A Day on the Ranch
May 2, 2010 by gandyrant

I grew up a college-town girl. Farms, livestock, crops – I experienced them as grocery store shelf products and temporary boarding facilities for the pony I owned for about six months. Moving to Douglas County, I feared my two children would grow up with the same ignorance about the origins of our food. For the past three years, I’ve driven to livestock shows, rodeos, and 4-H events (I even was a guest judge for one most-colorful donkey contest), to educate William and Susan about chickens, sheep, cows, horses, soil, compost, and grain. On this weekend’s journey, we went to the Lowell Ranch (just 2.5 miles south of Plum Creek in Castle Rock). The Colorado Agricultural Leadership Foundation opened up the Ranch for a May Day celebration. Free access to hay rides, livestock, a chuck wagon, roping lessons, stick horse rides, nature trails, and many knowledgeable volunteers made for an excellent visit for all three of my nephews and both my children. Ages 8 months to 8 years were all entertained for a full three hours. The 8 year old was begging to stay when we insisted on leaving for lunch at 2 p.m. There are other events happen at the Lowell Ranch throughout the year. You can check them out at www.thecalf.org. I would definitely recommend this place for any child trying to learn where food comes from before it goes into our mouths. When I visited an actual farm for the first time in my life, I jumped in repulsion when I went to pet one of the cows and saw bugs crawling over it. I shied away from touching dirty sheep. I absolutely balked at shoveling out any of the stables. I’ve come a long way. Friday, I washed little insects off my locally grown organic lettuce without screaming. Two-year-old Susan dug up a worm today and paraded it around for everyone to see. She’s already way ahead of me. More visits to CALF programs at the Lowell Ranch will guarantee she stays dirty.