I am sad to say that our Farm/Animal theme has come to an end for this month at "Camp Leong." We had a fantastic trip to Cherry Crest Farm, a tour and lots of kisses from furry alpacas at Silkies Alpaca Farm. Who knew there was so much to know about Alpacas! And today - today was magical. (Do I exaggerate too much? Nope.) Brian, Hope (and I KNOW KNOW KNOW Gavin, too) spent a colorful, crisp Fall afternoon outside at Ryerss Farm for Aged Equines.
It was founded in the 1800s by Anne Waln-Ryerss who is described as a small but mighty woman who had a large and powerful passion for animals. She was especially drawn to maltreated animals and would sometimes convince the owners to allow the horse to "rest and recuperate" on her farm... where it would often stay for the remainder of its life. When she died, she left instructions to create and maintain a farm where horses that were maltreated, injured or faithful family horses could spend the rest of their years in style. This is like the ultimate "Assisted Living" for your favorite horse! People purchase a tiny pony and immediately call Ryerss to secure the ponies future retirement there. Isn't that the best review?!
Anyone can go to visit and walk the fence line petting noses, talking baby talk, giving kisses - and sometimes getting them, too. The farm is breathtaking - especially this time of year in Pennsylvania as the leaves change.
Visitors can even come late in the afternoon when the horses are back in their stalls for the night.
There you can continue the earlier baby talk (is it just ME???) and even offer some treats if you donate an easy three bucks for a bag.
Horses are special. If you know, you know. I thought I knew until Gavin took therapeutic riding and it was a total game changer. I'll never forget those days in the stable with him. He was so proud and you could tell. He stood taller, he walked more, he was more verbal... it was like he had this bond with the horse that was beyond me.
Way beyond.
Brian and Hope laughed when they found out there was a horse named Dim Sums. We had to meet him, obviously.
But there were a few MVPs who really stole my heart. There was Ben, the very handsome miniature donkey.
We had a clear connection.
And we all fell in love with ol' Rubarb, the Pot Bellied Pig. Until then, none of us had ever pet a pig! His hair looked like porcupine quills! He loved getting scratched and was very friendly.
I asked the kids to tell me some interesting facts they walked away with. One cool thing we learned was what "run in sheds" are. They are built to offer protection from the sun to horses out in the pasture. But the "fun fact" we learned was that they should always face a certain direction on a farm. Do you know what that direction would be?
It's South! This way the sun will rise and set on the sides and it will remain shady underneath!
Hope liked learning what a "bank barn" is. This is a type of barn built into a hill. It looks like this:
It allows ground access from both levels. Typically, farmers will store equipment on the top floor and livestock in stalls below.
All three of us were amazed at how much goes into a working farm. This is one of the reasons I love getting to do this with them - we get outside of our pretty sheltered cul de sac life in the burbs and learn little things to enrich our lives. Most people - or at least people who know farm life - would be laughing at the things that amazed us. "There are farm sized giant generators?" "Woah - you just pull this string and water goes into the bucket in each stall?"
Some field trips will be boring, for sure. Some will be cool, but we'll forget about them in time. This field trip left a mark. I'm feeling like Ryerss will see us again. And again.
This month our "Camp Leong" theme is History! I may only be able to pull off one field trip, but it's going to be pretty epic. And the first marking period is just ending at PALCS, the kids new school this year. I'll be posting next about what our school life has been like since September and answer the questions you've sent me.
Thank you, as always, for caring about our family!
