The Farm

Zan and Candy spent the night across the street in a very nice hotel and were given the best room in the place. They both had a nice double bed to sleep in and lots of pillows. It did not take long for the two of them to fall asleep after a very busy and eventful day. In the morning they were treated to a complementary breakfast then they asked where the next town was. The hotel owner told them that the next town was being expanded and was under a lot of construction. Oh said Cindy. So where else would be nice to see in Cumberland. Well maybe the big farm to the west that has corn fields, chickens and cows, they make dairy products there and Alieta gets all her milk products including ice cream from them. It is run by a very nice family with three girl triplets and their brother with their parents that are very friendly. Candy knew of the three girls but that was all. Zan got excited and said we have to go there! Okay we will, said Candy. How do we get there she asked the hotel owner. Just take the main road west and it will take you directly to the farm, he said. They went out and were surprised to see a large gathering of people all looking at them. A woman went up to them and said we just wanted to show you two how sorry we are so we made this nice street party for you two and would love for you to join us in a celebration of the return of Zan to our great province. The music started and people started to dance and Zan told Candy she loved dancing so the two of them joined in and had a very good time and met a lot of people. After a while they told every one that they had to leave and go see the farm that they were told about. That is fine and it is not far away but we are all going to keep dancing because this was a day to rejoice, said the woman. They went and got their horses and headed along the west road. Soon they reached the big farm and and saw the family outside working away. They rode up along the main road to the farm then the brother ran up to them and asked who they were and if they were here to place an order. Well no, said Candy. We are just touring Cumberland and the people in town told us that this farm was a must see. The father then walked over and saw Zan. Oh my goodness, he said and called for his wife. Look dear it is Zan, the girl that everyone in town thought was a she devil. Oh she is so pretty, how could they of every thought she was a devil of any kind, said the mother. Please come and we will take your horses for you two. We are so glad you came to visit us, said the mother. They were taken to the front of their home and then the father called for his daughters. They came running over and said yes father what do you want? Look girls, it is Zan and her elf friend, said the father. Really, said one of the girls, she is here! Yes girls now wipe off some of that dirt from your clothes and introduce your selves to them. Hello. I am Janet, I am Kimberly, I am Ambrosia and this is our brother Jeff. Zan looked at all of them, then said "Very pretty young girls and a handsome young man. You have a very nice family here." Yes we do and they are all hard workers and keep this farm running perfectly, said the father. So this is Zan that we have heard so much about, said Kimberly. Yep, that is me, said Zan. You three are very similar looking and obviously the same age. Very pretty also. Yes they are nonidentical triplets but very close to looking the same and even the towns people still get them mixed up, said the mother with a smile. Nice handsome boy too! I feel that he is very protective of his sisters. Ya I love my sisters and make sure they don't get in trouble and help to keep them safe, said Jeff. That makes for a very good brother, said Zan. So girls would you please show Zan and Candy around but we need to borrow Jeff for a bit to help his father out, said the mother. Okay and they took Candy and Zan for a tour of the farm.

Now first of all this is where we keep the chickens that lay the eggs for us. They are really funny at feeding time, said Ambrosa. Really how is that? asked Cindy. Oh they look like they are dancing as they peck the feed off the ground, said Ambrosa. Funny, dancing chickens, said Zan. We don't keep them in cages or anything, but at night we just chase them into the barn which is a lot of fun too. Then shut the doors. They will lay eggs during the day out here and also at night in the barn. Eggs are not are main product here but what ever we don't use, the rest we sell. We always save a couple of dozen for Alieta because she told us that she loves eggs in the morning and usually all mushed up, what ever that is all about, said Janet. Oh they are amazing. You get three boiled eggs and peel them then put them in a cup or glass then add butter then some salt and pepper then use your fork and mix and mush it all together then eat them with toast. Easiest way to eat eggs and very tasty, said Candy. Yes that does sound good and fun also, said Kimberly. The chickens here never run into the corn field because it is just all dirt out there but sometimes the come out to the yard. Then we have to chase them back, said Ambrosa. When they see our Dad come out they all run back by themself. I guess they know not to mess around with him.

Now over here in the barn is where we milk the cows. It is a lot of fun doing that, said Kimberly. Let me show you how milking is done. Kimberly sat on a small stool then grabbed a otter with each hand the started to pull them downward. Milk then sprayed out into the bucket under the cow. That looks easy and fun, said Zan. Do you want to try? asked Kimberly. Okay and the two of them switched places. Zan started to squeeze the otters but nothing was coming out. Maybe the cow is empty, said Zan. Kimberly giggled. No silly, you have to squeeze then pull down, said Kimberly. Zan tried that and still nothing came out so turned an otter toward her to see if the hole was blocked but when she did that milk sprayed her in the face. Everyone giggled. Yep not empty, said Zan. Nice warm milk tastes really good, she said as she wiped her face and licked the milk off her hands. This may look easy but is really not so easy to do, said Zan. You want to try asked Zan to Candy. No I already know how to milk a cow, she said. Well it does take a bit of practice first but once you get the hang of it, then it is easy, said Ambrosa. Now once we get a few full buckets of milk from each cow, we take it over to that churn where we make butter from the cream that settles on the top of the milk. It takes a bit of time and muscle to make the butter so usually Jeff does that part or our father, said Kimberly. So what is this for, asked Zan. Oh that is my favorite thing in here, said Janet. It is for making ice cream. I love making ice cream and it is not that hard to make. Ice cream is my favorite food, said Zan. Mine too, said Janet. Now all you do is put the cream and milk inside from the top then close the lid. Then add all the crushed ice in this outer chamber area surrounding the milk inside. Then close the lid tight. Then you just turn this lever that mixes the milk and cream nice and fast. As soon as you feel that the milk is getting nice and thick then you open the lid and add some sugar and what ever flavor you want the ice cream to be. Close the lid again, then start mixing again. When all mixed you put ice cream containers under this valve and fill it then close it tight then put them in this icebox to freeze hard. Sounds easy but complicated too, said Zan. Oh if you like ice cream like me then you learn very fast how to make it. I make the best ice cream around anywhere, said Janet. Yes Alieta buys it from here and it tastes so good, said Candy. Yes Fae Land is our biggest customer of dairy products and she buys a lot of ice cream directly from us, said Janet.

Now lets go back outside and take you to the corn field. It is very big and fun to play in, said Ambrosa. They all walked over to the huge field of corn plants. Wow this is a very big field of corn, said Candy. Yes we supply a lot of corn cobs to Cumberland and Fae Land every September when the cobs are ready to harvest. Alieta buys some from us for her harvest festival each year. We also cook and bag corn kernels then freeze them for markets, said Ambrosa. So what do you play in here with all the plants? asked Zan. Oh mostly tag and hide and seek, said Ambrosa. It is fun and also keeps the crows away from the corn around harvest time. We also put up scare crows to help keep them away. What is a scare crow? asked Zan. Oh it is a man shaped figure stuffed with straw and we put some old clothes on it and a hat then tie it to a post. It looks like some one is in the field all the time. It works most of the time but playing tag works a lot better, said Ambrosa with a smile. So right now we don't need them in the field but by next month we will be placing six of them all over the place in here, said Janet. So that pretty much finishes the tour of the farm except for the vegetable gardens by the house that our mother loves to take care of. She is very good at growing them, said Janet. So lets go back to the house and see what everyone there is doing, said Janet. When they got there the mother invited them in for a nice home made meal. They all went in and sat at the big kitchen table and had an amazing meal. Then she served everyone ice cream sundaes for desert. Wow these are good, said Zan. Yep, the ice cream doesn't get any fresher, the mother said. Now we have an extra room with a couple of beds in there with fresh sheets on them. So feel free to go to bed when ever you want. Us farmers get up early and go to bed soon after supper. Us too, said Zan. Yes we will be heading home tomorrow, said Candy. Time to get back and see what is going on. Been a very nice change though. Glad you liked it here, said the father. Come back any time. Okay thanks, said Candy.