Hi everyone, and welcome back to the Terrific Tollgate Tour! In case you’ve forgotten, I’m your guide, Coltrane Turtle, and today I’m here to show you around the farm during this busy Wednesday.
Yours truly
The day started out with something you’ll probably be familiar with if you were on the Monday or Tuesday tour: animal chores!
When you love the animals but don’t like the smell
Chicken enthusiast
Majestic chicken
Now as we come up on the garden, you’ll notice that the peppers are harvesting some kale and basil for Garden Kitchen later. Yum! And if you’re wondering what those bins are, they are for our vermicompost worms! It looks like the campers are saying hi to those guys as well.
Making new friends at animal camp
WORM!
If looks could kale
Ms. Delaney explains how to harvest kale
And now, you can see that the two camps have joined together as they did yesterday; today, the horse campers are teaching the animal campers how to lead a horse! They are practicing with Sesame, a good friend of mine.
Follow the leader
Two camp groups coming together = twice the fun!
Leading good old Sesame
And now that everyone is filled up on lunch, let’s continue on. I’m thinking we should go to the forest because it looks like the peppers are doing their animal hike, where they walk through the woods and look for as many animals as they can find!
A great day for a hike!
A trusty walking stick is always a bonus
I see some frogs, crickets, and squirrels!
Now that we’re back from the forest, I think it would be a good time to watch some pepper groups practice sheep herding. The sheep are out on a little trip, so campers are pretending to be sheep and herding each other! How fun!
Learning about sheep habits
Nothing like pretending to be a sheep to get some energy out!
Now, for you returning tour guests, you’ll likely be wondering how the nest building is going. Well, take a look for yourself!
Making some mud to act as glue!
Now that’s a quality nest!
Peppers make the best nests
Looks like a pretty quality day here at Animal Camp. I took even more pictures from this Wonderful Wednesday; click here!
It’s now time for my Horse Camp tour. The campers are riding again this morning. They are practicing skills in the arena at a trot today.
Listening to instructions
Tulsa trotting
Big smile!
Concentrating on the cone ahead
Over at the tent, campers are working hard to make horse treats. They are mixing oats, molasses, and water to make a delicious snack for the horses tomorrow. It’s fun to treat the horses after a great morning ride!
Adding water
Adding molasses
I am back at the arena to learn about the digestive system. How do hay and grass travel through the horse?
Painting the digestive system
Cheese!
More painting
Colorful hands!
Painting always leads to bath time! I am going with the campers to watch them bathe Max. They have horse soap, curry combs, and a hose to clean up the paint. He is a great canvas and enjoys clean up time!
Using curry combs to scrub off the paint
Washing off the paint
The last activity of the day is reflecting in journals. Question of the day: which Tollgate horse is your favorite?
Writing in journals
This camper loves Friday
That concludes my horse tour for today. You can find additional photos HERE!
You’re hungry, you say? Let’s see what Ms. Leah has cooking in Garden Kitchen.
Zoodle deliciousness!
Cutting the cucumber
Nothing beets pink hummus!
Everyone gets a turn to make a zoodle!
Try your camper’s favorite recipe at home!
What you’ll be seeing on the tour today
And that about wraps up the tour for today! I hope you all enjoyed seeing what these two camp groups got up to on this beautiful Wednesday. If you did, check back in tomorrow for all the details of Thursday’s adventure– it’s sure to be great!