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Joy of Medina County Magazine | April 2022
THE READING NOOK
April Showers Bring Blossom photos and story by Janine Smalley
S
pringtime on the farm is always such an exciting time! The days are getting warmer and longer, which gives all the animals so much more time to play and explore the pastures. There also are so many things going on that the animals are always guessing what could happen next. One day, the farmer could be out there planting seeds in the garden, and the next day she could be picking dandelions to make yummy jelly that was the color of the afternoon sun and tasted just like fresh summer honey, it was so very yummy, mmmmm, mmm, good. Today, though, seemed to be a bit different. The farmer was up super early. When she walked in the barn, Gomer the goat was still snoring, Patsy the pig was curled up under her blanket dreaming of mud puddles, and the geese were curled up in their nests. When the farmer opened the barn door, all the animals looked at her and let out loud sighs and yawns. Stretching their legs, they all got up for an early breakfast. While they were eating their breakfasts, there was a lot of activity around the barn. The farmer and her friends started to rearrange the entire barn. There was straw and hay flying, wood chips being scooped up, and feed containers being moved all around. There was so much hustle and bustle! “Oh, my goodness,” they thought, “What is going on in there?” Toby, being the lazy goat of the bunch, peeked in and saw that there was work to be done. He thought for a moment and then decided to run to the other side of the barn and hide so he would not have to do any work. The others thought about following his lead, but they were all so curious about what was going on they decided to stick around and watch. All of the old bedding was scooped out, thick rubber mats were laid on the floor and fresh pine bedding was laid over therm. The fresh pine smelled so good! Henry took a deep sniff and then let out a big, “Ahhhhh-aaaahhhhhh-ahhhhhhhhhhh-chooooooo!” and sneezed all over the farmer. “That sure was funny!” thought all of the animals in the barn. They were all laughing so hard at Henry; he
always makes everyone laugh so much. “Ok,” the farmer said, as she wiped her glasses and her face clean. “We have a lot of work to do to get ready for your surprise.” Hold on! Surprise? Did someone say surprise? Well, in that case, let’s get to work! Everyone worked hard cleaning and moving things around all morning. When everything calmed down and was in place, they all stood back and looked at the results of their work and smiled. The barn looked so nice and pretty, it was fit for a queen. After everyone shared a tasty lunch, the farmer went out to her truck and hooked up the big horse trailer. The all wondered what could possibly be going in there. One by one, the animals started to make guesses. “A cow!” shouted Toby, who had finally returned after the work was done. “A llama,” bleated Baa the Sheep. “An elephant,” cried Annie, the goat. “AN ELEPHANT?!!” They all laughed. They were so excited to see what was coming to the farm! After the trailer was hooked up, the farmer pulled out of the long drive and headed out. It was only a matter of time before they would learn who their new friend would be. It was getting close to dinner time when the farmer finally pulled into the yard. As she drove down the gravel drive, they all strained their necks to see what was in that trailer. As hard as they tried and as much as they leapt in the air, no one was able to see what was in that trailer. “Gosh, darn!” they thought. They all were wishing the farmer would hurry and open the back of the trailer so they could see. The suspense was driving them crazy. “Here she comes, here she comes!” announced Gomer. But, instead of going over and opening the trailer, she walked into the pasture with her head down and quietly called all the animals over to her.