I love farms.  I often daydream about being a farmer–although my visions are probably completely romantic, unrealistic notions.  But nonetheless, I like to get a little touch of farm life any time that I can.

I belong to an amazing attachment parenting meet-up group.  I adore many of these families, and I enjoy meeting new AP parents as often as possible.  I was excited for our long-awaited tour at a local dairy farm this week.  We’ve been to this particular spot a few times, and it is always a fun event.

The morning started out with some drizzle.  Thankfully, the rain stopped just in time for our tour to begin.  We saw the mamas-to-be in the maternity pen, fed handfuls of grass to the other ladies, and explored their fuzzy heads, moist noses, and sandpaper tongues.  Dairy cows are gentle and shy, yet curious.  They didn’t seem to mind our visit at all, and they were eager to welcome lots of little hands and the grass they offered.  We hand milked a very patient gal named Gloria.  Imagine more than a dozen farmers coming to milk one cow.

The dairy farm has about 100 cows and a handful of pigs, a goat or two, and a farm dog named Moose .  Each grandchild in the family picks a baby cow and names her!   In the store, you can buy milk, butter, cheese, a wide variety of homemade foods, glorious baked goods from the on-site bakery, and the most heavenly chocolate milk you could imagine.  To me, it tastes like a melted milkshake.  How could I forget!  Ice cream!  The dairy makes its own ice cream, and we were each treated to a free cone after the tour.  We had a beautiful day as “farmers in the dell.”