Farmer-in-Training on Day 5

Today our 13-day countdown to Halloween instructed us to go for a hayride.

I found a pleasing little farm about 15 minutes away. First and foremost, we had to feed the farm animals (per Jane). Naturally, we started with the begging goats (I thought they were going to choke themselves on their wire fence trying to reach our feed cups). Jane has been all about goats since the State Fair.

But we wouldn't want to forget the cows -- mostly because I feared if we didn't feed them they were going to hook a child with their long steer horns. In hindsight, perhaps that should have been my fear if my children went near the cows.

We then moved forward to the objective of the day: A hayride.

Jane was behind thrilled to see a tractor winding around the bend.

And it was wonderful. The kids settled in and we set out on a record-breaking 2-mile-per-hour tractor ride. I may be exaggerating. It was probably 1-mile-per-hour.

Solid planning, having Day 5 on a Saturday (that's me giving myself the atta-boy).

I will confess: I broke rank slightly when I couldn't resist letting the kids pick out a few pumpkins, although "pumpkin picking" isn't until Day 7. Oh well. The more the merrier -- what till you see what I have planned for those little beauties! (Meaning the pumpkins.)