Field Trip Friday: Shlagel Farm, Maryland
I am SO excited to finally be settled in, and feeling (mostly) well enough to head out and explore our local area a little. I still am not sure I am going to be able to get out for weekly field trips yet…. as much as I want to…. but it feels awesome to at least get one little adventure under our belt!
A farm in our area has a weekly CSA where you can order fresh produce each week, and head down to pick it up on the farm on the weekends. We have been missing German farmers markets like crazy, so it’s awesome to find something where I can grab fresh produce without having to go to the grocery for it. This week, they invited the kids to come by to check out the animals and feed them before the farm opened the pumpkin patch for the day.
The farmer was awesome at giving the kids a bit of a lesson on how to feed the cows. These cows are about a month old, and since they were not calved on the farm, their Mama isn’t around to feed them, so they get fed from bottles.
Feeding a cow from a bottle is a lot like feeding a baby- you even have to pull the bottle back to “pace” them and let them get a breath in. The three babies they had at the farm were very eager to eat, and all three kids got a turn holding the bottles.
Afterwards, the farmer reminded them about good hygiene and making sure they sanitized their hands since farm animals have a whole host of different germs than people do.
All in all, it was a wonderful little science lesson for my crew this week!
If you’re in the DC area, Shlagel Farms is a family run farm in Southern Maryland, and is open every weekend in October for hayrides, pumpkin picking, and to visit the animals. They also have tons of fantastic fresh produce for sale. It’s a small production, but I kind of like it that way!
Looks like a fun day!