The Gentle Barn

During my recent trip to LA, my family and I drove about 45 minutes outside the city to Santa Clarita to visit The Gentle Barn. I'd been wanting to visit for a couple of years and finally made it there. Every Sunday they allow visitors from 10-2.

The thing I love most is how the animals interact with each other. The sheep, goats, pigs, chickens and llamas all live together in the same area. It's adorable.

I believe this sheep is Stanley, very friendly and very fluffy.

 A turkey, who appears to be sleeping.

This pig is not the biggest they have, but she is gigantic.

Here she is from the front. When she walks, it looks as if she's tiptoeing. It's the cutest thing to see this massive pig tiptoe around on her little hooves.

Here are more of their pigs, napping on a Sunday afternoon.

The chickens seem to really have a thing for pigs.

This one in particular.

This may have been my favorite part of the day...a little goat playing with his ball. He would kick the ball, run to catch up with it and repeat.

 A stunning peacock named Jewel.

This cow's name is Buddha and she is so sweet and gentle, and likes to be brushed. You can also give her a hug!

And of course, there's great vegan food. The hot dog cart serves vegan hot dogs, brats and sausage with all kinds of toppings - ketchup, mustard, onions, veggie bacon bits and vegan sauerkraut, to name a few.

I chose all of the above, it was uber-good.

And they have homemade vegan cupcakes, chocolate or pumpkin. I went with a chocolate pig...seriously tasty.

If you happen to be in the area, I highly recommend a visit. The animals are always there, but the hot dog cart isn't so make sure to check ahead of time for their schedule. Or if you can't visit in person, you can always donate to them. It makes a really great gift - I donated in my mom's name last year for Mother's Day!