Essays

Moseying: Living La Vida Llanero

Farmer's Appreciation Petting Zoo at Sibley Nature Center March 15th
March 13, 2011

2% of all Americans are farmers. In 1930, 70% of all Americans were farmers. Few modern kids know anything about livestock or farming. The Midland 4-H is holding a "Petting Zoo and Farmers Appreciation Day" Tuesday, March 15th, at the Sibley Nature Center. The event will begin at 10 a.m. and end at 2 p.m. The Midland 4-H would like more families to join their group.

Taking care of livestock is an enriching experience, instilling responsibility, and contributing to a family's economy. A number of Midland 4-H kids will be at the Houston Stock Show that week, vying for significant prize money and scholarships.

The Sibley Nature Center's recent renovations included the construction of a set of pens with this type of event in mind. Among the animals the group hopes to bring are a miniature horse, donkey, lambs, pigs, goats, farm ducks, rabbits, and chickens. The group also plans to bring along a number of items for display, such as butter churns, the tack used, and a tractor that visitors can climb on.

Plan on staying a while and talking with the adults and 4-H kids who will be providing interpretation. We also hope retired farmers will come and share some stories of growing up farming. Children will be allowed to pet and feed many of the animals. Be sure to bring along a camera and take photos of your children as they discover the farm critters!

Inside the building, Sibley's museum specialist Michael Nickell will have part of the Sibley insect collection on display and will be signing up folks for summertime "bug camps." The diversity of invertebrates on the Llano Estacado is stunning! Take the time to chat with Michael about bugs you have encountered.

Families are also encouraged to take a walk down Sibley's trails. You may see cottontail rabbits, mockingbirds, coots, curved bill thrashers, mallards, white crowned sparrows, Harris's hawk, harrier, and many other birds. Be on the lookout for the first lizards of the year, too! Bring along a picnic lunch and eat in the story telling circle under the big oak at the parking lot, or the benches in the "Icons of the Llano Estacado" colonnade, or in the wildlife viewing room, and see what birds come to the feeders. In the viewing room, also take a close look at the observation bee hive and see if you can find the queen with its green dot on its back.

Do you know the major crops grown on the Llano Estacado? Everyone knows cotton, but how about peanuts, and sugar beets and wheat (on the northern Llano)? Do you know what groups of people have emigrated to the region to farm? In several places on the Llano, people of German descent set ahigh standard for husbandry and innovation. About thirty years ago Mennonites from Mexico settled the region around Seminole – you may have seen some of the Mennonite women with their long dresses in local stores. Many Hispanics and African Americans also came to the region as farmworkers – the old brick streets in many towns were built in the winter when the farmworkers had few duties in the field. In recent times, many Hispanic horsemen have acquired rural property and spend hundreds of hours training their horses.