Edmund Rides Again

Daddy Can I Have a Pony?

Last Saturday Edmund, Steven, and I attended the 28th annual Piedmont Farm Tour. I planned on posting about this trek much sooner, but Edmund was diagnosed with his first ear infection this past Monday. Edmund was a very crabby baby for several days, though he had good reason. Edmund's crabbiness in turn made for a slightly crabby mommy. To avoid accidentally writing about being kicked by horses and chased by wild turkeys (this did not actually occur), I decided to wait to write until Edmund was on the mend. I am happy to report that Edmund has now returned to his regular, jovial self.

Now let's head to the farms. The Farm Tour is something I've had on my "ideas for outings" list for years. Something has always prevented us from going. This year I started searching for the tour early and marked the calendar. I was determined Edmund have some face time with animals. Since I spent the majority of my summers playing on my great-grandparents Kentucky farm, it is important to me Edmund have similar experiences. He may never get to walk a goat on a leash as I did, but at least this way he can do more than simply read about farm animals in picture books. There were forty farms to choose from. Steven and I decided to tour two nearby, kid-friendly farms. Any more farms and Edmund might have faced animal overload.

We began with Maple View Farm, known for their fabulous homemade ice cream. I confess, the previous week this "no sugar for my kid" mom let her baby have a small taste of vanilla ice cream. Edmund enjoyed it, but was a bit taken aback by the cold. Maple View Farms recently opened an Agricultural Center. It is amazing. They have several rooms chock full of farm toys and games. It looks like a farm-themed preschool. Outside there is an area that houses several animals. This was my favorite part. We first stopped to show Edmund the miniature goats. I wondered if he would mistake them for dogs. They are the right size and have four legs. The goats had several ramps to climb, but as the weather approached 90 degrees the goats decided to head for the shade. We moved on to pigs, who to keep cool, rolled about in the mud, chickens, rabbits, and a llama. You read that correctly. A llama! If you know me well, you will know that I have an unexplainable fascination with llamas. I had no idea that I would have an opportunity to introduce Edmund to his very first llama. Edmund was not quite as interested as his mother. Edmund is fascinated with trucks, buses, and the like, and kept turning to see the tractor returning from its hayride. Maybe next year the llama will hold more appeal for Edmund. Edmund also took his third hay ride, but the first he stayed awake for. This was probably the longest hayride I have been on. Steven and I entertained ourselves making up stories about the cows we passed along the way. Edmund found hay to be his form of entertainment. After a sampling of some delicious chocolate milk, we decided to pack up the car and head to a new farm.

The next farm on our tour was Spence's Farm. This farm has an afterschool program for local elementary school children. The philosophy behind the farm is that children learn to be a member of a community by working the farm. The children grow a garden, ride horses, pull weeds, do pottery, collect eggs, feed animals, and even run their own farm store. Several children were on hand that Saturday to show us around the farm. They offered us fresh eggs several times. It's quite hard to turn down kids, but since we had 3 cartons of unused eggs in our refrigerator we had to pass. Steven and I first took Edmund to see the horses. I knew we had to get a picture of Edmund encountering his first horse, as my Kentucky family are true horse people. After Edmund posed for his picture we moved on to the chicken enclosure. There we saw a rooster who frequently made himself known by "cock-a-doodle-dooing". Edmund thought this was hilarious. What could be more funny than a rooster you ask? Edmund would tell you, a silly turkey that goes "gobble gobble." The day grew hotter, and since we spent so much time at Maple View Farm, we quickly looked around Spence's Farm and decided to head home. Several children were offering pony rides to visitors. I had to ask if Edmund could simply sit on a pony. "Of course." Edmund concluded his farm tour with the ultimate up-close and personal animal experience. I couldn't have planned a better way to end the day.

I am attempting to post links to Edmund's Snapfish pictures in a link on the right sidebar. Please let me know if you are able to access the pictures by leaving a comment. By the way, Edmund, Steven, and I enjoy reading the comments you all leave. We do read them.