A Regular Irish Farm Hand

We traveled to Causey Farms this morning and this was my favorite trip so far. For some reason, I felt very much at home on the farm with all the animals and the kind people there.

When we first arrived, we grabbed aprons and we were taught how to make brown bread. It was fairly simple, and it was a great activity to do together. It was two girls per loaf of bread, and we took turns measuring out and mixing ingredients. Our tour guide, Paul, was a very fun guy, and made us have to catch our eggs for our bread. If we dropped it, we had to do an Irish jig. (I didn't drop it!)

While we waited for our bread to rise, we were taken around to meet some of the animals. We met a few sheep dogs, some red deer (they were there to play reindeer for tourists in December), and old white cow named Snowy, and then a group of cows who were having their feeding time. As you can see, I really liked the cows.

My new favorite picture

Next, we went to a barn and were taught a traditional Irish dance. Yes, my little knowledge from my Irish dancing days came in handy. No, I do not have pictures, but I'll teach you the dance when I get back (No, I'm not sending a video!). I had a few great partners, including my new friend, Aimee. She's eight years old, and she was born in South Africa, but her parents moved to Maynooth so that she and her brother could have a better and safer life. She's neighbors with Roberta, the woman in charge of the Saint Mary's girls here, and wanted to join us on the farm today.

We had to wait for a tractor before we could move on to our next stop, so we played with the sheep while we waited. They were incredibly cute! I also made the comment of the day when a girl asked, "Do they have any goats here?" and I said, "Yeah, and it looks like that one from Jurassic Park before it got eaten."

Awwww, wee lamb!

Just as the tractor was pulling up, one of the farm hands ran out and said, "Who wanted to milk a cow?" I was that girl, obviously. I was picked from the bunch and, using the little training I had from Small Animal Day (thank you Mom and Auntie E for taking us when we were little) I was able to coax Snowy to let me milk her.

I'm pretty much a cow whisperer (I get it from my mother, the horse whisperer)

Once we piled in the tractor, we headed down to the bog that they had on the land. Paul tried to get us to rub the mud on our faces, because it would actually help clear your skin with all the acid, but I was not about to do that. I did, however, help Aimee into the bog and showed her how to do it. She thought it was great watching all these girls smudge muck all over their faces so their zits would go away.

We were supposed to have lunch when we came back, but it wasn't ready for us yet. Instead, we got to help heard sheep. The dogs were still at the bog, so five girls (and Aimee) ran out to chase the sheep, and the rest of us formed a ring to catch them. We eventually caught them, but some girls clearly weren't thinking, and unlinked their arms to take a picture, and the sheep ended up jumping, (one hit a girl in the face), and they escaped out of the metal fence and into the road. They tried to heard them back while we were eating, poor guys!

They got em!

I did not unlink my arms for this photo

Escape!

For lunch, I had the most spectacular stew, that I was able to enjoy with the bread I made when I first arrived. For dessert we had a cake like bread with the most delicious jam I've ever had. I ate way too much, but it was worth it.

I made this!

So incredibly delightful

I wish I got recipes 

After lunch, we headed back to the barn, to learn to play an Irish drum. One of them was exactly like one Grandma had given our family when she got back from Ireland, only much bigger! Paul taught us to play a traditional Irish song, but had one rule: if you drop your stick, you had to do a silly jig with him. Aimee made me drop my stick, and got a huge kick out of "humiliating" me in front of everyone. 

Before we left, Paul and one of the other farm hands taught us to play an Irish sport: hurling. It's kind of a mix of lacrosse and hockey. I was really no good at it, but didn't Aimee and I look ready for a game?

Me and Aimee have our grrrr faces on

Group photo

Aimee insisted on sitting next to me on the ride home, and she told me all about African safaris, and great places to go in Ireland. She also really wanted to Skype me, so I gave her my Skype name and, sure enough, the second I got in my room I had a notification that she wanted to be my friend. She was a great girl and I hope I get to see her again. 

I went to mass (don't worry, I showered first) and was able to capture a picture of the sunset before I left. 

Tomorrow, I'm heading to Dublin on my own. The other girls went without me yesterday, because I was sick. So, hopefully, I won't get too lost and I'll see some pretty amazing things. I think an adventure on my own could be very character building. Wish me luck!