Dear Mr. and Mrs. Farmer...

Here is a sample out of a package of letters we received today from some of our visitors (these were all written on an umbrella shape, as will become abundantly clear):

Dear Mrs. and Mr. Farmer and helpers, I like your cute and cudley bunnys, your soft chicks and the pink pig. I liked feeding the baby calf. I liked the pony ride. The mother had a baby foal. I liked the trip. Oh and the umbrella paper is because it rained! Remember? Love a friend from grade one, Catrina

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Famer and your help, I Loved your black horse, I Loved your baby chicks, I Loved your qut puppies, I Loved your qut bunies. Love, Jacob We are riting on thees Raining papers because when we went there it was Raining.

Dear Mr. and Mrs Farmer and helpers, it was a fun feeld chrip. I liked your cudily bunnys. I liked melking your goat. I am wraeding on undrella paper because it was raneing when I came to your farm. I liked your black horse. I liked all of the animals. The bunny that I was holding ceped snifing me. I liked the bunnys the most. love Brooklyn

In our last days of preparation, we see the farm from your eyes, the visitor. Is the ground firm and tidy, what is the view from here, and what questions will arise in a child's mind? This last is becoming a little easier to predict with experience, but children still have great capacity to surprise us.

Some questions are pretty easy. "When you eat the eggs, don't they have chicks in them?" "How does the mommy know which baby is hers?"

But some questions give you a little more pause: "Why do you have so many more roosters than hens?" (Um, this winter, there was this weasel, and he found the hens an easier target.) "How does the calf get out of the cow?" (Well...you see under her tail? She's made to open up and let it out.)

We do hope to answer every question posed this summer and that every child (and adult) goes home with a better understanding of our relationship with animals and our need for them.

Bubbling Sap and Baby Goats

There is no doubt that it is spring when you see the water rise like this! First the river came up, then the sap rose in the trees, now it's coming down from the sky. We've been trying to enjoy every minute of the nicer weather for collecting sap and collecting firewood for next winter.

The mother goats now all have their kids for this year. That means cute little babies for all of us to enjoy and lots of good milk for us to drink. It seems each one of our female goats can supply more than enough milk for twins and for our family.

This week, we will boil off the sap we've collected and try to wait out the wet weather. You are welcome to join us this summer for a tour, just call to set up a suitable date.

Spring Plans

We're starting to plan for the spring work and it always includes deciding which animals will be the highlights and how we'll organize them. Some will come from Maplewood Farm and lots will be born here in the next few months. A few little goats came unexpectedly early, but are doing well.

Our available dates for tours are slimming down, but there are quite a few still sprinkled throughout May and June, so call us to book your group in.

We've added Canada Day as a Family Day this year, and we would love to see you if you prefer to spend our national holiday in the country.

New Life in the Middle of Winter

We're pleased to introduce the newest little farmer at Morning Sound Farm. His name is Takis Luke and he was born on December 29, 2008. He is already a big, chubby guy and is trying hard to catch up with his two big brothers.

As for more commonplace events, we are in the process of updating the website and it will be ready soon with the current information. We are taking bookings for May and June and have some dates booked up already. Call us soon to get the date you would like.

You'll likely hear a lot of happy noise and maybe some wailing in the background. Talk to you then!