It has, despite my misery and infirmity been a really busy week and it’s unlikely that my short diary entry is going to do justice to all the notable events that have taken place in the space of seven days but, still snuffling and snorting I am going to try.
Mother Nature was not smiling down on Gentle Giant Meadows Ranch and Thursday dawned with MJ, Fox 13 meteorologist jumping up and down with excitement at the impending deluge that was going to drown the Pacific Northwest. Sadly her enthusiasm was not shared by us or the sixty little kindergarteners excitedly disembarking off the big yellow school buses parked on the farm road. Discovery School in Gig Harbor had come to visit the farm and I’m sure that whatever they learnt from us…..we learnt a whole lot more from them. I read my book, “Gertie and Quest a true story” , perched precariously on a hay bale in the big cedar barn. Tiny butts perched on bales of hay listened, for the most part in silence as I turned the pages and the book’s photographs magically appeared on an old white sheet suspended by clothes pins from the highest bale. From their stalls, Quest the huge bay gelding and Lady the Shire mare, his mom, traded resonant whinny’s, an impatient Daisy May moooooed and from the sheep pen varying levels of sheep and lamb baaas were my barnyard accompaniment. Little eyes were wide with wonderment with huge smiles and gasps in awe at new experiences met around every barn corner in every pen and pasture. Little fingers gently touched the feathers of a progressively irritated broody hen who, trying desperately to be invisible was consistently plucked from her nest box. Tiny hands searched for and found warm newly laid eggs in the hen house. Eager little hands caressed the warm woolly coat of a little brown lamb and seemingly endless carrot morsels were waved in front of the grateful muzzles of two very happy Shire horses. Lauren Jessica and Michelle our amazing conscripts…uhhh, volunteers zipped around the ranch swarmed by little ones bouncing up and down in excitement at each new experience. Thanks…we couldn’t have managed without you !! At the bubble table, intended to be a place for children needing a “calm time”……a full on bubble war broke out as a myriad of brightly colored, varying sized transparent bubbles filled the sky. Hugh McMillan the intrepid reporter for the local Key Peninsula News arrived almost with the school buses and could be found generally in the centre of a throng of children, with his camera and wearing an extensive smile throughout the visit….thank you Hugh.
Having the school visit is another way that we can say “thank you” to our amazing community and we gave our time willingly, our only request was a donation of a non perishable item of food for the Key Peninsular Community Services food bank…oh…and no disasters !!! Discovery School were very generous and we were happy to deliver our donation to deserving members of our community. Thank you Discovery School. We had a WONDERFUL time…..but I STILL have my cold, I’m still snuffling sneezing and coughing and I’m still miserable.
Time to get this diary entry posted. Thank you for your messages of concern. I’ll be fine.
Take care, keep safe and dry. M