I have been looking forward to going on the HarvestFest farm tour for a couple of months now. I had a couple of farms that I wanted to see and local produce I wanted to buy. I wanted to see the Parelli Natural Horsemanship demonstration at one farm and the Shire horses at another. There were sheep dog demos, hay rides and live bands. Everything this goatgirl likes and then some. So when Saturday morning dawned wet and windy I was very disappointed, for myself and the farmers that have worked so hard to put this together. But there is a saying in Washington that if you wait for it to stop raining to do something.....you won't do anything. I donned my wool hat with the wide brim and hid my camera under my coat, which by the way made me look pregnant, and went off to the farms with my friend. At the first farm, which happened to be the tour headquarters, attendance was spotty. This was the farm that had the Natural Horsemanship demo but someone had taken down the round pen and the trainer had to keep his horse on a lounge line. I didn't quite get why you would advertise a demo on Parelli training and take down the round pen but the trainer rolled with the punches and put on a bit of a display. His horse was beautiful to say the least. 
So I took a picture of him for Lisa at Laughing Orca because I knew she would like him.
We watched for a while and then moved on to the sheep dog demo. To tell you the truth it was a lot of yelling at the dogs to "Lie down.....lie down....I SAID LIE DOWN!"
So I moved on to the petting area to pet a few animals but you really couldn't pet any so I took pictures........weather permitting. The bunny was matted and dirty, but I did get a good picture.
The rooster was just about plucked clean...poor boy, and the goats and sheep were so far out in the field there was no petting them.
I did get a picture of the donkey for Danni.
I was able to buy some produce there and some fabulous cookies and then we moved on to the next farm.
Hallelujah! Now this is what I'm talking about. Totally different atmosphere! The sun even came out. 
It was lively and friendly at the Gentle Giant Meadows Ranch. We got to mingle with the Shire horses. 
These horses were huge and like the name of the farm states...Gentle Giants.
It was lively and friendly at the Gentle Giant Meadows Ranch. We got to mingle with the Shire horses. These horses were huge and like the name of the farm states...Gentle Giants. 
We saw a lot of people we knew.
The goatfarmer was there doing a milking demo, that I happen to miss so there will be no pictures of that. But I did get a picture of a goat.
I did get pictures of the bag pipe players. Is that what they are called?
Some toe tapping.....
And of some sheep.....
and of course the gentle giants.
They had hay rides and the kids could feed the chickens and goats. You could also order your heritage Thanksgiving turkey if you were so inclined. We could have stayed all day but my friend had the horseshoer coming at 2:00 so we headed for home.
When I got home, Hubby and Stormy had returned from pheasant hunting with 2 birds. And in the true spirit of Harvestfest, for Sunday dinner we had pheasant, corn on the cob and a salad. All locally grown and locally eaten.
The End......
11 comments:
Love your pics, Wendy, especially "the end". Too funny! I'm glad you enjoyed yourself despite the weather. The second farm looks like a real winner!
Why is it that I've lived in WA for MANY years and always managed to miss stuff like this?? Maybe because I spend my harvest season at the fair, milking cows... I'll have to fix that next time I'm home at Harvest time! =) This is Wine Harvest Season in CZ, so many many "vinobranik" (wine festivals) and folk festivals. Great fun! Glad you had a great time at the farm fest! I've always dreamed of having the type of farm that could hold a fest!
How fun!
giggle.
the end....love it.
Looks like you had a nice time, despite the rain. That bunny is very cute.
And those horses are HUGE.
Aw, what a fun story. I would *love* to go on a farm tour like that! I'm glad the sun peeked its head out for you. There's none of that going on down here...just pelting rain. And misting rain. And drizzling rain. And, well, you get the picture.
Thanks for the donkey pic - he/she's a beauty!
Those gentle giants are gorgeous! Are they used for riding?
Those horses are gorgeous...remind me of clydesdales.
The end...LOL!!!!
I agree with Clare--"the end" is hilarious!
What fun to see those gentle giants up close and personal.
What fun! I didn't even know this was going on!
The problem with the herding dogs? They didn't say "dammit". You HAVE to say "Lie Down Dammit!" when they don't listen to you the first time. :)
Pipers....love those bagpipers!!
I hear that the LaMancha goats are super personable....I just can't get past them not having ears....
Danni, you know you're a NWesterner when you can describe rain with more than one form.:)
Thanks for sharing the great day and pics!
You know I keep telling those dogs 'Lie Down','LIE DOWN!', too. It doesn't work for me either.
Now how did I miss this post, goatgirl?
And you even included a photo of a lovely paint horse, with blue eyes, no less, just for me!
Thank you, what a treat! :)
I had once considered getting an angora bunny for fiber, but found out they are very high maintenance because of their fur constantly getting matted.
And I had also wanted my first horse to be a handsome Percheron, but then I discovered that large draft horses require larger stalls, larger trailers, and larger tack.....not to mention larger quantities of food!
And because of their ginormous hooves, they end up tearing pastures to bit and into mud pretty quickly.
And then there is the issue of saddling and mounting on such a tall horse.
I have a hard enough time on my 15.3 hh paint mare and still usually require a mounting block.
For a draft horse, I'd probably need either a ladder or to mount from the back of a truck! lol!
Anyway, I enjoyed all your photos and am so glad that the day turned into a lot of fun towards the end. I enjoy going to farm festivals and tours, too.
Wish we lived closer so we could bake up a batch of scones and visit those festivals and farms together, my friend :)
~Lisa
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