Farm Chores

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Today was our "family farm chore morning" at Stratford's Eco. Ctr. I signed us up back in sunny June. I remember being so excited about it. But as the early fall came roaring in wagging it's windy cold tail..I have to admit, the thought of being out in a field of goats on a windy cold morning didnt sound that appealing. I came really close to cancelling. But something told me not to..not sure what voice was leading me to follow through with our commitment..maybe it's the many times I have to push my "not so eager kids" into the pool or out of bed in the morning. But I managed to stay positive & roll myself out of bed today. It really wasnt that early. We didnt have to arrive till 9:30..my kind of farm:), but it's a 20-25 minute drive. John was up & riding his bike at 7:30a, so instead of my usual alarm clock..Jackie woke me & was actually dressed!! We crept downstairs for breakfast without waking up Ms.Mad-Maddie. She's not one for alarm clocks either, but usually the natural downstairs noise seems less frantic than me saying "it's time to get up!"

We made it out to Delaware & what a fun morning we all had. This place is serenity..farmer jeff explained it best by saying.."it's like the outside world just melts away out here." Totally true & a great reminder of quiet simplicity. I've written about this place before, and this is only our third time visiting, but each time we leave it feels like a place we want to go back to..often!

We picked swiss chard for the chickens & hand fed them. We gathered only one egg from the coop..an intern had taken in all the eggs:( Filled up feed bins, watched the hog family eat & even climbed up on the hay loft & dropped over hay leaves. We took a walk out to the fields & fed the goats & even brought Liberty..one of the friendly girls in to be milked. I couldnt talk J&M into milking her, but John & I were able to. That was a first for both of us.

I'm not sure why I get so excited about farm outtings..maybe it's the country girl in me. Maybe it's partly that I like seeing how excited the kids get when they experience things they never usually have an opportunity to do. It was a fun morning on the farm:)