My Ideal Saturday Afternoon.

So, we love food. And I really care where our food comes from. I don’t mind going out of my way a bit to get great quality, especially if it means I can buy more for my money. That is one of many reasons we like to shop at farms. One of our favorites is Hollow Trees Farm, about half an hour’s drive from our home. They have great quality meats, and their seasonal produce is (almost) dirt cheap! We make the drive about every two weeks to stock our freezer.

We knew that they had a nature trail, but as newcomers, we were appalled that they charged people to get in. We didn’t go for it the first many times we visited, but on a sunny day a couple of weeks ago, we were desperate for something new, and paid the admission fee. We were so pleasantly surprised by all that we found behind that gate! But I couldn’t document it, since first I didn’t have the memory card in my camera (I swear I took some awesome pictures, which dissolved into thin air!) and then once I got it put in, my camera battery died. So today it was another beautiful day, and although we didn’t have an empty freezer yet, it was time to go and enjoy ourselves there again.

This farms has some of the friendliest animals I have ever met, and it is clear that they live happy lives and are very well-treated by the people who take care of them.
 
First off, the goats. These ones were so sweet and friendly. Last time, we were cheap and didn’t buy food for the animals. When we paid our admission that time, we didn’t know who was waiting on the other side, or how sweet they would be! When we realized that a bag of feed to share was a mere 40p, we felt so stingy! This time we bought a bag and had a great time sharing with these wonderful creatures.

This little one reminded me of my pet goat that I bought when I was 11. SO sweet!

I love the climbing setup they have here for the goats. We had a couple of very frisky ones today

On the way out, we visited this group again. A couple of them came up to Jeff to be pet and get their backs rubbed for a very long time. We loved it!

 
Next, we went to the livestock stalls, where there were pigs, cows and more goats. I think this was more of a maternity ward, with sows and piglets, calves and expecting mama goats.

It was a lot of fun to watch these rambunctious little piggies!

They were next door to the mama cows and their calves.

We had such a great time feeding and petting these cows!
 
 
 
 


It is such a rare opportunity to be able to get so close and friendly with a cow, and these were so used to being with people, and clearly well cared for.

Next to them was the pen full of expecting goat mamas. They all looked ready to give birth, they were so wide and hungry!

Something I loved was all the chickens and ducks that had come in to hang out in the stalls with the livestock!

We headed out to visit a few more creatures.

We met the free-rangiest of free-range hens I have ever come across.

They live in some kind of poultry paradise!

And, yes, we absolutely bought their eggs!

Oh, there were horses…

This one was a bit nippy, but that’s OK– we really ought to have brought apples to share…

And the coziest trio of bunnies, all huddled in together.

So much to see, I snapped pictures until my battery died (it really doesn’t take long, unfortunately.)
We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, and left with a trunk full of good food. The drive home was beautiful, as always, and we can’t stop saying how thankful and lucky we are that we can live here, and have access to and interaction with these wonderful creatures. This is exactly where I want to be on a Saturday afternoon!