Children Come to Visit

We had our first children visitors today. How delightful to see the farm, and the animals, through their eyes. To remember the excitement of holding a chicken, or finding an egg hidden in the hay. Adult visitors tend to be more interested in the workings of the farm; the children were all about the animals (and the trampoline). And our cows were very patient with the quick-moving, excited little ones. I kept thinking, "I prayed for protection today; I hope the animals are listening to their Creator, and don't use their horns untowardly!"

But no problems, and one cow let us pet her back, as she didn't bother to stand up. No accidents with bees, either, despite one little person picking daisies, in happy unconcern, right at the entrance to their hive.

Phil and I moved the sheep this afternoon. The last time he set up fencing for the sheep, he broke one of the new branches off one tree, and the central leader off of another tree. He needed a little help to just keep the netting from snagging on the trees.

The way we rotate the sheep right now is really not sustainable. We were both out there for an hour, so that the sheep could mow a little section of land. "Real" farmers talk about time as money, and how if you spend time doing one thing, you're not doing another. So my stress level increased. As I looked at the trees, too, they continue to have little spots on their leaves, perhaps little "rust" spots. What spray would take care of that? What additional nutrition can we give them? How can we help?

Phil continues to work his way through sheep shearing, as he did another one today. I didn't recognize her, she looked so different. He also tried to encircle the chickens with netting, to keep them in their pen so they will lay eggs in the nesting boxes where we can locate them. Sadly, they all flew out, so we still are missing quite a few eggs (or so we think).