And They Came by Mini Van!

 

Photo by Carrie Aitkenhead

    We have a mini-van. And we've loaded quite a few animals in there, but never an alpaca...yet!

     Above, Jim and Pattey Bleeker, co-owners of Clinton CT's Saltaire Alpacas, arrive at Wakeman Town Farm, alpacas in tow.

     They have donated a mother-daughter duo to live at WTF to share with the Westport Community; "LeMay" (13 years old), and their prized Autumn Joy (10 years old). 

    Their beauty and the hums they sing while checking out new strangers are endearing and silly at the same time.

    We invite the public to come meet our newest additions on December 6th at 4:30 and stay for our annual tree lighting, a longtime tradition of the Wakeman Family. 

Ben's Bells: Ringing with Kindness

Photo by Carrie Aitkenhead

   A discovery my children and I made this morning at the bus stop has truly touched our lives. 

   We had not heard of Ben's Bells, but it gave us a chance to have a conversation about how important it is to be nice to others and help others when we are lucky enough to have the chance. We now look forward to spreading the word! The tag on the bell reads:

At WTF, we strive to spread kindness and a love of animals and nature with our community, and within our own family. More information on the Ben's Bells Project can be found at bensbells.org. Spread a little kindness. I know I will! More info at bensbells.org. Let's keep this ripple going!

How do you spread kindness?

Growing Gratitude: Knowing My Neighbors

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Lynne Perrigo, Carrie Aitkenhead, and Cornelia Olsen

    One of the best ways to build a community is to get to know your neighbors. I have and I absolutely love my neighbor- couldn't ask for a better one! 

     When we set out to get goats for the farm and began building the goat pen on the side of the farm nearest Mrs. Cornelia Olsen's property, I went to speak to her about it and get her approval on the placement. Her response was "Oh, that's fantastic...Now I don't have to get my own goats!" She is simply a love. 

     So, today, I am thankful for knowing my neighbors, and being part of a true community. If you don't love your neighbors, or perhaps don't know them, I encourage you to bring over a little basket or plate of something, or just go to say Hello! You won't be sorry! 

Re"cycling": Carrie Rides Again!

Dad came over today with a gift after cleaning out the storage facility. 

Though it was many years ago, 1989 to be exact, I'll never forget the happiness, pride, and shock I felt on the morning of my sixth birthday to discover my parents had bought me a bike of my very own. The biggest on the block, a twelve speed.

 "It is big", said Mom, "just like you asked for", with that be-careful-what-you-wish-for tone. 

"You'll fit on it forever", Dad added, smiling, because he would never have to buy another. 

When I was nine, a popped tire at the time of a house move sent this awesome gift into storage. I never asked for another bike, because I knew I had this one, but also never made an effort to retrieve it as I was usually playing sports rather than biking around. 

The 80's are evident in the neon colors, purple and hot pink, my favorites at the time. And I'm definately a bit bigger. But this is the ultimate Re-"cycling" project! Can't wait to fix it up, and ride it around with my kids! 

Now if I could only find my matching leg-warmers! 

Carrie in 1989.

What Season Is It Anyway?

    Photo by Carrie Aitkenhead

   Mother Nature is confused. Flowers are blooming, Christmas carols are playing, temps in the 60's- Is it really November? The last time I saw this kind of confusion was this spring, pictured above. Not that I am complaining- I'll take my warm days whenever I can get them, and the animals love them too! Enjoy this beautiful weather everyone! 

Growing Gratitude- My Plant SuperNanny

     Photo by Sasha McCay

 "Growing Gratitude" will be a recurring post theme, as there is so much I am thankful for this year. Today, I am thankful for our new greenhouse and the generosity of the lovely ladies that made having this resource at the farm possible: The Westport Woman's Club and Robin Tauck. 

    More frosts will be rolling in soon. But I'll have fresh salad on the dinner table at Christmas. I will also be able to provide fresh greens and veggies to Westport's Gillespie Center for months to come, and that makes my heart happy! 

    This freedom greenhouse is truly incredible. It combines green technology with simple beauty, and sure does make raising seedlings a fun and easier job. You set the temperature you want to keep them at, and running off solar power, it regulates to that temperature on its own, opening up roof vents and a side slat when it is too warm, on days like today.

   But my favorite feature are the flood tables. No joke...they water themselves! Just fill the large pails underneath with water, and keep them filled, and the flood tables draw from this source twice per day to fill the tables bottom watering the plants, growing nice and healthy root systems. Then the unused water is sucked back up, recycled for the next watering. 

    This incredible teaching tool allows us to teach the children who visit the farm about solar power, recycling, water quality, what plants and roots need to grow best, and also provides the perfect setting to teach young children how to plant seeds! What an incredible resource for the children of Westport! 

    My bottomless thanks to the Westport Woman's Club, and Robin Tauck for helping to bring me this plant Super Nanny, which gives me more time to nurture my own children and the children of Westport, and for that I am so thankful!

A Chili Day!

It sure was a "chili" day out there today at the Stamford Nature Center! Though our delicious chili did not place this year in the competition, we had a fun day representing the farm with the only all vegetarian chili in the contest! We had a vegan family visit the competition, and we were able to serve them a lunch sized portion each, and we're so happy to have been able to do so! Chef Craig also put smiles on the faces of many young children (including mine!) by offering sample pieces of his honey-cornbread! One mother even came back to our table for seconds saying, "Is there any chance I can take another cup; my daughter NEVER eats vegetables, but she LOVES your chili!". After she walked away, Craig turned to me and said, "Win or Lose, that makes it all worth it". And it WAS worth it. The event raised enough money to buy 3000 pounds of food for the Foodbank, just in time for the holidays!!! Thank you to all WTF community members who came out to help serve or to support the farm! This farmer couldn't be any prouder.