Welcome to the Jungle!

Yesterday we had a field trip to a six-acre international grocery store, Jungle Jim's, in Ohio. Hayes and I had been looking forward to the tasting at the Olive Pit since the trip was announced! And we brought home a pickle, of which they sell 25,000 a year at a dollar apiece. But I think the biggest hit with our homeschool group was the calf and sheep heads (pictured here) that they sell out of every week. I think it's something like 100 each week. Cow stomach, chicken feet ... all that stuff was met with "ewww" and "gross" and "cool".

The mares have been sneaking out of their pasture. Alex and I fenced it, but apparently we've been outsmarted by walnut-sized brain creatures.

Last night we all took a walk up the road and tried to find where the walnuts had blown off which tree. Then we found coyote scat and Hayes poked through it with a stick to find out what it had been eating (honey locust) and we actually gathered honey locust on the way home for the horses. It will help with the questions Hayes had the other night: how long does it take for horses to digest something? We'll let you know.