Amy's Farm

My most recent visit to the farm wasn't that recent. It was March 30th. We probably won't go again until May! I am beginning to have withdraws, but it's also a relief as I am keep quite busy here locally or driving to field trips that don't include cattle and dirt.

Our main job that March 30th was cutting out a bed or Swiss Chard and feeding all the leaves to the black cows. Alynna, the little city girl with stuffed animal, blanket, and sunglasses, was quite determined to pull the large wheelbarrow all by herself, which just cracked me up to no end. I don't know, little pleasures I suppose.

It wasn't until later in the day the matriarch of the farm asked if I had fed the beef cattle. "The what?" So ensued a rather sad discussion of meat having faces. I have decided I am very much okay buying meat in a Styrofoam container directly from the grocery store. As much as I like to claim country blood running through my veins, I continued calling them the "black cows" rather than beef cattle.

I didn't see much of the boys this trip. They befriended Amy's oldest son, Joey, who was resomethingorother to the roof. Nathan, who befriends anyone who breaths, spent most of the day with him and thankfully Joey, who has four younger siblings, had no problem with the two boys hanging with him nearly all morning.

There's just something about that wheelbarrow, I guess.

March 30th was also my first up-close encounter with a black widow! It was just another reminder than I am not as country as I might have claimed. When I was dumping a bucket of chard into the barrel Alynna called my attention to the black widow at the bottom of the bucket. Nearly nose to nose with the eight-legged creature to confirm that it was indeed the infamous man-killer I was part fascinated and part horrified. I'm sorry, people, but I live in a second story apartment where the scariest creature that comes around is the neighborhood squirrel. (I know she's going to attack me one of these days.) I moved the huge, fat, black spider far away from us and did it with much yelling and shrieking. Thankfully it was early in the morning, so no one was there to watch me writhe in the heebie-jeebies.

I didn't get a clear picture of it, but the kids here are looking at a whole family of chickens - rooster, hen, and baby chicks - which were preening the garden of any bugs. Maybe later that day they found a certain someone who kills her husbands and feasted richly... cause that thing was huge!