Hi everyone, my name is Kat and I’m a new member of the Quiet Valley Living Historical Farm Staff. I’m inviting you to come along, meet the farm, and learn along with me.
A little bit about me to get you started: I have always loved working out of doors. (To the point that I told my first grade teacher I wanted to grow up to be an oak tree-still working on that, roots take a long time to grow.) I have a strong background in experimental archaeology and living history. (Experimental archaeology is a subset of archaeology where the scientist tries to reproduce past lifeways to better understand archaeological deposits. AKA we make pots to smash them and see if they look like the pot fragments found in excavations.) I particularly enjoy metal working specifically blacksmithing, in addition to spinning, weaving, historic clothing construction, herb lore, and anything else I can try.
The first week on the farm was a fun challenge. I’m trying to catch up on the history of the farm and the evolution as the site as a teach/historical farm. My favorite encounter so far was with Baby Llama. Baby Llama (don’t get mislead by the name-like I was the first time) is a sheep who may be the reincarnation of Harry Houdini; she doesn’t stay in her pen. She hops in and out over the fence. To be fair, Milt the farmer did warn me about this. Yet, I was still surprised when we rounded one of the barns and there was Baby Llama placidly eating on the lawn of the house. Before my eyes she walked over to the fence, not the lowest part of the fence where the railing was slumping but to a high portion where the rocks made a five foot difference between the sheep pasture up to the horse pasture/ lawn, and POP over she went. She landed rather gracefully, I might add.
On Wednesday I’m going to tag along and start learning how to feed the animals including Baby Llama and the other sheep, Wilhelm and Gunther (the draft horses), the mule, the pigs, the rabbits, the geese, the turkeys, the barn cats, and many others. Wish me luck.