Open Farm Day- Hidden Meadow Departure

On the way out we passed the flock of sheep again.

Curiously, they no longer ran from the sight of us.

Judging from the bold black faced ewe here ....

I think we smelled like her dad and she knew we were good people...baa ram ewe!

Open Farm Day - Hidden Meadow Chickens

We spent the most time with the chickens. We all love chickens, but Wild Thing most of all!

Crazy chicken who looks like a dinosaur!

Pretty little chickens, just right!

Look at that face.

He's asking them if they miss their mommy and daddy and would they like to come home with him.

*SNIFF!*

I think I know what he's getting for his birthday next year!

Open Farm Day - Hidden Meadow Horses

A team of Belgians took us on a ride through the woods to the hidden meadow the farm is named after.

They had a wonderful time, but Sprout and Wild Thing got into an altercation when Sprout hit him over the head with a rubber boot we forced him to wear.

The horses chilled everyone out though.

Nature Girl is petitioning me to sell the minivan and get a team of belgians and a haywagon instead.

Open Farm Day - Hidden Meadow Food

Happy free range pigs. It might have been a mistake to let the kids watch Babe this week. We eat these guys.

Belted Galloway Cow. We eat these guys too, but they really don't have as much personality as the pigs.

Big freaky heritage breed turkey with little normal wild eastern turkeys. He and Wild Thing had words.

Wild Thing is singing a little song he titled "I'm not afraid of you turkey!" Note distance from turkey. Wild Thing doesn't mind at all that we might eat this guy.

Open Farm Day - Hidden Meadow - Arrival

We got a late start to the day and only had time to visit two farms. We started at Hidden Meadow because they have heritage breeds of sheep, pigs, chickens, turkeys, and cattle. Our first encounter was with a herd of Cotswold Sheep that ran away from us.

So I took a picture of them with a bunch of carrots, that were guaranteed not to run away. Don't they look thrilled?

Things picked up! In the barn Nature Girl and Wellington the Cotswold Ram became friends. He acted like our dog, after head rubs, he hadn't had enough and kicked his stall door and bleated for more. Nature Girl got more and more adventurous in petting Wellington. If she could have gone in the stall I would have had pictures of her rubbing his belly by the end! They LOVED each other!

These are the Scottish Highland Cattle. We eat these guys. They are about the size of St Bernards, wider though.

Notes from the Keji Trip

Outdoor education is incredibly important. It combines all subject areas and it is perhaps the most relevant thing kids can study. In school it might mean a day program a couple of times throughout elementary school, a couple of days camping in jr high. The problem with it not be fully integrated into every day learning is that kids need TIME in Nature to really learn from it.

A lot of kids, like Nature Girl, burst out of any contained space and need to run around and test their bodies jumping off of 4 foot tall stumps for a few hours. This is important to them. They're learning while they blow through the forest like a storm, but you can't direct them any more than you can direct the wind.

Some kids like Wild Thing are quiet and easily led, but they need time in the woods to get past fears of bugs, and getting dirty before they can relax enough to appreciate the whole experience.

Once they've become accustomed to the environment and trust that there is time for movement and play, trust that it is familiar and safe, then that outdoor world opens up even further. They can observe much more, using all their senses. They need silence to hear how deafening the night can be, or the day. They need stillness to observe wildlife and not scare it away before they've even reached it. Once they're comfortable and calm you can give them a jeweller's ;oupe and they can get lost in the forest - get lost on a single tree.

Homeschooling lets them reach that point when they're ready, not on wednesday afternoon from 12:45 to 2:30.

Nature Girl's Keji Trip with Rock Hound and Wild Thing

We found a really good climbing tree. It was an oak tree and two of the branches went right out over the water. Blue Jays were dropping acorns from the tree. The acorns fell into the water. They sunk slowly.

We are gnomes!

I am flying!

Tree frogs! Friskus is my tree frog. Little foot is Rock Hound's tree frog. Pirate is Wild Thing's. Friskus is the biggest and Little Foot is the smallest.