Saturday was a run-around kind of day. The older three kids were all over the mountains with Deedee and Papa, picking apples, so Winnie got to be an only child for a day.
She is very good at being an only child. Takes to it like the proverbial duck to water. Fortunately she only gets it in small doses. She likes it a little too much.
Mommy and Daddy had errands to run. We drove down to Centralia to buy a cider press, which may come in handy next week.
When we got back to the farm we stopped by the garden. The wheat is up!
Winnie had some snacks (baby turnips).
Then she and Mommy went out to see the sheep and the cow. Whenever we go into the garden we pull a few weeds, and whenever we harvest the root vegetables there are always the tops left over. All of these get put in a bucket and taken out to the pasture.
Our ruminant friends go crazy for them!
One of the nice things about having smaller, calmer breeds, is that the small people can get right in the paddock with them and we don’t have to worry too much about the animals getting aggressive. For instance, we would never have tried this with our highlanders, or our pink pigs.
Of course, Iris is still a large animal, and she can get pretty bouncy if she’s excited. We keep that in mind and we must always respect the reality of size and muscle. Still, teaching the kids to be calm and relaxed around the animals helps the animals to remain calm and relaxed around the children.
Calm, relaxed animals are happy animals, easier to work with, and tastier.
Little Farm in the Big City 