Oh the experiences we are getting from the farm. Every time we go something new is happening and there is always so much to learn. Today we drove out there with my friend Abbie who also knows the Farmers. To her, everything was new…and to us, many things were also new. The farmers now have 2 pregnant goats (who will be having babies sometime mid February). Gress was especially excited to meet them…although someone told him that goats like to eat clothes (thanks Dad) so he was a little scared he would leave half eaten after seeing them. The goats were actually very friendly and happy to have company. What a fun addition to the farm. The chickens were out roaming and it was a good day since the rooster Mr. Orpington didn’t attack anyone. While we were there the farmer was excited to announce one of the bunnies had 3 new babies as of that hour, however we opted to stay far away because if we were to scare the bunny, she would eat her babies. I figured a 4 year old’s excitement might have made for not so great of a learning opportunity.
Speaking of a learning opportunity…Gress got to see where our lunch came from. Today, the farmer picked fresh arugula, and radishes from the ground, and mixed them with fresh grown spouts for our salad. And I always love to try their homemade soups knowing that the ingredients were all grown by hand. Today the soup was delicious homemade chicken noodle soup with fresh farm grown veggies. The chicken in it was amazing and the soup was so tasty. I kept complimenting them on it and they kept smirking. Somehow, I was too busy devouring my meal to realize they were keeping a secret from me. When I finished the soup, they told me that they were glad I enjoyed eating Mr. Orpington. I think they thought I would not eat it if I knew Mr. Orpington was in it. It was the first time I met my meat as an animal and then ate it and it was the first time I had eaten Rooster Noodle Soup. Both of those previous comments surprised me and made me thankful for my changed perspective. Luckily, Gress can now walk around the chickens without getting chased and the new rooster is much calmer, and MUCH more happy to be around the lady chickens. But that is another learning experience for another day (when Gress is much older). We followed up our lunch with homemade brownies I made from scratch that morning following a recipe in a book published from 1970 something that Melissa found on the farm. Rad is now enthralled with this cookbook however I won’t be convinced to make fried squirrel! 
I always leave the farm thankful for the friendship I have with the “farmer” and the “farmer’s wife.” What a sweet family they are and we love being around them. THANKS Andy and Melissa for teaching us and for feeding us (not just food).
On our drive home, Gress said, “Mom, is Mr. Orpington in heaven?” and I said, “sure Gress.” He then said, “he is probably chasing God around, but wait mom, Mr. Orpington can’t be in heaven because we ate him.”
And then we were talking about Donkeys and he said, “Mom, donkeys don’t live on the farm because they live in Bethlehem.”
