We had the opportunity to visit a local, organic farm and learn more about farm life and natural living.
We got to see chickens up close and personal and pass around a warm egg.
We got to see the various ingredients the farmer uses in her own, custom feed for the chickens.
There were dozens of chickens, and we got to go inside their coop.
The farmer is working on providing completely corn free eggs to people with allergies.
Unlike chickens at a poultry processing plant, these chickens have inside and outside options, and plenty of space in both.
It was a nice, sunny day, and there were gorgeous flowers. It was very relaxing to walk in the sunshine and listen to the farm lady's journey to healthier living.
We also go up close and personal with a couple of her cows. We got to see this one being milked (by machine) and got to taste raw milk.
The kids got to help feed the cows, and see the hay and straw.
Sometimes Hannah and Katie have a hard time with uneven terrain, but they both did really well walking in the dirt.
One of the calves had an eye irritation, so the farmer is using some raw milk to treat it.
We realized what a lot of work it is to be a farmer!
The kids were a little nervous around the dog when we first got there, but it was a friendly dog, and by the time we left, they were okay with it.
One of the big things the farmer talked about was vermiculture, or worm assisted composting. We got to see fresh cow pie being taken to a current compost heap, and we got to see other compost heaps in various stages of decomposition.
Yes, that's my child, digging in "fresh" dirt that's basically cow poop that has been pooped out of a worm. Fabulous stuff for the garden, I'm sure, but I did make her wash her hands before sitting down to our picnic lunch.
We also got to wander the garden, and the kids picked blackberries. The trip reminded me of when we lived on acreage in Santa Rosa. We used to garden, and even (briefly!) had goats. It was fun to show the younger kids what that kind of life was like.
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This is fantastic! I love that your children got to see how a farm works and all the wonders of compost!!!
ReplyDeleteWhen my big kids were little, we lived on 5 acres. This was a fun way to expose the younger kids to stuff the older ones picked up naturally.
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