Despite all the snow, spring is bursting forth in warmth and mud. Spring air smells different from winter. Winter has no scent, but spring brings a rich, musty fragrance that seeps up through snow like smoke rising from a chimney.

After a long, snowy winter, it’s time to do a happy dance and welcome warmer days. If you don’t know how to dance, the cattle can show you the bovine style. Every spring, when I let the cows onto a new pasture, they kick up their heels, bounce into the air, and dash for the best patch of grass. It’s hard to imagine a 1,000-pound cow leaping in the air, but seeing is believing.

Whatever the weather throws at us, soon there’ll be green grass and lush pastures for my dancing cattle.

With a massive blizzard, April did not come in quietly, but that storm did not stop Magic, one of my Scottish Highland cows, from giving birth to a beautiful little heifer calf named Stormy, who now runs circles around her tired mother.

At the Spring Fling, 2,000-pound gentle giant Scottish Highland steers Topper, Finn, and Red will snatch a tasty snack right out of your hand. For an alfalfa cube, which we’ll supply, Curious Bleu, the riding steer, will let your child climb on his back to pose for photos. You and your children can walk with Eleanor, the donkey, two sheep, and the goats and calves. You can snuggle Oscar, the baby Scottish Highland steer you met last year at our April event, and Venus, a Belted Galloway heifer (she looks like an Oreo Cookie).

Of course, Tazzy, the mini-pig, will steal the show as she grunts and complains until she gets a belly rub. And you can pet the bunnies, Pumpkin and Smokey, and feed them carrots. And, of course, you’ll meet adorable Stormy at the Spring Fling on Miles Smith Farm on Saturday, April 20, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Two years ago, a calf was born at our April event, and you might be lucky enough to witness a birth this year.

Learning Networks Foundation, the nonprofit facet of my farm, is hosting the event. It costs only $20 per adult, and children are free. If it’s still cold (oh no), we’ll have the fire pits roaring to help keep your feet and fingers warm. Sign up soon at milessmithfarm.com/farm-events, as space is limited.

My creatures and I look forward to seeing you.

 

Carole Soule is co-owner of Miles Smith Farm (www.milessmithfarm.com), where she raises and sells beef, pork, eggs, and other local products. She can be reached at carole@soulecoaching.com. Carole also coaches humans, helping them achieve the impossible a little at a time.