a farm for the family

the older i get, the more desire i have to live in wide open spaces. this is no doubt brian's influence, this and skynard, but we don't need to bring that up again. like me, he was born and raised in the congested cities of southern california, but its the slow country life that suits him best. i've imagined brian happily doing some type of work requiring a tractor and ride on mower. a souped up mower that he would race on a hay bale track with the neighbors. it was the trip to wheeler farms that convinced me that this little fairy tale of mine can't include animals.

the kids got to milk a cow for 50 cents. cool, right? a little brunette about mia's age took her turn before us and we watched as she concentrated on the task at hand. as she milked, the cow did a major number one and had the brunette's mom not grabbed her off the stool she would have taken a very disgusting shower. i immediately turned to my brother and asked him to help the kids. there was no way i could do it. he obliged, but not without continuous laughter and the intentional overuse of the word 'teat' to annoy me.

we took a hay ride, played in a lake, fed ducks, squawked at turkeys, and milked cows for a grand total of maybe $10. the best part was roaming around the property with miley and her map as our guide.