That Dutchman's Cheese Farm

Charlie starts preschool on Monday, so I'm trying to take advantage of what's left of the summer with the kids, so this morning we head out to a town called Five Islands. We've never been there and heard it's nice, but we get a little distracted on the way...

I think it might be a brief stop for a mid-morning snack but there's a lot more to this cheese shop than the obvious. 

First though, we learn about the cheese making process. 

This picture-board gives detailed instructions (down to the minute and degree) on how to make cheese curds and cheese. If anyone wants to try this at home, let me know how it turns out!

Next we have our snack. 

No, not a duck-snack, though some lady (not pictured) just told us her mom used to farm these particular types of ducks and that "they're delicious. Like turkey because they don't have a lot of fat." I think maybe we'll just stick with our cheese-snack for now. Except Oliver, who wants to feed his to this duck. 

Either ducks don't like cheese or this one doesn't like Gouda. My guess is he's had his fill of Gouda based on the over-supply in the cheese shop, they have an abundance of it. (Hmm, I should have asked the lady what cheese these ducks prefer.)

Part of the distraction is an animal/nature walking tour. 

 

A pathway of flowers. 

These are Jacob Sheep. If you look close enough, you can see they have four horns. Jacob Sheep can have anywhere from 2-6 horns, but like these, most commonly have four horns. 

Next, we find some potbellied pigs. 

Charlie decides to name them: (not all pictured) Cokuh, Cutie, Foofa, Foe-fuh, And, Ann, Shoofa, Keeka, Pope-uh, Shirley, Early, and Ian. (And a later addition: Mouse.)

We also find some Emus. 

Charlie decides their names too: Ostrich, Fuffy, Cheecha, Choofa, Cheesa, and Offy. (When later asked about pronunciation of Offy, Charlie said it sounds like "coffee," his Lego giraffe.)

We run into some Naked Neck Chickens and Charlie decides that while their necks are bare, their names shall not be. 

Starting from the left: Tinky tinky, Shoofa, Toofa, Foofa, and Coofa. 

After a morning of cheese and animal-naming...

And mosquito bites... 

It's time to head home so we can have lunch with Tim. Maybe tomorrow we'll make it to Five Islands. I'll keep you posted!

http://www.thatdutchmansfarm.com

If you have any questions or comments about Canada or things in general or have a suggestion on where to visit next, feel free to leave a comment. I'd love to hear from you!