3/29/90
OHLONE FARM NEWS
Ducklings. Come see our four darling ducklings before they turn into ducks! They look to be about teen-agers now, and are growing bigger daily! You may remember that there
were eight eggs to begin with. Two eggs wouldn't hatch and when Bill Overton, teacher in Room 9, held them up against a candle, there were no signs of ducklings. Students from Room 17 cracked the eggs open and found only old egg. One duckling died soon after hatching; he had a sore on his stomach. We don't know what happened to the last duckling. He may have squeezed out through the cyclone fence onto the playground and then perhaps another animal got him. Room 17 students put boards around the bottom of the ducks' pen to prevent this from happening again. We are glad to have at least four ducklings!
Russian Visitors Come to the Farm. On March 13, the Farm was visited by a group of eight Soviet gardeners who had come to Palo Alto to attend a gardening conference at Stanford. They were interested in visiting our Farm too, and Audrey Cutler, an aide in the HELP Center, enabled them to do so. About sixty students awaited their arrival at Noon Farm. Although our visitors arrived only five minutes before the end of Noon Farm, there was still time for many children from all classes to sing a song written by Amber Blote, Room 14, especially for the occasion. The song was a parody of Old MacDonald's Farm entitled "Young Ohlone's Farm." There were special verses about our animals, our weeds and leaves, and finally, "Some Russians came to Ohlone Farm; we welcome them with open arms!"
The Russians seemed quite pleased, and wanted to talk about how Farm activities were integrated into the school. When they left, they gave us a book on gardening, signed by all of them and inscribed: "For Ohlone Farm on the occasion of the visit of Soviet gardeners...We all enjoyed our visit and loved the song!"
Spend Part of Earth Day on the Farm. We have decided to reschedule this year's Farm Work Day to coincide with Earth Day on April 22. We will plant the first planting of a hedgerow--a thicket for birds and butterflies--to help restore our corner of the world to its previous state. will organize, clean, and generally tend our farm, and build more duck houses and worm-farm boxes (students from Room 14 have just finished making the first one). We can order lunch ahead of time from our friends at Round Table Pizza and have it delivered, and make lemonade. Please mark the new date on your calendar, 9:00 to 1:00.
Thanks to: Mary Lowe, the parent volunteer who runs the Everything Shop on Tuesdays after school with the help of the Student Farm Council; Rooms 11 and 14 for having a bake sale to benefit the farm; Round Table Pizza on Colorado and in Menlo Park for having a Pizza night to support the farm; and finally, everyone who bought Pizza on that night! Special thanks to Kerrie Vandenhaak for permanently installing the birdbath in the Wildflower Garden, and also for donating and planting the many agapanthus plants along the fence in the animal enclosure. The chickens and ducks will be especially grateful since these plants attract snails which chickens and ducks like to eat.
Bonny Parke & Linda Skeff
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