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.