Those of you that know me well know that I am a ridiculous animal lover. I get more excited about animals than I do about most things. I plan on becoming a cat, dog, and bird lady later in life.
So it really shouldn't be a surprise that I dedicate a blog post to some of the animals that have become a part of Colin's and my daily life.
As we live on a camp out in the country, there are multiple animals that we interact with everyday. Whether it is feeding and caring for them, educating the campers about them, or shooing them away while we travel through their fields on hikes, it is all an adventure.
Here are some of the stars:
First we have our chickens. They live on the property. They are some of the kids' favorites as they tend to escape their coop multiple times a day and lead the campers on many a merry chase.
The following photo is a picture of Houdini. Houdini is the most popular hen in the hen house due to her unbelievable talent of escape. Regardless of how many barriers and fences are put up, this escape artist continues finds a way out...and then shows her friends.
Then there are the ducks.
There are anywhere from 8 to 16 ducks at any given point at camp. They all have great personalities to go with their great names: Penelope, Gertrude, Sir Francis Drake... They are hatched raised here at Tuchekoi, so they are quite tame. They even occasionally allow the kids a pat or two.
Our newest member of camp is Lilly. She is a calf that was abandoned by her mother and brought here at 3 days old. But don't worry, she gets lots of love. The students are her care takers. They feed her twice a day, visit her during free time, and were the ones responsible for choosing her name.
In these pictures she is about a week old.
This is Nell. She is an incredibly friendly pig and gets quite vocal whenever someone visits her pen. Being strayed with the hose is one of her favorite pastimes. She gave birth to four piglets just a couple of week ago.
Part of the "farm duties" that the campers are responsible for each day include feeding the four horses that reside at Tuchekoi with us. Coco, Bonnie Belle, Sahara, and Penny. They are all retired or rescued horses. They are not ridden and the only duties they have is to eat, be as lazy as possible, let the students love them, and live the most bliss-filled life they can. They do a pretty good job at it. :)
And then there are the other cows...these are the neighboring lands' cattle that surround Tuchekoi. They occasionally find a way through the fences. This provides some of the most memorable moments for the kids as they try to herd the cattle back into their paddocks or walk out of their cabins to see a cow grazing right outside their door.
And, finally, the absolute favorites at camp at the moment: the eight baby ducklings. Gertrude is the proud mama in this picture. Sweet and lovable, these little creatures are visited by the campers every spare moment.
Now that we have had our daily quota of sweetness filled by the picture above, we can all go about our business with a smile on our face. :)
(from Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson)
