Photoessay #32 - Visiting Farm Animals

This past weekend, Dennis, Naomi and I picked up our six year old granddaughter Melina and did our usual visit to the farm animals at Farrel-McWhirter park in Redmond. Maybe some day we will all grow up and go somewhere else but, for right now, we all like going there. The great thing about a park like this is ....There's always somebody new!

This particular trip featured a tom turkey in full feather regalia and quite a few young goats. I will feature the animals more prominently in the future but I liked this one of Naomi and Melina checking out the three month old goats who were sharing a pen with two turkeys. The pen on the left included two napping young pigs who declined to wake up. The pen at the end had an entire tri-colored goat family who was interested in chewing the bark off a stump outside. A sheep also lived there. There were a rooster and a chicken in the rafters above. A few visits ago, there was a turkey up in the rafters that made a quite a racket.

Elsewhere are some bunnies and ducks, a pasture with a cow (Buster), several horses and a donkey (Eyore). Last spring we heard a rumor that a pig had had babies and we all agreed that we HAD to go out and check that out. Sure enough, a pig with babies.

I've decided that the main criteria for animals living at Farel-Mcwhirter is that you Don't Bite Kids. You can be ugly or loud or dull but, as a farm animal, your main task is Don't Bite Kids. If you do, you are likely out of there.

Melina likes going out there, she knows what to expect and she understands about the animals. We like it too, when else do you get to spend some time just hanging around with the cows and chickens?

Naomi is great with Melina, she knows how to get Melina talking and enjoying herself, she has a great knack for it. Melina asked specifically to go on a walk in the woods and the two of them spent quite a bit of time on a tire swing.

I don't know how we do as grandparents but we kind of puddle along.....

Below were two of the main attractions who were hanging out together, the turkey and one of the young goats.