We woke up early this morning (well, no earlier than normal, but it was still early) and loaded the kids in the car while it was still dark. Caleb asked where we were going, and I told him, "We're going to meet Farmer Bob!" That was all it took to get him excited.
About a month ago, I contacted Farmer Bob about grass-fed, organic beef. My friend Sara and I had decided to split half a cow, and Farmer Bob had just taken two cows to slaughter. Unfortunately, they wouldn't be ready until the end of the month so we waited patiently until we got the call to come pick up the beef.
When Farmer Bob called this week with the news that our beef was ready, I told him I was hoping to bring the kids down when we picked it up at his farm. Still, I was surprised and delighted to discover that Farmer Bob had planned a whole farm tour for the kiddos. We had so much fun!
Bob hooked a trailer up to his four-wheeler, and loaded some hay bales in the back for us to sit on. He even offered to take this picture for us!
We knew very little about his farm, except that he raised grass-fed beef. But as we drove, he told us the farm was established in 1851, and he was a fifth-generation farmer. On the left side of the picture above, you can see the old stone foundation of the original farm house.
Bob currently has about 75 Black Angus cattle, and one donkey to keep the coyotes away. Apparently donkeys are super-protective?
Daisy LOVED the ride, and loved the cows even more. She kept reaching out to wave at them, saying, "HI, cow! HI!"
Meanwhile, Caleb huddled close to me and whimpered, "I don't want the cows to eat me!"
I explained to him that cows eat grass, not little boys. But those cows certainly did chase after us like they wanted to eat us! I didn't realize that cows could actually run - I thought it was more of a lumber - but these cows were spry! They ran after us the whole way!
Though the forecast had predicted rain, it was a perfect morning for a farm visit!
After our tour, we peeked in at the chickens. Caleb was impressed.
The difference between Caleb and Daisy's responses to the farm strikes me as particularly funny. Caleb was solemn and curious the whole time, while Daisy was giddy about all of the animals. Hearing the distant moos made Daisy giggle and wave, while the moos made Caleb feel quite concerned.
But do you know what both kids have in common?
Rocks.
They both love rocks. Funny children.
Now we have 92 pounds of high-quality beef in our freezer, and we know exactly where it came from. How cool is that?
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