Other sights at the Farmpark

Each year for the quilt show, the timing usually coincides with lots and lots of baby animals being born on the park property. Right behind the desk at the entrance they have a list of how many babies they have and when each was born. It's neat to have other sights to see for those people traveling with you that may not be super interested in quilts (yes, they exist, no I don't think there's something wrong with them - we just haven't convinced them how cool quilts are...yet)

 When you walk into the main building (there are several buildings) it's set up like a "U" shape. If you travel to the left and head down the hallway, there is a Dairy Parlor complete with cows. Danny wanted to milk a cow soooo bad and see how they are milked by the machine. First thing we did was head to the parlor and her got his chance to milk a cow!

 They also had two baby cows that are twins about two months old in the Dairy Parlor. I think Danny wanted to take them home. He's been asking for a cow for Christmas for a couple of years now, the differences in wish lists when you live in the country on a farm!

 We took a short walk to take in the sunshine and found a large barn that housed pigs and sheep and goats and horses and and and... This four-horned sheep was interesting...

 I hope you can see this, it didn't photograph as well as I hoped... Ombre lambs! It went from white-ish to brown to black and I thought it was adorable!

 There were lots of little piglets in the one pen (just one litter) and by now there's probably a lot more piggies. The pig in the next pen looked quite large and uncomfortable and seemed like she was nesting...

Our favorite babies to watch were this pair of lambs. They had jumping beans in their legs I swear (hence the blurry mid-air action shot). They never walked... always bounced like little Tiggers. All four legs leaving the ground at once and hopping everywhere. I should have taken video, but it wouldn't have turned out well because I was laughing so much...

They have other barns and buildings we didn't get to see, but this park is amazing! They have a greenhouse, a sugar shack that's making maple syrup this time of year! In the summer they have a tractor/machine building showing kids (and adults) all of the different engines and equipment used on farms. 

Plus they hold exciting events all year round, like the quilt show! They use food coloring to dye the sheep in the spring before they harvest the wool for a Fiberfest, they have working dog weekends, Horse Days, tractor weekends, haunted hayrides in the Fall... And on top of all of that, this park is fun and educational. Everything is designed to be a learning experience and I remember going to this park on field trips when I was in school. I have to say it was tons of fun with kids along this time around! Seeing them smile and giggle when the goat was nibbling on their fingers and seeing how they responded to the different animals was so much fun! 

So think, if you're in the Cleveland area each year between mid February and the end-ish of March... Head on over to the Lake Metroparks Farmpark and you can see the show and check out all of the animals. Bring the family and you can send them all out to the barns to see the animals while you take a look at the quilts by yourself... Oh, did I mention there's a cafe? You could stay all day if you wanted to! If you'd like to learn more, you can see their website here. 

Well, I hope you enjoyed the tour of the Farmpark, quilts and all! I usually never get the chance to experience the whole park and honestly we only saw about half of it this day. I guess we will have to go back! So much to see and do in one place!