April News: Agritainment – Wynley Park will make you Smile

Agritainment: Fun on the Farm!

Wynley Park agritainment is a mix of entertaining and informative activities on the farm that may include alpacas, dogs, poultry, campfires, picnics or a pedal boat. Most importantly, we tailor your 2-hour visit to fit your interests.

woman smiles as llama kisses her cheek
man has arm around alpaca

This woman brought a smile to her boyfriend’s face by surprising him with something he had been wanting to do – meet an alpaca.

She invited her parents along for the fun family farm visit, and Y’alpaca Picnic was underway. We were excited to be the farm hosts for this adorable family, and we’re sharing photos with their permission. How cute are they?! They took the boys for a walk.

family of 4 takes 2 alpacas and a llama for a walk
Alpaca and Llama Walk

Snuggled a few chickens

man and woman hold Silkie rooster
Befriend a Silkie Rooster
duck hugs woman
Hug a Rescue Duck

And met our rescue duck, Poppet, who loves hugs.

Charley offered a taste of our signature drink, the Wynley Park Sour, made with fresh egg whites from our hens and honey sourced from a nearby farm.

man prepares drinks at Y'alpaca Picnic

They took the pedal boat out for a spin and enjoyed a picnic.

romantic paddleboat on pond

Then Charley & I, along with two good friends, joined these new friends to make fireside smores and share stories of how each couple met.

This is what we love about farm hosting: sharing the tranquility of Wynley Park. It’s contagious. Nature’s peace spreads to our guests. It gets into your soul. You must know though; peace is polite. It waits for you to invite it in. We’ll do our part. But, you must do yours – Contact Us! You are eligible to 15% off a 2-hour package if you are a newsletter subscriber.

5 Reasons to Visit Wynley Park (or any local small farm)

#5 Reconnect with the Kid in You

#4 Fresh Eggs & Honey

#3 Llama Boops and Other Interesting Lama Facts

#2 Support a Small Farm

#1 keep reading…

Shit Stinks

I procrastinate crappy chores. I put off shoveling paca poop piles; delay scooping poop in the coop; sometimes even the litter box, it’s true. This lifestyle is one chore after another, often gross and smelly. I didn’t always do farm chores though. I used to advocate for families and engage communities. Also enforced cumbersome policies, investigated claims of maltreatment, and side-stepped the shit piles of a few stakeholders who should have known better.

As for Charley’s stinky chores, might be better to save his stories until after retirement.

We’re betting y’all’s lives stink too at times so…

When Life Stinks

At least one commonality between you and us is that everyone’s life has a hot, stinking mess of some sort.  When ignored, the “stink” gets overwhelming. Obviously, you’re working to reduce the mess in your life, as we are. And that can make you feel overwhelmed too. Maybe even make you forget the why of what you do.

WE KNOW that if you want to catch an alpaca (or a chicken), you’d better slow down first. Secondly, you need to relax. Thirdly, focus on nonthreatening movements, kind words and genuine interest in the animal’s comfort. How to balance that with the busy, overpacked, exasperating responsibilities of day-to-day? Our question may also be yours.

Charley & I bicker. We each want to do things our own way. My way is better and faster. Right? We know better, but we bicker anyway, go too fast, get frustrated… Put two bickering humans in the middle of an alpaca pasture and nothing gets done. That stinks.

Rescue Duck Update

Know what else stinks? Predators. As mentioned in our last newsletter, Gaia has been faithfully sitting on her nest. Today we found that her nest of pipping eggs has been ransacked. All that remained was one lone dead duckling. Even the egg shells were gone. It is a heartbreaking loss for us and for Gaia. We have had only one set of ducklings hatch in 15 years because of predators. Also, no idea how to catch said predator. So, looks like we’ll be researching wildlife cameras.

Poppet, our other rescue duck is thriving. She loves humans, loves hugs, loves Joy Sue (our goose who was also rescued). Their friendship gives us hope that Joy Sue & Poppet will be able to avoid falling prey by having each other’s backs. Predators are real y’all.

Reality is a necessity of life. The ability to live in it is crucial. Otherwise, you become dysfunctional. Unfortunately though, reality often overshadows magical. And magical, above all, feeds our souls.

For us, reality usually means not making time to pedal around the pond. We forget how mesmerizing a campfire’s sparks are; or the magic in watching a crane fish.

Magic in Small Things

When I stop procrastinating, pull on my discipline boots and go out to deal with shit (literally), I often find myself surprised in a good way. Peace joins me. Joy flutters my heart in the way that the wind ripples my t-shirt.

This is why we live on a farm. The steady clockwork of nurturing animals grounds and reminds us. Not just of the kid I once was (and Charley still is), but also of who we want to grow into. Are we taking care of business while making space for magic? Are you?

Are you spending more quality time with the people who make you feel seen, understood, safe than those who don’t? Are you in service to others? Mentoring? Volunteering? Tithing? Who’s coming to you to get their soul fed? Who’s feeding yours?

#1 Reason to Visit

#1 Reason to Visit a Local Farm – To Nourish Your Soul

If you want to know more about our agritainment package, contact Wynne or Charley. Let us know what you hope to gain from a farm visit! Let’s find you some magic.  

Farm Gem: Alpaca shit is less stinky

Alpaca shit smells better than human shit, both literal and metaphorically speaking. Not only do alpaca beans smell better, they are safe and nutritious for your garden. And this, my friend, might be a bonus reason to come on by: ALPACA BEAN SOIL AMENDMENT We have it. You can buy it: $5 for 5 gallons.

Contact Wynne or Charley to arrange a time to pick up a bag of soil amendment.

Earnings from our farm host tours and soil amendment defray the cost of feed and vet care of our own animals and the ones we rescue.

We hope to see you soon.

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