Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Local Fun

We are pretty lucky when it comes to things to do in our area. While we do live in the country, we are within 30 minutes of Oshawa, Port Perry and Peterborough and about 75 minutes from Toronto. You will often find us travelling to one of these four cities for family fun – park visits, picnics, hiking, farmers markets, and so on.
Living in the country also opens up a wide variety of things to do as well. There are many local farms which are open to the public on weekends, artisans who open their workshops at various times throughout the year, many wonderful hiking trails and a little family run zoo, among other activities. This past weekend we decided to hit the family zoo. We buy a season’s pass to this little zoo every year, at $22.00 for an adult pass and $16.00 for a child’s pass, you really can’t go wrong. It is 15 minutes from our home, so we visit often during the summer and get our money’s worth.
We were surprised to see them open when we drove by on Sunday, so had to stop in. The owner told us this is only the second time in twenty years they have opened in March.  The weather has just been so nice they had to open up and let everyone visit.
We had a blast. Reece chased the chickens, ducks and peacocks. He fed the donkeys, goats, deer and sheep. We ran around. We giggled. We enjoyed the outdoors. We had fun.
Soon they will have the baby chicks and ducks running around in a little fenced in area which the kids are allowed to enter. Reece had a blast last summer chasing them, playing with them and learning how to pick them up.
This is a very small zoo and most people don’t consider it a zoo. For us, it is a chance to connect with some lovely animals, enjoy time outdoors and support our neighbours.




















---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Linking up with Naturally Crafted Mama for {into nature}.

Linking up with Happy Whimsical Hearts for Happy Family Times.

28 comments:

  1. What a lovely little zoo! The day looks glorious and the animals I am sure loved that you visited :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It really is a great place, and it was a wonderful afternoon.

      Delete
  2. Looks like a great family outing! The deer is so sweet! Kids get so much out of spending time with animals don't they :-)

    I'd also love for you to share this at Happy Family Times on my blog if you are interested :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, they do. I am amazed watching Reece with them, so gentle.

      Happy to share it :)

      Delete
  3. What an awesome place! If you ever get down to NC, we have an amazing zoo....it's HUGE, but is absolutely incredible. Reece would love it. Did you "springify" your blog? It looks brighter. Love the background!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is! We might just have to take a trip to visit that zoo. My parents actually winter in South Carolina, so we are hoping to visit them next winter. So who knows maybe we will stop in there for a visit.

      Thanks, I did change the background to add a little spring to it.

      Delete
  4. What a dapper little farm hand Reece makes. That hat is adorable! So glad you had fun on this little field trip. We're heading to the goat farm today to meet the little kids. Zinnia can't stop talking about the "baby goats." Happy day to you all!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What a great adventure, hope you guys had a fun day. I am sure I will read about in a blog post soon :)

      I have about six of those hats, I love them and they so great on Reece. Every time I see one I snatch it up.

      Delete
  5. That looks like a lovely place to visit! It looks a bit like what I would call a "petting zoo" and I was just remarking a few days ago that I need to find such a place in my neighborhood to take my little boy! How fun!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, it could be called a petting zoo. We are so lucky to have it so close. And it is the perfect size for little ones, just when Reece has had enough, we have usually finished seeing all the animals.

      Delete
  6. Those little ponies are too cute!I love the opportunity petting zoos afford. You can be so close to animals with out having to own them yourself.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha KC, I am with you, not sure I would want to own all of those animals, a dog and some chicks will do just fine.

      Delete
  7. How fun!! That looks like a place close to where my grandma lives down in South Carolina. We are lucky to live close to an amazing zoo and we have so much fun every visit! That peacock is too cool!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was a ton of fun. I love peacocks, Reece chased that one for quite some time, poor little peacock. We actually picked up a few feathers as well, they sell them for $1 each. Reece was really happy to bring them home.

      Delete
  8. I love how children are always so interested in animals and how they live. Your zoo looks like it is pretty special as you seem to be closer to the animals and more hands on than a lot of larger zoos I've seen.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, Tracey, it is pretty special. It is a very small zoo, and they do allow the kids to feed them, pet them and chase some of them :) They do have warnings that they are animals and they do have the potential to bite, but we have never encountered anything but love from all of the animals.

      We do have a larger zoo in Toronto, but I am a little torn about it. I really hate to see the animals in a place where they shouldn't be. You know, like elephants and tigers in Canada, that is just not natural. I struggle with it and am not sure we will visit it.

      Delete
  9. HOW FUN!! oh, and I love the hat..too cute!! ~ B

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Brooke, Reece does love his hats :)

      Delete
  10. wow awesome job at catching the preaning peacock!!!! this little zoo of yours looks so much like the park we go to- perfectly sized zoo for the little ones :) *love* the picture of reece chasing the chickens!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Awe thanks. He chased the chickens for a long time, and had a blast. It reaffirmed our decision to get chicks this spring, he is going to love having them.

      You are right, it is perfectly sized for little ones.

      That peacock was putting on a show for us, it was like that for almost 5 minutes.

      Delete
  11. Thank you for sharing at Happy Family Times! I hope you will share with us again next week!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Looks like a wonderful, breath-of-fresh-air outing! I'm sure your little one enjoyed all the animals. That donkey picture is so sweet.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Going on these little trips like you describe have many benefits for our kids. I think just walking around a farm looking at the animals is both educational and it also gives our little ones much needed exercise.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are so right Jeff, one of the best parts is the amount of room for Reece to run around at this farm/zoo - a lot of open space to run wild :)

      Delete