A friend from church has a small farm, and she invited our church preschool co-op out for a field trip. All the siblings decided to come too, and they were glad they did! This was definitely one of THE best field trips we've ever taken - our friend went to a lot of trouble to plan a fun and educational day. We learned about llamas, rabbits, meat chickens vs laying chickens, milking goats, baby goats, and she even planned a craft for us - felted soap. We had a wonderful time, and that field trip has led to participation in 4H where Cora and Abigail will be working with llamas. It also led to a "chicken processing" day at the farm, where you will be very glad to know that we did not take pictures. :) Abigail Emma surprised and impressed EVERYONE on the work crew by working at the "eviscerating table" pulling out chicken guts without batting an eyelash. She was covered with chicken guts and blood up to her elbows the entire day, and she probably processed 20 chickens on her own throughout the day. She is one tough chick, and I wouldn't mess with her after watching her pull out chicken guts. I worked at the "quality control" station where I only washed them off and pulled out the remaining feathers. :) We went home with two fresh, organic chickens that weighed 6 3/4 pounds and 7 1/2 pounds. They were GOOD! :) Shiloh (who missed the chicken processing due to a doctor's appointment) almost couldn't bring herself to eat the chicken - I don't think she'll be a farmer's wife. :)
Without further ado - field trip pictures!
Nathaniel meets one of the llamas. Here's what I learned about llamas: they don't need as much pasture or food, they don't smell bad, they're very intelligent, they have soft feet like dog's pads, they like to give kisses, they are great watchdogs (even better than dogs, actually), and mama llamas don't give birth at night. If it gets dark, they just wait until morning to have the baby. I think that's very considerate of them for their owners' sake. Also, why are we considered to be more evolved if we haven't figured out how not to go into labor in the middle of the night? :)
Helping to feed the animals:
Their cat, Butterfinger, LOVES to be held. He was content to be passed from one person to the next the whole day.
Abigail learns how to milk a goat. We all tried the goats' milk, and only Adah and Nathaniel disliked it. Weird.
Our friend shows everyone how to make felted soap. Fun and useful project!
Baby goats one day old!! ADORABLE.
They separate the babies from their mamas because they raise them to be pets and they need them to become very gentle and dependent on people. That's why they bottlefeed them.
Our friend's son teaches the kids about checkerboard patterns on rabbits. :)
Feeding the baby goats! This was the highlight of the day as we watched their crazy antics.
This picture reminds me of Cora telling a workman who had come to the house in Florida, "When I grow up, I want to be a mommy and a raiser of goats." She was three. :)
Those goats are squirmy!
Shiloh became an expert at catching those little critters. She's fast!
2 comments:
OH my! This post made me want to have another newborn and some baby goats and a cat. Dangerous. So how does felted wool work as soap?
Jamie-
Baby goats = pure cuteness. They were so adorable when they were jumping around and twisting in mid-air. We also learned that goats consider poison ivy to be a treat, so if you have a problem with poison ivy in your backyard, you could present it to Jonathan as an all-natural way to solve the problem :)
Felted soap was a great craft. She had some died wool that we wrapped around Ivory soap. We dipped the bars in water and kept rubbing the wool around and around the soap. When we were done, the wool was completely stretched around the soap and would stay in place. It's a natural loofah, and it continues to shrink around the soap as the soap shrinks until all you're left with is a ball of wool. Cool!
Post a Comment