Recovering today. Mom and I met Barbara and her childcare group at a working farm owned by a university in the canyons south of us. I hadn't been there since William was in 4th grade. It is opened to groups of children only and just one group at a time. She brought eight kids with her plus one set of parents and uncles from Missouri.
Now, the coastside can be very cold and foggy this time of year. The forecast was for fog through the morning and a high of 58 degrees. I was worried. We brought heavy coats with us. HA! They were wrong again! It was a beautiful 75 degrees and sunny! Even right at the water's edge!
We met everyone at the ranch which is just minutes south of us. Barbara has a lovely group of kids and the docent keep commenting that they were amazing. Everything she presented to them, they took the initial ideas and ran with them. All were totally engaged.
It began with learning how to pick up chickens. Even the most scared "city kid" was successful. They even picked flowers from the garden to feed them as well as a little "scratch." They also gathered eggs, feed goats, brush goats, talk to donkeys, feed the sheep, carded the wool and made bracelets with it.
Afterwards, we drove to the closest beach and the kids had so much fun digging in the sand and getting soaked. Barbara brought tons of sand buckets and shovels and towels and extra clothes for all the kids. So prepared! Thirty years of experience!
Mom and I arrived home around 3:30, had cocktails in the garden with Michael then I made a quick dinner of Mongolian Beef, rice and broccoli. We drove mom home and I snored all night. I was tired but it was exhilarating to be around a group of children for the day. I so miss their energy and wisdom and kindness. We had lovely conversations with each of them throughout the day but I especially enjoyed sharing a lunch table with a few of them. Charming.
So my job today? I am going to spread the "miracle soil" I bought there. Fresh! Smelly! My garden is going to be very happy!
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