Country Bumpkins

Today we went to visit Raelene & her kids Chloe & Byron at their new home in Jarrahdale. It was so lovely to get out into the fresh air & omg how was the serenity!!! I reckon I'd get so sick of myself saying that over & over if I lived there.

Will definitely be taking David up there for a day-trip when he gets home again.

Raelene's house if lovely. Huge - even though she says it isn't really. Byron has grown heaps and looks more like Chloe than he did when he was smaller.

Chloe was really good sharing all her toys with Sasha & Nikita. Sasha loved the electric scooter bike and rode around on the paving quite a bit. We went for a short walk next door to visit the resident kangaroo mob. Then the girls went stupid bouncing around and scratching just like the roos do.

After we left Raelene's we went for a short drive further up past Jarrahdale towards the dams but didn't really get out. Will leave that exploration for when David is with us.

On the way home we stopped at a place called Tumblegum (?) Farm. We hopped out & had a chat with the lady that runs the place & she kindly gave Sasha & Nikita a bag of pellets to feed the animals. So we went out the back & fed the sheep, ducks & an emu or 4. We talked to the kelpy dogs, had a walk down to the (dried up) lake and island which is obviously well set up for wedding ceremonies. Would be absolutely picturesque winter/spring!! Then we wandered up to where the farm animals are & talked to the resting cow. Nikita leant on the electric fence (which we didn't actually know was there!!) and got a zap & a line of raised marks on her arm. Tears for about a minute or two & then back to business.

Then we moved along to the next enclosure & had a chat with Red the red deer. He's a big boy, but lovely and friendly. The girls pulled a small bit of hay from a nearby bale & fed him. A goat came up to say hello.

Then we moved along to the last paddock where there was a large bovine. Wasn't too sure what exactly he was. Not tall, but verrrry solid. Massive head. He eventually hefted himself up and came & said hello. Big long, lumpy blue tongue. Muzzle almost 30cm across - no joke!! Loooong horns, almost a metre long & about 15/20cm diameter at the base. Yep I was verry cautious about how he would be. The girls weren't worried at all, making foray after foray between the hay bale & the beast. Nikita was saying she was feeding the T-Rex. lol. Just decided that that was what he was.

When I finally coaxed the girls away from the animals, we checked out the picnic/bbq area and walked back through the auditorium, to the shop area. Chatting with the staff, we found that T-Rex was actually a buffalo.

We had an icecream each & sat out the front. Then the girls had a play on an old disused tractor (with owner's permission - that's what it was there for). And finally headed for home.

The girls again in absolutely histerical giggles as we drove the car down the rutted driveway.

I will definitely be seeing what the interest levels are like for Playgroup to visit Tumblegum Farm for an excursion.

My lucky girls have had a very interesting holiday, I've gotta say. So many different experiences and animals that they have had the good fortune to have contact with.