I've been dying to go to the big Farm Show in Harrisburg for years. I always forget that it's in January, though...it seems like a strange time to have something like this...
I took my kids out of school last Friday and we drove the 2 hour drive with my friend, Leisha and 4 of her children. I was so excited that she was up for the adventure...(We had 7 children all together, ages 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 1)...
Now we're talking icecream!
Meet "Steve"...the biggest rabbit I think I've ever seen! (I think the fact that his name is Steve makes him even cuter)
We were all gushing over him...
How about them femur bones?
Here we all are in the horse arena...
The kids all got to see cows being milked which they loved.
This sweet baby calf was nearby...
We all enjoyed watching sheep shearing as well...We learned about the different stages of how wool goes from the sheep to being made into a sweater.
All of the pigs (except this one) had been sent home earlier on in the week because people were freaking out over the swine flu. (Holy over-reaction!) 
After a delicious lunch of farm show food (homemade fried mozzarella balls and fresh creamy milkshakes and all) it was onto the much anticipated POULTRY ROOM! 
Check out this "Fizzle" bantam--Love her!
We all enjoyed watching sheep shearing as well...We learned about the different stages of how wool goes from the sheep to being made into a sweater.
All of the pigs (except this one) had been sent home earlier on in the week because people were freaking out over the swine flu. (Holy over-reaction!)
Fortunately, this lactating mother and her 11 suckling pigs stuck around for us to enjoy...
This picture actually shows her standing up taking a drink out of a water fountain...
After a delicious lunch of farm show food (homemade fried mozzarella balls and fresh creamy milkshakes and all) it was onto the much anticipated POULTRY ROOM!Jake recently joined "Buck's Clucks" which is the poultry chapter in our local 4-H. I originally thought we'd be raising more ducks, but he wants to raise a chicken to show in the grange fair in August, so we've (I've) been doing much researching (obsessing) over chickens lately.
We were all very excited to see all the different varieties of chickens that were available. Jake brought along his notes and I took pictures of some of our favorites...
Check out this "Fizzle" bantam--Love her!
We were originally thinking about raising bantams (tiny chickens) but recently found out that there is no way to know if they are male or female when you order them. I don't want to run the risk of getting a male, so we are going to get full sized birds.
Beautiful colors!
Funny!
In addition to the many varieties of chickens, there were, of course, many ducks that had me drooling.
Beautiful colors!
Funny! In addition to the many varieties of chickens, there were, of course, many ducks that had me drooling.
Have I ever mentioned how much I love ducks?!
Seeing these little ducklings was one of the highlights of the day...
There's nothing cuter than ducklings!
I love being able to take my kids on a field trip like this...
I had such a great time with Leisha...She is such an amazing person!
We had so much fun chatting in the car that the time totally just flew by...
This was the perfect thing to get me out of my January slump!
***What would your favorite part have been?
What in the world are those femurs for?
ReplyDeleteall of it!!! also, the baby animals and ducks would be my favorite!! I have never heard of something like this in January:-)
ReplyDeleteI really like the animals. I think the ice-cream would have been my favorite part! But when we go to our local fair the kids and I love looking at the different animals. The different varieties of chickens are really cool. I like the first one. So beautiful!
ReplyDeleteI think the mozzarella balls would have been my favorite part of the day, but seeing the baby pigs and the ducklings would have been fun too.
ReplyDeleteThat first chicken with the black-edged feathers is gorgeous!
I'm so glad you're posting again!
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5,? what happened to 4, 3 & 2? Just kidding.
ReplyDeleteSounds like an educational field trip. They weren't IN school but the kids received some great schooling.
I bet they remember that...
i love the duckling video! that made my day! that baby cow looks so sweet, i just want to take him home! glad you guys had a great time.
ReplyDeletefield trips are the BEST, but you're right, i would forget about a farm festival in january? what the? at least it was a good time of year to get out the january slump. and i love it when friends with kids are up for an adventure, it's always more fun with friends!
ReplyDeletemy favorite part of the day would've been the yummy food for sure - but all the babies of any variety would've made me pull out my camera while i oooed and awwwed.
GREAT post!
wow! you two were so brave with all those kids- sounds like a great field trip, though- were there "fair- waffles" involved?? :o)
ReplyDeleteI so miss the farm show. I'm very jealous.
ReplyDeleteoh man. if i could have attended this, i would have been in heaven!
ReplyDeleteJacob and I loved the duck slide and the giant cow with the giant ice cream!
ReplyDeleteThese pictures are great! I can't believe how ginormous Steve the rabbit is. I would have loved watching the sheep shearing. And the food.
ReplyDeleteYour kids must have been so excited to get checked out of school for a field trip! I never do that.