During our morning tour of the Peas farm we sampled kale, corn, carrots, and some of the best (if not THE best) tasting tomatoes in Missoula. Not a bad way to start the day! We saw braided ropes of onions drying in the sun, the tomato" jungle" growing in the farm's greenhouse, and were taken to visit the chickens and the baby pigs.

  We learned that pigs love to eat anything and everything - including fingers (which we kept outside of the fence). Good news...we all came back with 10!  While we were there it was time for Jason to feed the pigs so we saw them pushing and shoving each other to get to an especially tasty morsel.  We were able to help with the feeding since most of us managed to save something from our veggie sampling.

  We enjoyed watching Mickey in his attempt to catch a chicken so that we could experience what feathers feel like. The chickens were anything but cooperative and it was looking as though petting a chicken was not going to be an option. But thanks to Jill (Odie's mom, who we now refer to as the "chicken whisperer") one somewhat reluctant chicken allowed us to gently touch her feathers. We enjoyed seeing where the chicken nests were located inside the hen house, and Anastasia brought us a freshly laid egg which we passed around without breaking.  It was even still warm!  Toward the end of the tour we visited the beautiful flower garden near the entrance to the farm and were invited to pick one flower to take with us.  So many beautiful flowers - it was hard to decide!

  After our tour we donned our backpacks and sauntered to Pine View park.  One of our groups was able to have a picnic lunch there.  Unfortunately, for the other group, the park had been freshly sprayed with an herbicide that day so we sauntered on back to school.  There we were joined by the Jumping Trout for a picnic lunch on the play yard hill.  We would like to thank all the parent helpers who accompanied us on our tour and saunter - we always enjoy your company and asistance.  One thing about the PEAS Farm tour, it's every bit as much fun for us bigger, grown-up kids as it is for the littler kids!