A Day at the Farm

I was invited recently to attend Green Meadows Petting Farm in Ijamsville, Maryland for Media Day. The farm was closed to the public, so we got the inside scoop on all the farm has to offer. My husband took the day off work, so the five of us got to spend a great family day together. We ALL had a blast! As we arrived, we were taken back by the size and beauty of this farm. Having three young kids, we do our fair share of visiting farms, especially during pumpkin pickin' time;), and this is by far the nicest (and cleanest!) one we've been to. As we pulled up, we were welcomed by the marketing and event planner, who pointed us in the direction of a photographer, Regina Benbow, for some fun pics. They had a bunch of props for us to play around with for the photo - giant milk bottles, pitchforks, overalls, plaid shirts, hats...it was a hoot! At first the kids were just going to do it, and I looked at my husband, and without even saying a word, he read my mind! We threw some things on too, and left with a (hilarious!) souvenir to remember our day at Green Meadows...

My scanner's on the fritz, so this is a photo of a photo and doesn't do it justice - Regina is awesome and so sweet. In person, the pic is so crisp and clear...and it's proudly displayed on our fridge;) She will be there every weekend, selling her photos for $5 a pop, and not only that, but every person who gets their photo taken will be entered into a drawing for 4 free tickets to the farm! Not a bad deal:)

From there, we headed down to see the hens and roosters. Here's where we realized what an awesome farm this was - instead of just looking threw the wire at them, the fence opened up and our guide told us to go on in! They encourage close up experiences with the animals, and want to educate their visitors about each and every one. I can tell you they definitely stand by their word! Paul and I kept looking at each other with the "Wow! Didn't know that?!" look on our faces. Like the color of chickens' earlobes determines what color eggs they'll lay. Did not know that! It was an extremely educational trip...for us AND the kids.

Our Reagan was in her glory. That girl is SUCH an animal lover - she was always the last one petting the animal and hanging around.

Then off to the Dairy Barn, where I was stunned. There was a HUGE cow standing there, and the guide helped everyone milk it! What a cool experience. Again, learned something interesting: cow's milk comes out 102 degrees.

You can actually see the milk in that shot with Noah!

Then, in the same barn, a few cows were just hanging out...like hanging out. For the kids to just go up and sit right next to, and pet...as if it were a dog or something! This is all new to me, folks. Like I said, every other farm I'd been to, it's very restricted, so this was all so SO super cool.

Again, Reag in HEAVEN. ;)

Onto the goats after that. The kids got to feed them - so fun! But instead of just sending the kids off with food, our guide asked them to look at their eyes and notice that they are rectangles. I never knew that! So I made a point to check them out, and they are wild! Once again, more learning going on. As a former teacher, I was totally digging this farm.

In addition to the animals, this farm has a lot of very interesting architecture. You know I was checking out all the buildings and rustic charm it has to offer, right?!

Just beautiful.

From feeding goats, we headed on over to see DAY OLD PIGGIES!!! Baby piggies have GOT to be the cutest things on the planet.

Look at that poor worn-out mama pig in the back;)

We also got to see an enormous tortoise and equally huge rabbit, baby chicks, horses, wallabies, zebras, buffalo, and more. We saw eggs incubating, got to feed llamas, watch a pig race, and were treated to a tractor pulled hayride. My 5 year old could not contain herself - she would have gone on a dozen more hayrides if she could!

To end our trip, we were given free ice cream (YESSSS!!) and encouraged to stay and hang out with the animals til our heart's content. (Everyone gets a free ice cream with a paid admission throughout June, which is Dairy Month).

Never thought we'd get Noah off the wooden tractor. That boy and his wheels.

The weather was unbelievably gorgeous too - Maryland gets some scorchers in June, but we lucked out with a freak 80 degree day. It was perfect.

I knew the kids enjoyed themselves, that was clear, but any parent knows the real sign to a successful outing is this sight from the back of the car:

Thank you SO much to all the friendly, warm, inviting people of Green Meadows Petting Farm - our family had a fabulous time, learned a TON, and made memories we'll never forget!

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For more information on Green Meadows, or to find one nearest you, check out their website here and their Facebook page.
For more information on Regina Benbow Photography, check out her website here and her Facebook page.
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