This past weekend at the petting zoo was another fun day. Arnold (our handsome white pig) decided I was pretty interesting. He came right up to me and rubbed against my leg, just begging to be petted. How could I resist that? I sat right down and gave him lots of rubbing and stroking. He really seemed to enjoy it. When he had enough, he poked at my leg and headed off in search of munchies. I turned my attention to Annie (our beautiful black pig) and gave her a full body rub. She, too, seemed pretty content out and about in the yard.

We'd had an awful lot of rain the past few weeks and the yard was tougher to clean because of the mud. Even the interior of the two shelters in the yard were pretty wet. I pulled out much of the old wheat straw and raked out the animal droppings. Then I added a whole bale of straw to the floor, hoping to keep everyone warm while we are entering a winter cold spell. The shelters really help keep the pigs and chickens warm. The sheep, goats and mini horses do better in the cold, but they, too, enjoy the warmth of the shelters.

Bam Bam and Pebbles, two of our adorable goats, were in their usual happy moods. They both enjoy attention, especially Bam Bam. Pebbles is a little shy, but she is definitely coming around. Rambo and Rocky are also becoming more social. I get such a kick out of it when one of them comes over to me to say a tentative hello. I can send Rocky scampering if I reach to pet him, but if I stand still, he will often come over to see what I'm doing. Rambo is more willing to get his nose stroked. Dicky and Doc, our precious mini horses, have absolutely no interest in me, but they do allow me to stroke them and brush their manes. They certainly show no fear of me.

I haven't been able to handle any of our nine chickens yet, well, actually 7 chickens and 2 roosters. They only show interest in me if I have a handful of feed. But, I'm hopeful that one day I'll actually get to hold one of them. I'm told that chickens are extremely soft.

All in all, we had another good morning at the zoo. If you get a chance to visit the farm, don't forget to stop by and greet all of the zoo animals.