still had a full days poo to relocate to the steaming muck file, hay mangers and water buckets  to fill and shaving beds to replenish. I gave my hair a last flick, wafted a little smelly ( not manure type) checked everything was buttoned or zipped and it was off to the Civic Center for my two hour stint for the Farm Tour Committee. Fortunately, I arrived a little early because it seemed everyone I ever met on the Peninsula had migrated to the Civic Center and the Liveable Fair. “Visiting” started as I slammed the truck door and continued happily until the last table was defrocked and the last bean bag packed. I’m not sure that I should have had so much fun…but I’m already looking forward to next year. Sign me up Bill !!!!

While I was busy enjoying volunteering, Greg was busy running the Ranch and part of our daily schedule is milking Daisy Mae and Bran the Border Collie “encouraging” Daisy and Misty Moo from the milking station out to the pasture. Sadly, Bran’s enthusiasm isn’t totally performance related, he isn’t really 100 % interested in the bovine procession to the pasture….Bran’s major (only) concern is succeeding in catching the final creamy milk drips off Daisy Mae’s udder. Understandably, Daisy isn’t too enthusiastic about having canine jaws wrapped around her udder and I have consistently attempted to ensure that teeth and udder never meet….but I wasn’t there. Bran, recognizing that a frazzled Greg wasn’t paying due attention to Daisy’s nether regions latched on to her udder. Fortunately for Bran, head buried under a cows tail,  Daisy’s “ needs” were unknown and Daisy needed to go potty (or wanted to ensure the dog learnt a smelly lesson). A cow needing to go potty is not to be ignored and having learnt from experience we ensure that she is given ample splatter space. Clearly Bran never got the memo and as the tail lifted, the dog clamped even more closely to the udder and Daisy’s bowels emptied ……all over Bran’s face. How can a dog look pathetic ? check out Bran’s  poo portrait ! Life’s tough if you are a dog with a fetish for udders.

Tom the turkey is quite “the lad”, clearly he and Mrs. Christmas have finally managed to establish  which end is which and, fortunately for our happily “co operating” pair we currently have a 100 % fertile rate. Each morning a speckled brown egg is deposited in the hollow Mrs. Christmas is apparently happy to call her nest and each morning her potential offspring is kidnapped and transferred to a mechanical nest commonly called an incubator. Daily cheeping turkey poults are hatching, drying and being transferred into the turkey brooder. We currently have 13 fluffy little turkeys fluttering and flapping and at least 25 silently growing in the incubator. Tom is clearly very satisfied with his lady friend…so happy he sorted out which end was operative !!!

Time to go, Take care, M  

Who ever coined the phrase “follow like sheep” didn’t know what they were talking about….’cause they DON’T !!! So, either that saying is totally unfounded and made up by a city slicker or we have THE dumbest sheep in the whole wide world. I’m guessing we have the latter. As the sun goes down and the valley echoes to “come on sheep”, our motley little flock of dread locked/ shedding ewes and lambs gravitate towards the gate anxious for the safety of the big cedar barn and supper. In an ideal world, lambs would stick with mom and the milky bar when the gate opened…clearly we aren’t in an ideal world and they didn’t. When the gate swung open, 99.9% of the ewes and lambs headed like  guided missiles for a direct hit on the feeders. Sadly our rebellious 1%  watched the scruffy tails of the flock disappear in the distance ( actually, to be truthful….’round the manure pile) and out of sight before it turned 180 degrees, put it’s head up in the air and bolted in the opposite and very wrong direction. Bran the over enthusiastic border collie thought all his Christmas’s had come at once as he set off in hot pursuit. The mutinous escapee did three circuits of the fence line around the pasture before hurling itself headlong into the fence, knocked itself momentarily spaced out…...then flew over the fence line like a woolly gazelle. It was a bad move….Bad for Bran, he was on the wrong side ….bad for the escapee and Greg because he jumped straight into a thicket of prickly brambles followed by a less than amused Greg. I’m sure, had my swear jar still been operational it would have been a seriously profitable moment. DOH !!!  I think there was a sleepless night spent counting scruffy lambs leaping fences into blackberry bushes because we have a solution….actually we have two. Greg has fastened a gate at 90 degrees to the field gate so the brat pack can’t do a fast reverse and, should plan (a) fail, Greg has plan (b)….. a hosepipe to give them a soggy wet reminder to get around to the right side of the gate. If we have to resort to plan (c) I’ll need the mint sauce !!!

“House arrest” isn’t a good place for me to be….I don’t have my right hand but I do have my left and too much time to get into trouble. The pantry has been screaming at me for a little (lot) of attention for some time now and my incarceration due to surgery has given me the perfect opportunity to exercise the muscles in my left arm and do some very necessary and very overdue major re organization ! Sadly, moving “stuff” that hasn’t moved in a while apparently has consequences and I’m pretty sure Greg heard my reaction from down at the barn. An inoffensive jar of peanut butter loitering on a shelf had to be relocated and I hardly expected to discover that my pantry was somehow home to THE biggest nastiest fattest long legged spider I had ever seen ! There it was, big bulbous black body, I could see hairy jaws, eight eyes, fuzzy legs…..horrible, quivering, fuzzy, long legs, all eight of them and it was AWFUL !!!!  I can deal with mice, I tolerate rats, frogs and other nasties BUT arachnophobia is an understatement to my reaction to my uninvited and very unwelcome lodger…!!! I spent the morning sharing my kitchen with Simon the obese spider, I hesitate to question just what he had been snacking on in my pantry to be so big….. he was big enough to eat my dog !  What exactly was lurking behind the ketchup ?  Did he have relatives ? I now have a hand that looks like it was dressed for an Egyptian mummy and PTSD. Greg you are my hero…..and PEDA, I’m sorry it was him or me.

Got to go, it looks like the sun is coming out and it would be ungrateful to ignore it !

Take care, keep safe, M     

Well, I’m back under “house arrest”, I’m watching big brother John (minus silly hat) walking down to the barn, the big farm Chevy truck, Greg and Bran (the border collie), the farm team...minus me, ready for another day on the ranch. I’m happy to say that “on a scale of one to ten” (oh, I hate that question!!!) of pain level, I’m doing FINE. I had another hand surgery so it looks like I’m sporting a big boxing glove on my right hand, rendering me less than useless for even the most basic task. I’m under strict orders from the surgeon to go nowhere near poop…..mmm how do I get round that one around here?

I think maybe I was having a blonde moment on a visit to our Cenex feed store at the weekend. Maybe it was shock that I purchased a chocolate bar to benefit the local scout group, had a guilt attack ( my nutritionist has put me on a very low carbohydrate diet !!! that’s almost as bad as denying me a big juicy steak) and donated it back to the very ardent badge bedecked boy scout touting a pyramid of chocolate bars. I could have inhaled that chocolate bar with all it’s sugar and bad stuff, I could have been in a happy sugar saturated heaven…. but I gave it away…and I SO regretted my self control!!!!  Still fighting not to go and grab it back I wandered aimlessly out to our truck… actually I passed our truck….apparently ignored Greg’s calls and all but climbed into the door of a similar coloured truck. It has to be said the chosen vehicle was MUCH cleaner than our ranch truck, probably didn’t smell of damp dog, animal feed and the manure pile…and definitely didn’t have Greg behind the wheel. I returned to reality when a very nice smiling stranger cordially asked me if I would like a ride. Chocolate was forgotten in my embarrassment as I scurried back to our grubby smelly tuck where Greg was struggling ( unsuccessfully) not to laugh hysterically….along with the departing waving stranger and everyone in the car park. DOH!!!!

Baby turkeys continue to hatch in the incubator. The oldest little heritage turkey is already getting wing feathers and attempting to fly, the youngest, hatched last night is fluffing up in the warming box. Momma turkey still donates an egg a day and must wonder where her big brown speckled offerings disappear to.

Greg just reported in with an update from the ranch. Turkeys hatching and hatched all fine, no incidents with the livestock and big brother John (still minus silly hat) has been despatched to mow the orchard. Alls’well.

I’ve got to go. Even on a good day I only have two fingers for typing, today I have only my left hand and I am very far from ambidextrous!!!

Take care, keep safe, M

I think the quote for today has to be one that came directly from the mouth of an angelic little 5 year old precariously balancing on one leg and thoughtfully scratching his ear at the same time….”I’m SO hungry I could eat THAT horse right now”. Sadly, the horse that he was salivating over was Lady lump, over a ton of horse steak on the hoof contentedly mowing the pasture and happily unaware that she was on the menu by default…I guess that was the moment I suggested that maybe it was lunchtime and prayed that his lunch was good !!!

Curious by Nature, a Gig Harbor pre school and kindergarten had come to visit the farm. The sun was shining and 20 very excited and extremely animated little children were ricocheting from fence line to fence line on route to the barn. Little butts struggled to stay seated on the hay bales and distracted attention spans were evident as our tiny audience listened to a reading of my book. From the cow barn, Daisy Mae bellowed, the sheep bawled impatiently in the sheep pen and Bran the border collie, with an oversized branch in his mouth tried desperately to find someone/anyone to play fetch. Two groups were magically created by an extremely good and efficient team of teachers and parents…. Greg got the cow/sheep team, I got the rest and, followed by my little band we headed towards the chicken pen where our unsuspecting little flock, happily clucking and mud bathing in the early morning sun  had no idea of how their morning was about to change. As I opened the yard gate, little feathered heads checked us out, big smiles spread over the children’s faces and little fingers reached into the chicken grain bucket to feed the birds…”.No Tommy….throw it to them…NOT at them…that’s good….ALICE !! don’t chase the chickens or the rooster will chase you….oh….that IS the rooster…RUN !!” From the pen we gravitated into the chicken house to see if we could find an egg in the nest boxes. We did….little eyes opened wide as egg after egg was “found”. “Please leave the eggs in the nest box “…..too late !!!…”Oh….gosh you are clever….I can’t manage SIX eggs at one time, can we see if we can put them back without scrambled eggs. Gulp !!  We moved on to visit a very appreciative Rodney the ram who is currently in the rut and exuding musky odorous fumes. Rodney is currently leading a celibate life as his ladies recover from Spring lambing and he is happy to have a diversion from watching his harem from a distance. The ram happily inhaled carrot morsels and his little visitors giggled and squealed in  excitement until even Rodney’s insatiable appetite was exhausted. Our next victims were the tiny turkeys hatchlings, we checked them out as they peeped at us from inside the safety of cage bars ,  we checked out the turkey eggs in the incubator and paid a visit to the Soay Rams Galveston and Blondie who have recently discovered the benefits of people (in particular the bread people always seem to carry with them). We had a tractor/trailer  hay ride….”go FASTER !!!”   eeek !!! We paid a  visit to the giant Shire horses who always love to entertain little guests and two happy horses hung their heads over the gate with little fingers perilously close to disappearing along with the carrots ! “NO….fingers flat…uuuh….Tim, it’s not a good idea to offer him your elbow for dinner !”    Back onto the trailer ride, perched on giant hay bales and more happy excited giggles heading  back to the farm for a picnic lunch in the shade of a peach tree in the orchard. It was a great morning and we had a lot of fun, we collapsed in a heap as the last waving child left and we LOVED IT. Thank you Curious By Nature School for coming to visit, we look forward to seeing you again.

I’m timed out, enjoy the photographs. Take care, keep safe. M