The Day the Goats Got Loose

---

I'm happy to begin this entry by announcing the birth of two new baby lambs! Both girls; one came Friday and the other Saturday. The third sheep who was put with the ram on the same day should be having her baby any time now!

I spent the morning first spreading grease on a machine designed to hold bulls still while the vet makes sure they can't father any calves and then I picked and bunched tulips to sell at the farmer's market. It occurred to me how bizarre my life is and I thought that made it time for another blog!

Someone this morning thought it would be a good idea to put the goats in to graze where the sheep were before they had babies, which is an area marked by only a roped fence instead of wire. Whoever did this forgot how curious/weird goats are and how they try to stick their heads through everything, which sheep don't.

My teammate Sam and I were leading some visiting school kids on a field trip and showing them how to mulch in new plants. (Free labor for the farm in the name of education!). I looked over a few times and noticed that the goats had pushed their entire necks out of the fence and were eating the greener grass on the other side. I looked away for a second and when I looked back one of the goats was completely out of the fence! I grabbed her and was trying to lead her back in when 3 more goats pushed through the fence and paraded out, followed by the last pregnant sheep!

I was debating how to coral this group back in when I noticed a little goats with horns had not fully made the bust and was tangled in the fence. In her fight to get loose she was stumbling over. I went and got her out first so that she wouldn't get strangled and to my relief the 7th grade class was outside and came over to bring back the goats and escaped sheep.

It was pretty neat to have a public school class here today with the Waldorf students. In my mind Im always comparing these kids and the program to the other schools Ive been in, but this is the first time Ive seen it. After just a few minutes of shoveling the visiting kids were tired, but Sunfield kids work outside every day. They know so much about farming and the animals (I would NEVER have gotten all those goats back alone...). But all of this was new and strange to the other kids.
We led them on a hike through the woods, the one the kindergarteners here do a few times a week. Some of the kids were SO excited just to walk though mud and play in trees! A few said they'd never done anything like that before.

I believe that my LA kiddos probably don't go hiking (where could they go?) but these kids live just down the street. I guess maybe they're too busy with video games to bother... It was really exciting to me to get to see these kids experience the joy of the outdoors for the first time.

(I do actually know what my last project will be, but I feel like I haven't done this one justice on the blog. I'm going to wait a little longer before I switch gears and start talking about round 4.)

---

Comments

[Art Hagy]

Doing Justice
Kristen, With your keen insight into the ways of children, and your values of experience and sharing, you always do more than mere "justice" to your blogs. I eagerly read each one and look forward to more. Thanks so much for sharing. Love, Art