Sometimes
I’m in awe of how fast time flies by and also how hard it can be to write a
blog post. Life and more to the point life with kids can get in the way of many
best laid plans. I’m not grumbling really but I can’t believe it’s taken me 3
weeks to write this post and link it to Coombe Mill’s Country Kids. And although
3 weeks have passed, I really want to share it with you because we had such a
lovely day out as a family. We even got to go to the beach afterwards too ! It
was one of those rare sunny days we aren't getting much of these days.
So
what did we do? Well, every year the farming industry have an open day called,
Open Farm Sunday. This is a day when hundreds of farms, all over the country open
their gates to showcase what they do to produce our food and care for our
countryside. You get the chance to find out how your food gets from the field
to your plate, to know the farmers who grow it and how they look after the
environment and wildlife living there.
We've
been to our local Open Farm Sunday before when Belle was a bit younger and she
loved it. This year as Tink is 2½ her interest in animals and this type of thing
is at its height so we made use of this and popped down to our local farm to
share in the fun. We are lucky that our local farm has a fabulous farm shop. We
shop there regularly and the girls love choosing fruit and veggies, learning
what everything is and being a part of the process. I really believe it engages
their interest in food; they start to make that connection between choosing the
food to then cooking and eating it. The girls love to be involved in baking and
cooking where possible and I notice that they are less fussy about eating
certain things IF they've been involved in the whole process. I suppose it’s
all about giving them choice and making them feel that their input is as
important as our own.
The
first thing we watched were some of the sheep being sheared. It really is quite
a skill and although I’m sure the sheep aren't all that enthralled by the
experience, they must feel so much cooler afterwards. Although I do know that
baby/toddler sleep bags and duvets made from wool are supposed to be great a
regulating the body’s temperature so perhaps one could argue that they could
quite happily keep their coats after all.
Both
the girls thoroughly enjoyed watching the sheep shearing. I did feel for
one poor sheep who had his skin nicked ! Ouch ! It’s like cutting yourself
whilst shaving but someone else doing it. Not fun. Poor little love took it
very well under the circumstances. I’m sure a soothing, healing balm was
applied later on – I hope so anyway.
We then moved on to look at the piggies, chicks, and made our way to the poly tunnels to look at all the veggies, and salad based items growing away. The girls thought this would be a great time to break away and run amok, little tinkers ! There’s seems to be something quite appealing about running in and out of other people’s veggies. Fun was definitely had until Mummy asked them nicely to stop terrorising the plants and to check out something else. You always fear that they’ll end up falling on the lovely uniform rows of produce and you’ll get chucked out for bad behaviour. I’m pleased to report that all was fine and we herded them out and across to the play area to let off some kiddie fuelled steam.
Since
our last visit the play area has been added to and the girls loved playing on
the swings, slide and train. It was busy but not overwhelming. The girls managed
to play on what they wanted to before the tractor and trailer arrived to take
visitors around the whole farm.
Daddy joined the girls on the trailer and afterwards he said how much more he’d learnt about how they farm everything and the ethics behind what they do. As a farm they went up in our estimation further. We now know that the meat is from grass fed animals, and that the whole farm’s water is supplied from a natural spring. They try to be as self sufficient as possible.
We
were lucky enough to have my aunt with us for the weekend, so whilst the girls
and Daddy had their ride on the tractor, my aunt and I were able to chat over a
cuppa and some cake. Bliss ! I make the most of those moments now. They are few
and far between.
After
all our excitement on the farm, we decided after lunch to head out to our local
beach for a stroll and an ice cream. The weather was fabulous so we sat on the
beach, collected stones and shells, watched the girls paddle in the chilly sea and
made friends with the many doggies we met along the way too. The girls would so
love a dog of their own. Maybe one day. Once we’d revived ourselves with the
wonderful sea air, we headed to the beach cafe for a well deserved ice cream.
It truly was a fabulous family day out together made all the more special by
the beautiful sunshine. Let’s hope that sun keeps making appearances especially
as we head towards the summer holidays. Kids outdoors = happy kids. Wouldn't
you agree?
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