Some have asked if F&R had printed it as I wrote it. The answer is no. I had submitted detailed daily activities. Had they printed it all, instead of our story covering 5 pages, they would have had to dedicate the entire issue to Mulberry Lane Farm. However, they did an excellent job in editing, keeping the story line true to what I submitted.
The same holds true of the photos taken by commissioned photographer Kim Theil. Kim submitted tons of photos and obviously not all made the cut. I've included some of my favorites that reached the cutting room floor.
For those interested in the unedited version I have added it hear. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. (Easy to say a year later when the memory of the daunting task has faded.)
Unedited Submitted
Version:
“Oh, what cute little
ducklings!” I proudly announced.
It’s not every city girl that knows web footed birds are called
ducks.
“Bonnie, these are
goslings,” said Patrick, my husband, smiling at me.
Opening the lid of the next air hole dotted box I
confidently said, “Awe, what adorable
chicks!”
Pat again lovingly corrected me, saying, “Actually, these are peafowl.”
As if I knew what a peafowl was! Really? And so went the first of many, many lessons. Pat realized that taking me out of the city wasn’t
going to be easy. It was all I
knew. However, country life was second nature for
him because he was raised at Green Meadows Petting Farm outside Waterford, WI.
Although grateful for the work ethic his parents instilled
in him, Pat left the farm to go to college after high school, confident there
was more to life. Little did he know
that by the time he turned 50 he’d have a strong yearning to get back to his
roots.
Through a series of events, in January 2005 we had the
opportunity to purchase a 100 year old, 123 acre farm in Sherwood, less than 20
miles from the city. Financially
impossible for us, Pat’s mother, Coni, offered to step in.
My mother-in-law had always been just that, a mother-in-law,
nothing more, nothing less. We visited
on holidays and at family gathering, funerals, weddings, etc. We weren’t close. I remembered my first marital argument with
Pat, as though it was yesterday. It was
about his choice of words when comparing my chili to his mother’s chili. No, I wasn’t close to my mother-in-law and I
have to admit, I was more than a little reluctant to entertain the idea of
purchasing a farm, let alone entering a partnership. Truthfully, I was down right against it.
Sitting at our kitchen table in my beloved home, in my
beloved Appleton, just miles from my beloved job, across the street from our
beloved daughter and family, I asked the inevitable question. “What on earth would we do with a farm?”
Coni and Pat looked at each other and nearly in unison
chimed in, “The one thing the Keyes
family does best. Start an educational children’s petting farm!!”
After all, the Keyes family farm, Green Meadows Farm, has
been thriving for over 64 years. Pat’s parents and several of his brothers had
begun petting farms of their own throughout the United States including current
operations in Florida, Maryland, New Jersey, and New York. So with all the enthusiasm I could muster I
gave them my blessing and promised to give moral support with the understanding
that it was their challenge, not mine. I
wanted nothing to do with it.
I quickly realized I’d managed to hold my husband hostage in
the city for 30 years. What a mistake. Pat’s
new zeal for life was contagious. I got excited about the changes in our life
and took back my words. Shockingly, I even
enjoyed the mentoring of my mother-in-law! However,
I still think my chili is better.
Coni, mother of 13 and now 79, dug right in. No stranger to
trials and tribulations, she wasn’t intimidated by the looks of this idle old
farm, nor was Pat. They had a vision and
their vision was contagious.
I was impressed by her energy as Coni, with her green thumb,
began working on flowerbeds as fast as the guys could clear the land. It was exciting to see the transformation as
Pat and our son-in-law, Jesus Mendoza, began the daunting task of turning the weathered
farm into a family friendly, agri-tourism destination. They skillfully restored the barns and the
land, breathing life into everything old while maintaining the integrity and
heritage deserved in honor of the prior owners, the Schwaubenlander family.
While they took care of the farm’s transformation I was busy
doing mass mailings to thousands of schools within a four county radius,
announcing the opening of what we hoped would be the greatest field trip
destination in the area, if not the state!
We took ownership of the farm in January 2005 and opened to
the public in October of the same year. Our
mission is to provide an ideal country learning environment where people of all
ages can interact and learn about farm animals through “hands-on” guided tours.
Our 3 core values are 1.) To respect life, both human and animal. 2.) To
educate our guests about the importance of farm animals and farming in general.
3.) To love, laugh & live our passion and in doing so, give the glory to
God.
I invite you to join us as we begin our seventh spring
season here at Mulberry Lane Petting Farm. During the months of May through
October we’ll welcome over 25,000 guests to the farm with a quarter of them
being in the month of May alone. With over 200 animals spring comes to life at
Mulberry with the births of our baby farm animals: baby chicks, baby ducklings, baby calves,
baby lambs, baby kid goats, baby ponies, baby piglets, baby kittens, baby
bunnies…oh baby, do we have babies!
May Day! (May 1 –
Tuesday)
I’m off to work, but not on the farm. Did I fail to mention I work for a business consultant in Appleton too? I wouldn’t be able to if it wasn’t for our farm manager Cindy Isajiw. Farmer (a term of endearment everyone at the farm shares) Cindy oversees the people end of the business including admissions of our walk-in guests, greeting the teachers and assigning the tour guides to their school groups. You name it, she does it.
I’m off to work, but not on the farm. Did I fail to mention I work for a business consultant in Appleton too? I wouldn’t be able to if it wasn’t for our farm manager Cindy Isajiw. Farmer (a term of endearment everyone at the farm shares) Cindy oversees the people end of the business including admissions of our walk-in guests, greeting the teachers and assigning the tour guides to their school groups. You name it, she does it.
Tomorrow is opening day and this is our last opportunity to
get everything in place. Farmer Cindy and Farmer Liz (Gunyon) her assistant are
cleaning and stocking the shelves with locally made jellies and canned goods
along with an array of souvenirs. They’re also getting some of the spring
decorations out and placing them throughout the farm.
Coni is up from her Florida farm to help. She spent the day
in the flower beds and mowing the lawn. With 14 acres of manicured lawns to
mow, by the time she gets to the back of the farm it’s time to start over again
in the front.
Pat and some of his team got the last of the panels up
around the chicken coop, the sow and her piglets are put into their spring pen,
and the Hay Mow where school groups enjoy eating their sack lunches is cleared
of farm implements that were stored there for the winter.
I’m up late pulling together items that are still needed for
opening. The gate sheet, the list of tour guides that will be working tomorrow,
last minute emails to teachers confirming their upcoming field trips…the list
goes on.
May 2 – Wednesday
Opening Day! The day we’ve been working toward since we
closed last October. Boy time flies!!
It was bitter sweet.
We were excited to be open to the public again but slightly disappointed
that the weather wasn’t cooperating. With a 50% chance of rain (that never
came) we had limited walk-in visitors. It never ceases to amaze me how much our
agri-tourism business is affected by the forecast.
Rain or shine, chores have to be done. Farmer Pat was out of
the door before 6 AM and I wasn’t far behind.
Before leaving the house the phone rang. I heard chirping in
the background. Yup, our 3 day old chicks and ducklings arrived at the US post
office and the post master was anxious for us to come pick them up. Farmer Pat
made the trip into town wanting to get them to the farm and under heat lamps as
soon as possible. The little squirts are so cute and always a high-light at the
farm.
May 3 – Thursday
It rained cats and dogs during the night. Over 3 inches of
rain and the ground is soaked! The storm woke us up around 2AM. Following the
sound of an ominous noise, I found the basement filling with water. The sump pump was working so we cleared
important things out of the way and decided it could wait until morning.
By then I was wide awake so decided to start the dish washer. I’m the dishwasher. Surprisingly when done, I was able to go back
to bed and fall asleep for a few hours.
We had over 300 students scheduled to visit the farm but
because some of the main roads were flooded, all rescheduled except one field
trip of 60. About an hour into their two hour tour the skies looked dangerously
dark and Farmer Cindy could see lightening in the distance so called the group
into the haymow, sparing them a good soaking.
While the group had a snack in the haymow Farmers Cindy
& Liz went out and retrieved two baby lambs, a few kittens and a basket of
chicks which kept the students busy until it cleared enough for them to
complete the tour.
On days like this, we remind the teachers that field trips
like this are far more memorable for the kids than the ones that go off without
a hitch.
May 4 – Friday
We woke to a strange glow coming over the east horizon. Could it be the sun? It was a sure sign that we would have a busy
day.
But first things come first.
I like to start my day with a strong cup of coffee, sitting in front of
the computer, updating every social media account a business could have. I
tweet about the 2 kid goats born during the night, notify our Facebook friends
about an upcoming promotion and post photos of Coni in the flowerbeds on our
blog. Mother’s Day is less than 10 days away so I take time to post to online
community calendars about our “Moms are FREE” event.
While I was working at the computer, Farmer Pat was busy
getting the farm open. Our milking cow was brought out of the barn, cleaned and
placed in her day stanchion for our guests to milk. The goats and sheep are
herded into their day pen from the pasture and the ponies are saddled and
placed into the pony ring. Even the pig pen is spick-and-span before we open.
We pride ourselves in having a clean, safe farm.
All our guests have the opportunity to milk a cow, catch a
chicken, kiss a pig, cuddle a kitten, hand-feed goats and sheep, ride a pony,
enjoy a hayride and much more. Therefore mornings for Farmer Pat and his team
are fast and furious. It’s a lot to prepare before our first school group
arrives.
The weather cooperated and the day went off without a hitch.
I often end the day the same way I started it but without
the coffee. Tonight was no different. I
sat down at my computer to check emails only to find a message from one of our
tour guides letting me know he won’t be able to work this spring after all.
News like this, and so last minute, is difficult on us all. Reservations are
accepted based on how many guides I’ve hired.
This was not news I wanted at the start of the season. Ugh!
May 5 - Saturday
Do you ever have one of those mornings where nothing goes right? First, instead of savoring my morning cup of coffee, I shared it with the papers that lined my desk. After cleaning up the mess, I turned on the computer to check the day’s weather. Four and a half inches of rain fell Thursday with another two inches in the forecast for today. Not good. Next onto local news and learned our bank had been robbed by gun point and it was within an hour of my visit yesterday. That was a little too close for comfort. Then Farmer Cindy called the house to inform me that last night’s lightening must have taken out the charge card machine. Before I even hung up the phone, Pat yelled in the door that the car had a flat tire. Continuing at the computer I logged into our bank account only to find we were overdrawn! (Can I blame the robbers?) Finally, as I walked into the bathroom, my well-earned gray hairs were suddenly screaming at me!
Do you ever have one of those mornings where nothing goes right? First, instead of savoring my morning cup of coffee, I shared it with the papers that lined my desk. After cleaning up the mess, I turned on the computer to check the day’s weather. Four and a half inches of rain fell Thursday with another two inches in the forecast for today. Not good. Next onto local news and learned our bank had been robbed by gun point and it was within an hour of my visit yesterday. That was a little too close for comfort. Then Farmer Cindy called the house to inform me that last night’s lightening must have taken out the charge card machine. Before I even hung up the phone, Pat yelled in the door that the car had a flat tire. Continuing at the computer I logged into our bank account only to find we were overdrawn! (Can I blame the robbers?) Finally, as I walked into the bathroom, my well-earned gray hairs were suddenly screaming at me!
You got it. Coloring my hair quickly moved to the top of the
priority list. I scrambled to complete that task before meeting with a
bride-to-be who’s thinking about holding her wedding at the farm later this
year.
Thank you Lord, the day did turn around. In spite of the continued gloomy weather,
attendance was brisk and the soggy ground allowed me to wear my fancy new cow
print galoshes; the bride did indeed book her wedding; the phone company was
able to make a repair stop to the farm to re-wire the charge card machine; the
tire was repaired; Pat & I went out for dinner and my hair helped me look
and feel a few years younger; and I even saw my beautiful granddaughter off to
Jr. Prom.
May 6 – Sunday
So much for a sunny “Sun”day! It was raining and lightening
by 10AM so we never opened the farm. However, that didn’t mean WE got the day
off. With this unsettled weather pattern the babies are popping left and right.
We believe barometric pressure DOES affect farm animals. During the night twin
kid goats and a lamb were born and another pair of twin kids during the day.
This is the first of many Sundays that won’t include
church. We’re unable to attend until the
first of November. Therefore morning devotions keep us motivated and inspired.
It’s a long 6 months for us and we miss our church family already.
Our twelve year old granddaughter Aaliyah spent the night so
she helped with house chores while I did payroll, tour guide schedule, bank
deposit, animal birth records, etc. Updating birth records this time of year is
a daunting task in itself. The farm is
USDA licensed and we are proud to have passed every unannounced inspection. My
goal is to keep that record going.
May 7 – Monday
We are closed on Mondays and Tuesdays in May so that Farmer
Pat has a chance to get some repairs done at the farm. The excessive rain
caused our hayride road to wash out. A good part of his day was spent working
on that along with getting the animals to higher ground.
Mid-afternoon, Pat called me at my city job looking for
help. He was stranded on the side of the road with our dump truck. My plan was
to go grocery shopping after work but it’s not one of my favorite chores so I
wasn’t upset that it would have to wait for another day.
Arriving back to the farm, I learned one of our tour guides
has a conflict and can’t take her shift. Thankfully, with some juggling, I was
able to get the shift covered. When you have a guided-tour field trip scheduled
you just MUST have a tour guide!
May 8 - Tuesday
The first phone call of the day was from a teacher
cancelling a field trip scheduled for later in the month. Although rare, my
heart sinks whenever I receive this kind of call. The teacher shared her regret
especially since our farm is their all-time favorite field trip. She explained that her student base this year
couldn’t afford the trip once they factored in bus fare. I had a solution. Fortunately there are families, both local
and as far as 150 miles away, that support our mission to educate children
about farm animals. Thanks to them we
have grants for low income students.
After securing a $100 grant, these students were back on the calendar.
Yeah!
May 9 – Wednesday
Remember the gal who didn’t know the difference between a
duckling and a gosling? Remember the
city girl who couldn’t tell a chicken from a peachick? Believe it or not she now has her own
educational segment on a Green Bay TV station! Once a month we take farm
animals to the studio for a live segment of Bonnie’s Barnyard. With the next
show this Friday I spent time on the computer researching and confirming animal
facts. Sunday is Mother’s Day so it seemed appropriate to feature female
rabbits (does) and her baby bunnies (kits).
After all, with a gestation period of only 31 days, throughout history
the rabbit has been the symbol of fertility.
I realize I’m beginning to sound like a broken record but
once again my evening was spent working on covering a shift that a tour guide
needed to change. We do have a policy that once a schedule is out it is their
responsibility to find a replacement, unless, of course, I make the scheduling
error. However, I usually find myself helping as much as I can. How does the
saying go? You’re only taken advantage of if you allow people to take advantage
of you. Guess I need to do some soul
searching.
May 10 – Thursday
This was a fun day on the farm. A group of school children were playing on
our old fashion playground this morning when a little girl started to scream,
“Come here! Hurry! Get one of the farmers!” All the children gathered around, surprised
to find a momma cat and her brand new litter of kittens in a tractor tire! It
was such a delight to see the excitement on the playground. Later in the afternoon another school group
was lucky enough to watch a mama goat bathe her two
just-born, wobbly-legged baby kids. I never grow tired of how excited our city
guests get over what we as farmers take for granted.
May 11 – Friday
“Welcome to Mulberry
Lane Farm. I’m Farmer Bonnie and I’ll be your tour guide today.” I wish I had a nickel for every time I’ve said
that. I’d be a bizillionaire!
With our new hires in training, I found myself touring twice
today; first, a group of lively first graders and in the afternoon, a play
group, Moms with toddlers. Touring takes a lot of energy but it’s very
rewarding. Before leaving several of the children wrapped their arms around me,
sharing their gratitude.
It was the perfect ending to a great day that started extra
early with my monthly TV segment of Bonnie’s Barnyard. I’m a little anxious
bringing the animals to a live set because you never know what might
happen. It’s not like farm animals are
potty trained! However, the morning news
crew has grown fond of the routine and this morning’s guests, kid goats, lambs
and bunnies, were stars. I felt like a
proud mom.
May 12 - Saturday
Exhausted from yesterday, my inner alarm clock didn’t go off this morning. Pat woke me at 6:00 wondering if I was okay. He knew I had a full day ahead and was concerned to find me in bed. How thoughtful of him…but I would have rather stayed asleep. This 55 year old body is feeling its age.
Exhausted from yesterday, my inner alarm clock didn’t go off this morning. Pat woke me at 6:00 wondering if I was okay. He knew I had a full day ahead and was concerned to find me in bed. How thoughtful of him…but I would have rather stayed asleep. This 55 year old body is feeling its age.
I decided to jump on some house chores and paperwork before
heading out of the house. I threw a load of laundry in, caught up the dishes
and folded clothes. Then I looked over
the next tour guide schedule before posting it, updated payroll records of the
new hires, emailed our insurance man about upping our building coverage now
that the new roof was on the hay mow, updated birth records (another 6 kids
born during the night), tweeted about the kids and put the video of Bonnie’s
Barnyard on our blog. By then it was
9:00 and I was ready for bed. But
wait…it was nine in the morning, my day was just starting!!
It was a fun Saturday.
Perfect weather, excited guest, and farm animals that acted like movie
stars made me grateful that I got up to face the day.
May 13 – Sunday
Mother’s Day at the farm is always exciting. We offer free admission to Moms and many
families have turned us into an annual outing.
They love visiting new-born farm animals. The weather was perfect again so all hands
were on deck. In addition to our regular
staff we called in our daughter, Felicia, to work The Granary (admission barn),
our 17-year-old granddaughter to help with tours, and our 12-year-old
granddaughter to be a runner (takes new arrivals out to join the ongoing
tour). Plus our 3-year-old grandson
co-managed with Grandpa helping him oversee the barnyard, including the pony
ring and the hayride. Coni made time to
catch up on mowing our fast-growing (thanks to all that rain) grass and I ran
around like a chicken with its head cut off!
(No pun intended.)
Our afternoon guests were treated to a very special event.
They were able to watch a nanny goat give birth to triplets! One mother shared
that it was her best Mother’s Day ever. I think she was just elated that she
wasn’t the one giving birth to triplets!
May 14 – Monday
Since the farm is closed today Farmer Pat took the
opportunity to work the fields, getting most of them ready for corn. But just as important would be the time he
spends getting the pumpkin patch ready.
Although we have tons of visitors in May who love interacting with baby
farm animals, the numbers pale in comparison to October. In the fall, at the end of their tour, all
guests visit the Pumpkin Patch to pick a free pumpkin. The draw of the pumpkin is amazing!! And to think Mom and Dad Keyes began this
marketing concept nearly 50 years ago purely by accident. Dad Keyes had planted
a few too many pumpkins in the family garden so he offered their guests an
opportunity to pick them. It was such a hit he planted extra the next year and
still more the next…the rest is history.
I was home from my city job and grocery shopping just in
time to get brats on the grill before Pat literally dragged himself into the
house. I could tell he’s been wearing
himself thin by looking at his dry, cracked lips. Still, he greeted me with a smile of
accomplishment.
May 15 – Tuesday
Pat yelled into the house, “Two more mouths to feed.” The
births might be good news for our local feed mill but they don’t pay our feed
bills. Not that I’m complaining, we love all the new babies born in spring and
they’re also great for business.
The farm was well staffed today so I took the opportunity to
sneak into the house and pay some of those bills. Well, at least I wrote the
checks. It may take a few more field trips before I can safely put them in the
mailbox.
With that said, we are very optimistic our children’s
petting farm is going to make it. We had real concerns right up to the fall of
last year. Until then we struggled to
make ends meet, especially with the renovations needed on the farm and the
recession. The wonderful turn-out on Mother’s Day confirmed our optimism. To
date this month, we have as many family guests as we had the entire month of May last year. If the
trend continues we are on track to double our numbers. I’m loving the odds.
May 16 –
Wednesday
A local elementary school has a reading incentive program
that Mulberry Lane Farm participates in. Students who read 350 hours during the
school year are eligible for free admissions to local attractions, restaurants
etc. I received an email from the lead teacher that 275 students accomplished
the task. I took time this morning to create our free admission coupons so
students can receive them before the end of the school year.
As well as schools planning activities to help their
students stay busy over summer break, so are parents. Birthday party
reservations are steadily rolling in. I reserved two birthday today alone.
May 17 – Thursday
We have learned that no matter the age or the background,
there is something about a farm that brings out the joy and self-worth in
others. This sentiment couldn’t ring
truer than with the group I booked today.
A non-profit that assists children who are deaf and hard of hearing is
bringing a group of families this summer.
They love Mulberry and we are blessed to be able to provide
an interpreter for their tour. One of our personal friends and occasional
helper at the farm grew up with a deaf mother.
She works for the Appleton School system as an interpreter and has agreed
to tour with the group. This kind of group
brings out the joy and self-worth in us as well.
May 18 – Friday
Farmer Pat was excited to head out the door this
morning. It’s planting day and a light
rain is forecasted this weekend. When farming, timing is everything. He’s
excited to get the corn in the ground just in time for Mother Nature to water
it.
I also scurried out the door but not before taking the time
to put our sheets out on the clothes line.
Whatever happened to that tradition?
As I drove into town it occurred to me that this form of yard art
dwindled the closer I got to the city. I
personally know some “city people” who have never experienced sheets fresh off
the line. It’s one of the simple
pleasures of country life I hope I never take for granted.
May 19 - Saturday
Our weather has been crazy this month. It started with record rainfall and now we’re dealing with record breaking heat. I’m anxious to see what the end of the month will bring, snow?
Our weather has been crazy this month. It started with record rainfall and now we’re dealing with record breaking heat. I’m anxious to see what the end of the month will bring, snow?
There’s a bright side to every challenge, something my
mentor, Coni, taught me. What’s the
bright side to sweltering 89 degree temps? How about
dramatically increased popsicle and cold beverage sales in The Granary? Yea!
I was also thankful for the strong breeze…I think. It made the heat a little more bearable but
with the men working the fields I came in tonight with skin that felt like
sandpaper. Anything that was blowing in
the wind today stuck to us. Ah, a shower
never felt so good.
May 20 - Sunday
It was a great day on the farm. We were busy, our guests were excited, and
our team is turning into a well-oiled machine.
It’s going to be a great summer.
On a side note, I’m part of the Launch Team formed by our church to find a space that can better
accommodate our growing membership.
Today was the meeting for our congregation to vote on the purchase of a
building the team recommended. I
couldn’t attend but thanks to technology, received a text within minutes of the
vote…100% approval!!! Impressive.
May 21 – Monday
A small business owner who noticed we use Facebook to promote
the farm asked me today if I like using social media. That’s a tough question to answer because I
was born and raised in the heartland of the paper industry. Most of my uncles, cousins and even two
sisters worked their entire lives in a paper mill and with the decline of paper
advertising many mills have closed.
Before using Facebook we advertised in a community coupon
mailer. Although pricey ($750/ad), it
reached many people who’d never heard of the petting farm. This year, when solicited for an ad, I
declined. We reach many more people with
social media and it’s free. I felt bad
when I opted out of the community mailer, worrying that before long it will
also be a thing of the past. I don’t
like thinking I contributed to its demise.
So to answer his question, yes, I’m a fan of Facebook. It helps us reach people and stay connected
to our patrons. It also helps us promote
our mission of helping people of all ages learn about farm animals. But, on the
flip side, it is time consuming. I can
see why large corporations hire full-time social media experts.
Tuesday – May 22
To make the farm operation cost effective, I try to schedule
all spring field trips Wednesday through Friday. The weekends are busy with
private groups and families making Monday and Tuesday “closed” days. We spend them catching-up on maintenance
activities. However, with reservations
up this spring, Tuesday has turned into an overflow day. We toured 250 students today, not bad for
what’s historically been a “closed” day.
Other than the field trips it was a typical Tuesday. Pat put
the finishing touches on some new landscaping around the milk house. It’s been his goal to get that area done
before our first June wedding. We
giggled when we realized Farmer Cindy, Mom and I were all standing around
directing Pat as he planted one of the shrubs.
I’m sure he appreciated the supervision but might have preferred our
help digging the hole.
Wednesday – May
23
I knew something was up when Farmer Cindy approached me with
a look of concern. A reservation of 52
arrived with 74 in their group. Her
concern is my elation! I’m always happy
when more visitors arrive.
It’s our policy to keep groups to a maximum of 60 per tour
guide. Even though one guide can manage
more people than that, we want to be sure everyone has a great experience and
it gets harder as the group gets larger.
I was thankful to see one of the new hires, an energetic college
student, was assigned to the group.
However, 72 people are a bit too many, so I put on my Farmer Bonnie hat
and we divided the group into two.
Getting to my city job would have to wait.
I’m fortunate my boss is flexible. He knows I’ll get to the
office when I can and stay as long as needed to finish my work. Without this
working relationship, running the farm and working outside the home would be
impossible.
Arriving home later than normal, I jokingly said, “Pat, I
was feeling an unusual amount of stress and fatigue so I decided to call the
doctor and amazingly he ordered us to go out to dinner tonight.” Pat appreciates my sense of humor and
replied, “Well, the doctor knows best.
Did he suggest a restaurant?”
Hmmm, maybe I should call the doctor more often.
Thursday – May 24
As I boiled a dozen of eggs for a school group this morning
I recalled our Father’s Day blog posting from last year. NO iphone, NO ipad, NO ipod… just iDad time on the farm. Why the
flashback to that post?
Because technology has replaced playground time with “sit in
front of a machine” time and it has significantly reduced parent interaction
time. Ask today’s student if they want
to have a wheelbarrow or gunnysack race, play Farmer in the Dell or Duck, Duck,
Goose and they’ll look at you as if you’re from outer space.
We encourage our guests to have some good old fashion fun
while at the farm. Teachers can visit our website’s “Teacher’s Page” to
download our FARM Games Guide. We
offer to supply the eggs from the chicken coop for the egg toss game. To add excitement, they allow students to
believe the eggs are un-cooked, but of course, they’re hard-boiled. We don’t want to be remembered as the field
trip that sent students home covered in egg splat.
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| 100 Year Old Mulberry Tree |
Friday – May 25
Today I was reminded why we do what we do. A proud mother sent us a picture of her young
son sharing the chicken he caught with his classmate who was confined to a
wheelchair. She told us her son was
determined to catch the chicken because he knew his friend couldn’t. She was so proud of him for thinking of
someone else. The scene was repeated
with the baby goats, baby bunnies, and little kittens. This is a picture I will cherish forever.
You might think the Friday leading into Memorial weekend
would be quiet but we were busy all day.
Most schools had a half-day so the morning was packed with field
trips. This afternoon, families took
advantage of the beautiful weather and joined us on the farm.
We have a season pass which is basically twice the cost of a
daily admission. Many local families
take advantage of this deal so we are already seeing some of our
“regulars”. Today it was a group of moms
of preschool age children who showed up with lunches in hand and enjoyed each
other’s company while their little ones ran around the farm.
May 26 - Saturday
As the saying goes, “birds of a feather flock together.” Do they? The power of imprinting is amazing. One of our free range guinea hens laid eggs in a turkey hen’s nest a few years ago. It was the turkey hen who sat long enough to hatch them. The one surviving guinea keet was raised in the turkey pen and bonded with her new family.
As the saying goes, “birds of a feather flock together.” Do they? The power of imprinting is amazing. One of our free range guinea hens laid eggs in a turkey hen’s nest a few years ago. It was the turkey hen who sat long enough to hatch them. The one surviving guinea keet was raised in the turkey pen and bonded with her new family.
To this day she still believes she’s a turkey, even laying
her eggs and nesting with her turkey lady friends. So in the hollow log lay
both large and small eggs. We’ll be anxious to see what momma guinea will do
when out of one of the eggs she’s sitting on emerges a turkey poult!
Guineas who think they are turkeys and turkeys who think
they are guineas. It’s a crazy world we
live in.
May 27 – Sunday
Two new additions arrived at the farm today. A local dairy
farmer’s heifer gave birth to mixed twin calves. Once they were sure the calves
received the all-important colostrum from their mother’s early
milk supply, the dairy farmer was ready to give them up for adoption. We love
receiving twin calves. Being an educational farm we enjoy sharing with our
adult guests the intriguing details of what it means to be a freemartin (A sterile or otherwise sexually imperfect
female calf born as the twin of a bull calf). Since most of our guests are from
the city it is an interesting fact that fascinates them.
May 28
– Memorial Day
Ella, the momma cat who gave birth out in the
playground’s tractor tire was unable to nurse her kittens. She lost two and we
couldn’t bear for her to lose any more. Farmer Liz volunteered to take the two
remaining kittens home and feed them by eye dropper until they’re able to eat
solids. Getting up every couple of hours during the night is more than we would
ask of our staff, but it shows the champions we have on our team.
It’s near the end of May and the farm is
looking its finest. We placed flags out by the rock wall near the entrance,
flags in the barn hill flowerbeds and flags in potted plants scattered about
the farm. The American farm is about as patriotic as you can get. We honored
our veterans with free admission as a token of appreciation for their service.
We felt honored so many brought their families out to spend the day.
May 29
– Tuesday
Farmer Pat and our son-in-law, Jesus, got the
last of the pumpkins planted today. Now the fields are fully planted with corn,
alfalfa, soybeans and pumpkins. If only Pat could relax, but no, there is still
plenty to be done around the farm. His summer projects include siding and
roofing the chicken coop, gutters on the haymow, replacing boards on all the
park benches, etc… Of course, that’s
without Coni and me adding to it…yet!
A guest gave us some welcome perspective
today. Coni mentioned how she looked
forward to seeing all the barns resided.
The idea has been at the top of our list for a while since Pat has his
own sawmill and seems willing. But as
much as we think the barns need it, Coni’s listener thought otherwise. She exclaimed, “Oh my, why would you want to
reside all the barns? They’re so
picturesque.”
What we saw as an eye sore, she saw as a
beautifully aged symbol of Americana.
Perhaps our guest was right. Perhaps we’ll move that task to the bottom
of the list.
May 30
– Wednesday
Be careful what you wish for or, in my case,
predict. It may not be snow but it’s close enough. Frost is forecasted for
tonight. Our high today was our normal low. Instead of our farm guests coming
in shorts and t-shirts, they donned sweatshirts and long pants.
The cooler weather didn’t stop our free range
duck from having her brood of ducklings. Farmer Pat elected to move them from
the barn into our corncrib. The corncrib gives our guests the opportunity to
get a close-up look while still protecting the hen and her clutch from
predators.
As I recorded the recent addition to our
animal records, it dawned on me why Pat is so exhausted by day’s end. With the
new births this month, our animal headcount reached over 200. Fifteen ponies,
23 kid goats, 15 lambs, over 50 chickens plus kittens, bunnies, pigs, cattle,
peafowl, guinea fowl, turkeys, geese, ducks, a donkey, a miniature horse and
one dog! It doesn’t take long for the
numbers to add up.
May 31
– Thursday
It’s the last day of school for most area students so
typically today is the busiest day of our spring season. Teachers view a visit
to the farm as a perfectly fun way to end the school year. We agree and today over 500 students kept us
on our toes.
By the end of the day we were ready to celebrate a very
successful spring. We gathered with our entire staff on Farmer Pat’s newly
landscaped patio and cracked open some bubbly. It made for a great opportunity
to take a group photo as it’s rare to catch all of us idle at the same
time. This was a perfect day!
So what’s a perfect ending to a perfect day? How about enjoying a pot of MY chili while
sitting around the kitchen table with Pat and Coni, reminiscing about our
meager beginnings and sharing our vision for the future?
Coni said, “Bonnie, this chili is absolutely fabulous!”
“Thanks, Mom,” I responded, giving her a hug, trying not to
cry. “I love you and have to admit, I
love my life on the farm.”
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