Of Kids and Lambs
It's hard to take bad photos of children and lambs. When they are in the same shot, every picture becomes a holiday card for next December's mailing. Mostly these children are the daughters of our guests, little girls with an inate desire to hold our young lambs on their laps and feed them bottles of milk. So much better than a doll. Little brothers have been roped into the act as well, but often lose interest after a short time and wander off toward the tractor. 
As much as I have felt the need to share our farm in a farm stay experience with guests who were strangers until their arrival, I now need to share the keen eye of these guest photographers who have captured fleeting moments on our farm with their kids. Often I have been standing beside these parents as they pointed their camera, wishing I had my own on hand. Note to self - never walk around the farm without a camera! 
Luckily, I am the recipient of many of those fine shots. The photos in this pictorial blog have been sent to me in emails filled with wonderfully kind words about staying with us on the farm, experiencing life in the country, and interacting with our animals. Mostly about our animals! "How is Paco?" and "Is TW still little?". "How about Tater?". "Have the turkeys laid any eggs yet?" 
This photo essay shows kids in love, kids at play, kids simply joyful with the experience of holding a small, woolly lamb in their arms. I like the distant shots too. The kid on the swing in our apple orchard frames the sheep in the distance. The young shepherdess in the first and last photos fell in love with TW (stands for Teenie Weenie)and became his playmate for her short stay with us. I think there were tears all the way home.
To all our guests out there who have sent me their wonderful photos, thank you! It was hard to choose for this. Oh, yeah, and for privacy's sake, I'm not using any names or putting these anywhere but on this blog. All I can say is, these shots are hard to beat because as much as they show kids in love, they were taken by parents in love. May these photos bring back memories for years to come!
All Rights Reserved. Copyright 2009 Scottie Jones
