Sixteen Kiddos at the Zoo

Just recently, I met up with the Four Sisters at the zoo.

1 Grammy + 4 Sisters + 16 Kiddos = 21 Happy Faces!

The Sixteen Grandkids at the Zoo

Pop likes to sing silly songs to the kids so talk about the zoo trip brought this song out of Pop at the dinner table with the farm hands...just like the four sisters, the grandkids were certain Pop was just making it up but Farm Chick and I had Pop's back on this one.

The Animal Fair (these lyrics are considered alternate but are really close to the actual words - so that no monkeys are harmed during the singing of the song).

I went to the animal fair.
All the birds and the beasts were there.
The big baboon by the light of the moon
was combing his auburn hair.
You should have seen the monk.
He sat on the elephant's trunk.
The elephant sneezed and fell on his knees,
and what became of the monk
the monk, the monk, the monk,
the monk, the monk, the monk?

At the Zoo by Simon & Garfunkel...Click on the link to listen to the song...it will make you smile.    This zoo song has been noted on our blog before by Farm Chick.

Someone told me it's all happening at the zoo.
I do believe it, I do believe it's true.
It's a light and tumble journey
From the East side to the park.
Just a fine and fancy ramble to the zoo.
But you can take the cross-town bus
If it's raining or it's cold.
And the animals will love it if you do.

Something tells me it's all happening at the zoo.
I do believe it, I do believe it's true.
The monkeys stand for honesty.
Giraffes are insincere.
The elephants are kindly but they're dumb.
Orangutans are skeptical of changes in their cages
And the zookeeper is very fond of rum.
Zebras are reactionaries,
Antelopes are missionaries.
Pigeons plot in secrecy
And hamsters turn on frequently.
What a gas you got to come and see
At the zoo.

Trash to Temporary Treasure

Several of my farmhands spotted a treasure in a corner of a field at Four Sisters Farm that had been used as a dumping ground years ago...long before the Four Sisters Farm family arrived here.

It was on the top of the pile...sitting on the rusted bed of an old pick up truck...past the poison ivy and the ancient Frigidaire.  A rusted old Radio Flyer Red Wagon with parts badly bent.  So badly bent, the wheels were completely out of alignment.

We hopped into Pop's pick up to go rescue it and only got a few feet down the lane through the field when Grammy got the pick up stuck in the mud.

We didn't stop to photograph the junk pile because I keeping three farmhands out of poison ivy and barbed wire isn't an easy thing.

We left the truck and detoured past the pond on foot.  After we checked out how the recent rain had filled the pond, we marched on to liberate our treasure.

The farmhands took turns helping me carry the wagon back to the farm where we looked it over.  Handy Grammy has some skills from living out on the farm but deemed the wagon a task for Pop.

I tried hard to get the truck out of the mud, but was not successful.  The fellows found the task boring but found a nearby dirt pile to pass the time.  Farm Chick offered a hand and moral support but in the end, Pop and his tractor were the solution.  Easy peasy for Pop.
Several days later while I was gone, Pop and the farmhands went to work on straightening the wagon out....and several more days later, Lil Ruthie helped me sand, clean, prime, and paint the inside of the wagon so it could be ridden in without ruining kids' clothing.

Like many of the of the things that get done at Four Sisters Farm, we all had a hand in making something usable out of something discarded.  We retained the popular "vintage" appeal of the Radio Flyer but made it useful again.  

While the paint dried, Lil Ruthie decided to sweep part of  the garage and driveway to surprise Pop.  

She said he might yell or he might be mad or he might be so happy he'd cry.  Farm Chick says some of the people in her life live in  glass case of emotion and apparently Ruthie knows all the possibilities!