It took us a while, but we finally made it to the Kangaroo Creek Farm in Winfield today. It’s been on our radar since visiting the zebra farm last summer, and I’m so glad we snuck it in before leaving.
The farm, which feels as rural as can be, is {sort of surprisingly} tucked in right behind the A&W when driving through Winfield on Highway 97. We arrived early this morning, found a free parking spot on the road above, and headed down the long driveway excited to see our first ‘roo. After making our donation (the farm works on an honour-based donation system), we entered the kangaroo enclosure and immediately ran into this little guy.
At first, Miss G, our little animal lover, was quite apprehensive and didn’t want to go near the ‘roos, but in a few minutes time, this was her… Loving on the animals in true Gracen style. Perhaps a wee bit too comfortable!
It was very neat to be able to wander around an open enclosure with the kangaroos, but without a doubt, Gracen’s favourite part was holding the babies.
We lined up not once, but three separate times to do so. Each time, Grae patiently waited the 10 or 15 minutes it took to get to the front, then hopped up on an empty chair, and waited another few minutes until she was passed a tiny ‘roo in a terry towel pouch.
While some of the babies were {understandably} pretty sleepy, others were quite alert and enjoyed sniffing and interacting with her (one even began nibbling on the lace collar of her dress!)
True to her very nurturing personality, she was super kind and gentle with each one. She’d run her cheek along the fur on their heads, greet them with a warm and soft ‘hello’, and tell them that they were ‘good little baby kangaroos’ and that she loved them sooo much.
We really enjoyed our morning spent with kangaroos. It was a totally unique experience and I loved how informal and non-commercial it all felt.
Miss G loved it too. So much so, that as we were driving out of Winfield (not 2 minutes from the farm), she excitedly proposed, “I have an idea! How about after my sleep we come back to the kangaroo farm for ANOTHER visit!”
Next summer for sure, Miss G. Next summer…
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Just look at how far these two have come… 
When I told Gracen that we would be headed to the Okanagan for the weekend, she immediately exclaimed that she was excited and started listing off all of the things she wanted to do while there, one of which was “Old MacDonald’s Farm”. Confused, I asked her what she meant. Her response? “Old MacDonald’s Farm – apple treat drink!” Such a funny little thing. With that, I knew she actually meant 
Wee cowgirl on a wee pony.
Puppy dog face.
Goats need hugs too.
‘Hello piggy!’
Back to the riding ring.
On the ‘BIIIIG’ pony, as requested.
Doesn’t get much better.
Cowgirl Grae.
Tractor driving.
Bouncy horse!
A giant sensory pit… the hay pile.
Yay for hay.
Ahhh… Comfy.
Future firefighter?
The other thing that’s come of these walks is the realization that there were several currant bushes bursting with berries down at the farm. So this morning, rather than sending Gracen and GC on their way, we all headed down the narrow dirt road, pails in hand, with the goal of clearing the bushes and using the currants to make something yummy.
Of course, we had to stop part ways to allow Gracen to give Bella a treat. During the past week, she’s become the official doler of puppy goodies and she takes the job very seriously.
We arrived at the bushes to finding them bursting with tiny, dark berries. While Papa whined pretty much the entire time (hi Babe! ☺) and even tried to sit in the grass and just watch us pick, Gracen loved picking berries. She carefully plucked them off of the branches, gave them a sideways glance, and then popped them into her yellow bucket.
Of course, she made some time to sample them as well.
Before we knew it, the bushes were empty and we were on our way home with a bucket full of currants and a plan to make my yummy baked berry oatmeal for breakfast the next day.
♥
Today, we arrived to the ranch to meet James, 
Gracen wasted no time and wanted to go over and say hello to Sophie right away.
Our host, James, was wonderful. He was super friendly, truly excited to tell us all about the farm, and very mindful of the fact that we had a {soon-to-be} two year old with us. He even brought out a bottle of milk for Gracen to feed Sophie.
We spent the first part of our tour oohing over Sophie and this one week old foal, named Sky.
After a quick trip to the pond to admire the gorgeous water lilies and lily pads, it was off to the barn to meet a mystery animal named Tom.
Turned out that Tom was a giant, friendly turkey who roams freely around the ranch.
Such a funny looking guy – and with a personality to match.
We hung out in the barn for a while and visited with the other birds, and then it was time to be on our way.
Next stop – the fish! Strangely enough, this was one of Grae’s very favourite parts of tour (most likely because James gave her the job of feeding some of them).
It wasn’t easy, but when we finally convinced Grae to leave the fish, we headed down to the field to find Lucky, a very friendly ram who happily walks on a rope and visits with guests. We petted him, learned about what to do if he ever puts his head down and looks as though he might charge at you, and some of us (not me!) were even brave enough to try playing a butting game with him.
Then it was off to see the farm”s highlight… The zebras.
When we got up to their enclosure, they were all the way at the very back of it near the forest, so James went in, rounded them up, and got them to come towards us. The four of them, including 3 mares (2 of which are currently pregnant) and one stallion, came right up to the fence to let us admire them. They were beautiful and it was really cool to see zebras happily living in this sort of setting, rather than in a zoo. We learned all about zebra behaviours and even got to witness Apollo, the dominate stallion, keeping the herd close together by nipping the rump of one of his female counterparts.
After a visit to the bison herd, that was our tour. We stopped to see the fish again, visited the 
Stop on the side of a random road in Lavington, pile out of the car, and ostrich watch.
Mama. Papa. Bubba. 