York Town News
Triple G Farm offers visits with the animals, nature walks, wool and more
By Jennifer L. Saunders
Students from The Learning Tree Preschool watch in awe as Carrie McKie shows them a tadpole from the pond at her Triple G Farm on Bog Road during a recent field trip. Before her daughter Jordan set the tadpole free again in the pond, Carrie showed the children the tadpole's tiny legs, signifying that its transformation to a frog has begun. Inside the barn, the children get a close-up view of the cows. Nature walks and visits from schools and home schooling groups are part of the routine at this farm, which features sheep, cows, pigs, chickens and much more.
Photos by Jennifer L. Saunders
It took more than two decades, Carrie said, smiling, during a recent visit by a local preschool to her Triple G Farm on Bog Road, but that dream has become a reality.
Triple G Farm is named for Carrie and her two young daughters, Maddie and Jordan - "the three of us girls" - she told her visitors from The Learning Tree Preschool, explaining that to use her husband Rob in the farm's name would have made it "Triple G and B," and that didn't quite work as well.
Carrie explained that her love of farm animals and fairs began when she was a child, and in bringing her dream to fruition, she hopes to share that love with children and adults of all ages.
She recollected the day, just a couple of years ago, when she and Rob passed a yard sale with an advertisement for sheep.
They stopped, and her childhood dream took its first step into reality as the young family purchased their first sheep to bring home to Bog Road.
The farm has certainly grown since then, and now includes a large barn and workshop where Carrie keeps cows, sheep, chickens and pigs, and where visitors to the farm have a chance to take part in such activities as collecting eggs, spinning wool, felting or learning to knit, just to name a few.
But the activities down on this farm extend well beyond the barn's walls.
The property includes fields, woods and a pond, stocked with trout, which has become a haven for Mallard ducks and even for a pair of blue herons. There are turtles, too, plus visitors from the Maine woods that surround the pond.
Carrie explained that she has hosted several field trips for elementary and preschool age children so far, and that all ages are welcome, with programs tailored to meet the needs of the visitors.
"This is the life I've wanted since I was eight years old," Carrie said. "It's so nice, when I do this, to see people getting excited about it."
She has even taken her show on the road, bringing her animals to Bertha Rocray's Jack and Jill Nursery School here in town to meet the children.
And there is much to do for older children on the farm as well, with nature walks around the property and pond, forest treks, fishing for trout and on-site educational programs.
Carrie explained that she sees the Bog Road area around her farm as becoming a center for education and recreation in town. The town's athletic fields are already there, and plans are continuing to bring a skating rink and swimming center to Bog Road.
Carrie is also an avid supporter of the Wholey family's proposal to build a playground adjacent to the Bog Road Athletic Fields in conjunction with York Parks and Recreation.
"I'd really like to support that mission," Carrie said of her efforts to share information with those who visit the farm about Benjamin Park, which has been in the works for well over a year in memory of the Wholeys' infant son.
And for those who are feeling the urge to make those warm hats, mittens, scarves and sweaters as these late fall days turn chilly, Triple G Farm even offers wool from the 29 sheep shorn just this year.
"I am so excited about this venture," Carrie said. "I now know what it means to truly love your job."
For anyone who has watched Carrie lead a nature hike to the pond or introduce three- and four-year-olds to the animals in her barn, the reason is clear.
For Carrie, this is not a job; it is a labor of love.
To purchase wool or to find out more about the educational and recreational opportunities available at Triple G Farm, call 363-0418, e-mail wool@TripleGFarm.com or visit www.TripleGFarm.com.
