The Joy’s of a Farm Child

For Christmas Marcy was blessed with losing her two front teeth. She has demanded that her new teeth be ready for tomatoes and peppers as she spends the majority of the season in the garden munching away. A parent can’t fault a child who would rather sit in a garden eating vegetables than watching TV eating candy. For those of you that have witnessed this site you probably noted that she also has a chicken with her! We do like to call her the chicken whisperer which has now evolved to poultry whisperer after we saw her in action with the turkeys. I don’t know any other seven year old that will walk into a hen house and pluck a 2 year old hen off a nest without the hen protesting. The hen will then remain under her arm for hours. The hen knows she is the chosen one because a trip to the garden with Marcy is special. It is a trip filled with vegetables and bugs! Marcy does love her bugs and we spend many hours attempting to identify what she has placed in the bug hotel. She then releases it and finds something new. Mom draws the line at spiders which are better left on the webs in the garden- it isn’t a lie and a really good reason not to have them in the house!

Marcy’s  joy on the farm did not end with the colder months as the hens are answering the calls to Marcy’s requests for Eggs. Marcy receives the money from the sale of the eggs in exchange for all of the help that she provides in thier care. Although she isn’t working. She is getting paid to play with chickens! Even this winter she saved her money for a special computer game that she wanted. We went to Wal-Mart where she stood in line with her little purse, paid her money and requested her receipt. I think she will hold onto that receipt for quite some time as it is truly special to her since she earned it.

I am sure this spring will bring us many more memories as her little brother is old enough to enjoy the farm. Although it is difficult to get him to the garden since he has to pass the herb garden on the way. A certain chocolate mint plant stops him in his tracks and holds his attention. He asked just the other day “Daddy where did my mint go…Did the chickens eat my mint.” He will be pleasantly surprised when it returns in the spring.