Down on the Farm

It was a lovely, sunny Spring Sunday here in the Virginia Piedmont. By afternoon, temperatures were in the mid- to upper-50s, but it felt warmer in the sun. I had to do a bit of shopping and, since I knew I’d be heading southeast, I decided to stop and visit Walnut Hill Farm at Elm Springs.

It’s no secret that I like cows. A couple of years ago, during a visit to Walnut Hill Farm at Elm Springs, I had the pleasure of meeting and bottle-feeding two-week old Charlie.

Me and Charlie, May 2013

 

The farm is owned and operated by Jeff and Ginny Adams. Jeff sells meat at the Warrenton Farmers’ Market, which is where we met. I see him sort of regularly during the market season, and we usually chat a bit. He speaks often of his wife, Ginny, who I’d never met until today.

Finally, during today’s visit, I had the pleasure of meeting Ginny. She’s just as nice as I always thought she’d be, and obviously enjoys her animals. She was kind enough to introduce me to a bunch of her animal friends today, much to my delight. 🙂

AND, get this, she re-introduced me to one very handsome guy.

Charlie!
Charlie!

 

Cute little Charlie isn’t so little any more. But he’s just as beautiful. (I sure wish I had hair that color!)

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L-R, Mt. Vernon retirees Kit (Mule) and Nellie (Belgian Mare).

 

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Kit being nosy.

 

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L-R, Kate, Kit, and Nellie

 

After visiting with Kit and Nellie for a bit, I moseyed to the next pasture to have a look over the fence at the sheep.

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Curious Sheep

 

They were all looking right back at me.

Then, Ginny said we could go INTO the pasture. Squee!

As soon as we stepped through the gate, a funny thing happened. All of the sheep in the pasture came running over. Literally.

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The Greeting Committee

 

“Look at them all running over,” I said with a delighted giggle.

“That’s because they don’t know who you are,” Ginny explained, “or they think maybe you’re going to feed them.”

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“Who are you and what are you doing in our pasture?”

 

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This little one was particularly curious.

 

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Its friends were curious, too.

 

From there we headed over to the cow pasture. We spotted this courting couple along the way.

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Tom turkey strutting his stuff.

 

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Turkey Hen

 

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American Milking Devon Bull

 

Y’all know there are different breeds of cattle, right? American Milking Devons are on the smallish side. The big, full-grown AMDs only weigh about 1,000 pounds each.

While Ginny and I stood quietly in the pasture chatting, the herd of American Milking Devon cattle watched us closely. I was struck by how much that bull’s head resembles a bison.

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Charlie, having been bottle-fed as a youngster, is more social than the others.

 

Cows really are curious critters. 🙂

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“Hey, who are you?”

 

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Ina was Jeff and Ginny’s first cow.

 

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Another curious youngster.

 

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Ginny thinks this one may be pregnant.

 

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This one circled around behind us for a closer look.

 

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Impressive horns on that ram, eh?

 

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A nursing lamb.

 

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L-R, Chip and Dale, the resident oxen.

 

Look at that sweet face on Chip!

Chip and Dale, the farm’s oxen, are of the Milking Shorthorn breed. Both weigh in excess of 2,000 pounds each.

They’re very gentle. Chip loves having his chin scratched.

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Ginny scratching Chip’s chin.

 

I was able to scratch his chin, too. I just had to keep an eye on those horns. His head is almost as long as my torso, and if he swung his head around quickly, I could get speared. Not impaled, mind you, but those horns would hurt if they made contact with the wrong spot.

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A big ole pig sow.

 

As we approached the pasture housing Chip and Dale, Ginny remarked that there’d been a pig escape. There were at least two very large sows running around. VERY large.

I’m a tall girl, and I’m pretty sure the backs of those pigs came up at least to my hip.

I may be a city girl, but I read a lot, and I know pigs can be quite mean, so we both kept wary eyes on them.

That enclosure also held more sheep. And there was a noisy flock of geese — it’s mating season — up behind the house.

Ginny and I chatted about farm life and critters the whole time we strolled. She explained how the sheep, once they start dropping lambs, adopt a “grass is always greener” mentality and tend to wander far and wide across the pasture in search of newly emerging grass shoots. Which is why most of that herd was on the far side of the pasture.

We eventually made our way back to the shop. In addition to attending various Farmers’ Markets throughout the area, the couple also maintains a farm store on their property, with freezers full of packaged meat.

Just as Ginny and I approached the shop, a couple of cars pulled in. These folks were regular customers, and were greeted warmly by name. There were several small children among the new arrivals, so Ginny went and got the newest bottle lamb.

This youngun had been discovered in the middle of the pasture less than a week prior, only partially cleaned off. They have no idea which sheep birthed the lamb. It’s possible that it was one of a set of twins. They’ll be bottle-feeding it for quite some time. It seems to be doing well, so far.

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Bottle Baby (BB)

 

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Ginny introduced BB to the children.

 

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Ginny was giving the kids a scaled down biology lesson.

 

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BB has the sweetest face.

 

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BB is obviously quite content with Mama Ginny.

 

While the animals are cute, farm life is rife with harsh realities. Like this abandoned lamb, which, if it hadn’t been discovered when it was, could easily have died.

Ginny said she won’t name the lamb until it’s a least a week old. In the past, after she’d named several younger lambs only to have them die for one reason or another, she’d decided naming should wait.

It’s easy to romanticize farm life. Just look at all of those beautiful animals! But farm life is hard work. They have to feed and care for the animals and the 38-acre piece of land with its myriad fences, animal shelters, the pond, etc.

They rarely get days off. And they both work other jobs, too, to make ends meet.

If you’re a local and have never tried meat from Walnut Hill Farm at Elm Springs, you should. Jeff and/or one of his helpers will be at the Saturday market in Old Town Warrenton with massive coolers full of meat. The bulk chorizo is my favorite, but I also like their link sausages, too, which are available in pork and lamb varieties. I also like to experiment with new stuff on occasion. This time, I bought some lamb kabob meat, too, which I am quite anxious to try.

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If you’re not close to Warrenton, you can make purchases at the farm. Click here for contact and location info.

Address: 449 Kellogg Mill Road, Falmouth, VA 22406

Phone: (540) 752-2909

 

 

And if you are nowhere near Virginia, find another local farmer to support. Not only will you find an alternate source for good, fresh, healthier food, you may just make a new friend or two in the process.

Fun with Elves

Quite a few years ago, my friend Carol gave me The Elf on the Shelf. Our youngest was already a teenager, but I suppose she thought it would be fun for the grand kids. Or maybe, MAYBE, she just loved the Christmas Elves of our childhood and thought I should have one.

In the 60s and 70s, every house had an elf amongst the Christmas decorations, right?

We had two, I think. My brother might say there were three. No matter the number, I always loved those elves.

My friend Janet, who owns The Empty Nest, recently acquired a bunch of vintage elves. She said that someone asked how the elves can be vintage when they were made in Japan. Because everyone knows that vintage = antique and all antiques were made in America. Right?

Anyway, today, on my way to dinner, I took a few of those elves off of Janet’s hands.

They’re silly things, really, but they made me smile. And that felt good. Smiles have been a bit rare around here lately.

Once I started smiling, I sorta got carried away. What better way to kill time waiting for food than playing with my new-to-me elves?

And since nearby diners seemed to enjoy my elves’ antics, I thought you might, too.

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Menu Help

 

"I Love Beer!" says the elf.
“I Love Beer!” says the elf.

 

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“Hmmm, isn’t a Cosmo more sophisticated?”

 

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“Tastes more sophisticated.”

 

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This particular Elf thinks beer is better.

 

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He was also very happy with dessert.

 

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VERY happy with dessert.

 

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So happy, he fainted.

 

A not to be named member of the Warrenton Town Council was a bit perplexed by the elves’ antics.

But I bet even she would agree that The Elf on the Shelf has nothing on these old guys.

The Dragon Master

I am now a Dragon Master.That’s what they call folks who have ridden Virginia’s Back of the Dragon, a sweet 30+-mile stretch of road that crosses three mountains between Marion and Tazewell, Virginia.

It’s the sort of route motorcyclists like me daydream about. Here’s a Google Maps link of the location.

We started at the southern end on VA-16 outside of Marion, VA, just north of US-11, and rode north.

I ended up with about 42 minutes of video, which I edited down to this video, which is just under 10 minutes long.

There’s music, so check your volume before clicking PLAY.

 

 

Do let me know if you enjoyed the virtual ride-along.

Snail Mail Challenge

I have a problem. You know how some women have a hard time NOT buying shoes? Or nail polish? Or maybe earrings? For some, it’s scarves. Whatever the item, and for whatever the reason, they’re drawn to these things and have an odd need to acquire more.

snail_mailAnd it’s not just women. Men suffer from this condition, too. Be it fishing rods, guns, baseball-style caps, or antique tools.

Two of my particular items of mysterious fascination are post cards and greeting cards. I’m not sure why, but I just love acquiring those things.

Maybe it’s because I LOVE souvenir shops and the myriad kitschy wares for offer. Post cards are an inexpensive way of buying something, anything, other than a tacky t-shirt (though I love those, too), shot glass, neon-flecked seashell, hermit crab, “my friend went to [insert name of cool place] and all I got was this” [fill in the blank], back scratcher, toothpick holder, etc.

The problem is, I don’t use them often enough.

On my most recent, brief, road trip, I decided I would actually mail the cards I had acquired.

And you know what? All of the recipients seemed to enjoy getting their unexpected post card.

I don’t know about you, but I’m always happy to get real mail. Greeting cards at holidays are always special to me. But even more special is the random, unexpected card, letter, or parcel from someone I know that says they’re thinking about me.

Not only is it a nice break from all of the bills, adverts, business correspondence, and general junk we receive on a regular basis, it’s nice just knowing someone out there cares enough to let me know I was on their mind. For whatever reason, good or bad.

I’m willing to bet many of you enjoy receiving mail just as much as I do, so I thought I’d incite my followers to participate in a Snail Mail Challenge. It’s easy, really. And just think of the smiles you will spread.

To participate, all you need to do is send five or more post cards, greeting cards, or letters to people you know. Family members, friends, old acquaintances, a lonely neighbor… You can even do it anonymously.

It doesn’t have to be a travel-related post card. It could be a simple card with a funny saying.

Or perhaps a card featuring a picture of an animal you know your addressee will enjoy.

You could even affix a personal photo to a piece of card stock, draw a picture, or even print something you’ve found on the Internet. Whatever.

The biggest point is to add a personal note, address, stamp, and actually put the items into the mail.

According to the Smithsonian Institution Archives

Postcards were popular because they were a quick and easy way for individuals to communicate with each other.

If you’re into odd trivia, I found a PDF document describing the history of the postcard.

For those who want to make their own postcards, here are the US postal guidelines.

USPS Post Card Rules
USPS Postcard Rules

 

If 4″ x 6″ isn’t large enough, you can do a larger postcard (maximum size: 11-1/2 inches x 6-1/8 inches high x 1/4 inch thick), but it’ll cost you more. The $0.49 First-Class rate to be exact.

I’m not doing this to solicit mail for myself. I just thought y’all could have a little fun sharing some smiles with folks. Not that I’d object to receiving a card or letter from any of you.

It would really be fun for me to know if you decide to participate. If you really think it’s a fun idea, you could even blog about it. Feel free to use my Snail Mail Challenge image.

Or, if you don’t have a blog, just e-mail me a pic of your to-be-mailed items. You don’t have to tell me where they are going, who they’re addressed to, etc.

Eventually, I’ll do a follow-up post where I’ll share your links, images, and/or comments.

Come on, have a little fun and spread some cheer. Communicate with the people who mean something to you. And tell me about it. Or not. It’s up to you.

Who is up to this simple challenge?

Until the Cows Come Home

There have been a few videos floating around the Internet showing that cows appreciate music. But this one is the best.

 

 

If you’re impatient, jump to about 1:00 and watch the dots on the horizon.

I still haven’t found a good spot where I can sing to a herd of cows to see what they do. One day I’ll test it. Really.

Goats aren’t impressed by my singing. That’s something I have tested. 🙂

I still like this video, too.

 

The Yellow Barn

If you’ve been following my last few posts, you’ll know this is a continuation of my recent fun visit to the Shenandoah Caverns complex in Quicksburg, Virginia. If you haven’t been reading my blog recently, be sure to see the previous post when you are through here. Assuming you enjoyed this post, of course. The post before that one describes my trip to the caverns and introduces you to the giant frog mentioned later in this post.

Anyway, continuing the visit story…

Once I’d finished immersing myself in parade relics at the American Celebration on Parade (ACOP) building, I went back across the road to see The Yellow Barn at Shenandoah Caverns. I’d only planned on visiting the parade building, but how could I NOT investigate the big yellow barn with a giant frog in out front?

According to the Web site, The Yellow Barn (TYB) is Shenandoah Valley’s “…newest attraction and entertainment venue. It offers visitors a whimsical look at our agricultural heritage and rural life with historical displays that include restored antique farm wagons, equipment, carriages and vehicles.” That sort of makes it sound like it was built for that purpose. But you want to know what I think? I strongly suspect it was built to house the overflow from the owner’s super-cool collection of parade artifacts. Calling it an “entertainment venue” justifies its existence. Not that there’s anything wrong with that…

Where ACOP was on the dark side, lighting-wise, and crammed full of some things that could maybe scare little ones (if they’re the gentler sort who are creeped-out by clowns, Santa, the Easter Bunny, etc.), TYB is bright, airy, and jammed pack with cuteness.

TYB’s Web site summarizes the building’s contents as such:

Exhibits ranging from a 25-foot-long tobacco press to horse drawn wagons to early 20th-century tractors to a Model T Depot Hack once used to pick up passengers at the railroad station fill the 15,000-square-foot space. A 35-foot-tall treehouse sits inside one end of the building and is home to a family of five-foot-tall squirrels.

I guess you could call the exhibits educational. I just call them delightful.

After passing through the building’s lobby and entering the exhibit hall, I was amazed by the sheer volume of stuff displayed.

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Inside The Yellow Barn

 

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Inside The Yellow Barn

 

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Inside The Yellow Barn

 

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Inside The Yellow Barn

 

My cuteometer must have been firing because the first centerpiece exhibit I was drawn to was that squirrel treehouse mentioned above.

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Squirrels!

 

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The treehouse is absolutely adorable.

 

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Squirrel Family

 

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Mama Squirrel? Or Granny?

 

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Let’s call the Mama “Granny T’ and the Dad “Papa John.”

 

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Purple Bird

 

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So cute!

 

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I really, really liked Granny T.

 

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Granny T. rocks. 🙂

 

Just like at the ACOP building, I had to take my time and really look to see all of the delights tucked around the building.

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Happy Bees

 

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Smiley Guy

 

Speaking of bees… this guy was there, too.

Creepy Bee
Creepy Bee

 

I thought he looked a bit creepy. All I could think of when I saw him was that movie, The Fly, with Jeff Goldblum.

There was a real beehive, too. I even captured a video for you. It’s very short, and might make you feel a bit buggy.

There were some cool ants, too.

 

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My Favorite Ant

 

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Happy Ant

 

Here are some cute donkeys.

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“Don’t make an ass of yourself. Smile.”

 

Do you see a face when you look at this tractor?

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Faces in Places submission?

 

And that’s what I saw inside of The Yellow Barn.

Do you love the squirrelly treehouse as much as I did?