Help from Grandchildren; Farm Life is a Good Life.

My granddaughter Ruby was eager to carry the grey plastic bucket and pick up apples that had fallen off the tree. It's a good lesson for a 2 year old to learn where apples come from. Apples don't come from the grocery store, they come from trees. The good apples are for the people, some of them will be eaten raw, others will end up getting baked into an apple pie, and some will be made into applesauce. The bruised apples are fed to the animals.

Barney the mule and Hasbro the horse were eager to eat the apples that Ruby threw to them. Nana Laura learned recently that it's best to just let the horses pick the apples off the ground and not hand feed them. Horses don't know the difference between your fingers and a french fry, they don't want to bite your fingers, but they easily can bite your finger off while trying to bite an apple. So its' best to play it safe.

Ruby helped me collect eggs. She's always happy to help her Nana Laura. Reaching into the laying boxes takes some courage for a youngster, especially if there is a hen still inside. An important lesson here is to always wash your hands when handling eggs, they carry germs that can make a person sick. Nana Laura had to remind Ruby not to touch her face after handling the fresh eggs. There was soap in the barn, so everyone was off to the barn to wash hands as soon as the eggs were all collected.