No Kidding -- jcarolek

I decided to get some kids to help with the yard work.  I looked on-line, on Craigslist to see who was selling some and found several.  Only one was truly local, so I contacted her to get the details.  That was Friday.

On Saturday we worked on building small enclosures for the kids to hang out in, you know, to get out of the rain and such.  As seems to be the norm, nightfall interrupted our progress, and the remainder of the construction had to be put off.

Today, was the day we were to meet the kids for the first time.  We arrived early afternoon and I was impressed with the set-up.  The parents were on-site and mingled with the kids.  Everyone looked happy and healthy.  The folks selling the kids were very nice and we spent more than an hour there, learning about the basics of raising kids.  When we left, it was with the assurance they would help us any way they can... all we need do is call.

Back at the farmhouse, excited to see the kids frolicking about, I hooked leads around trees and hooked each kid's collar to the lead.  The male screamed indignantly at this collar on his neck and the constraint of the lead, and he wasn't crazy about the fact his mother wasn't there, either!  He bucked and squawked and cried in his loud voice.

Next was his sister. Smaller than her brother, but every bit as indignant, the female fought the collar and lead, but with more success than her brother.  In less than a minute, she had escaped her collar and bolted from the "safe ground" where I had determined they should start their familiarization with their new home.  Horrified, I grabbed some of the feed and headed over to try to coax her back.  My friend suggested we just leave the two alone, and go about our business.  His thought was the two would stick together, even though one was completely free to run off.

As it turned out, my friend was right (of course) and as we built a temporary fence to corral them for the night, they stuck together, enthusiastically munching the undergrowth of the woods...doing the work for which I had purchased them.  An hour or so later, the fence was up and we led the male inside.  As anticipated, the female took only about two minutes to run into the open "gate" to be with her brother.  And with that, we had them both corralled.

Tonight is their first night in the new place and we'll see how they do.  When I left them, they were getting comfortable on the straw.  Their temporary shelters are there, in case it should rain, but when I pulled out, they were sleeping under the tree on the straw.

And so begins the adventure.... the farm has its first two farm animals....
And even though I spent 20 years raising children, I'm only now entering the brave new world of raising kids..... no kidding.