We picked the hottest day of the year (so far) to hike the nearly two miles to Deer Hollow Farm, a working farm with pigs, goats, sheep, chickens, and other animals, as well as numerous turn-of-the-century ranch buildings, through Rancho San Antonio Preserve. Our rowdy band of mostly three-and-unders ran, marched and sang enthusiastically for the first half mile or so, but as the trail went on and on, the heat slowed us all down. (The trail accomodates strollers, but we had not brought any.) Until, of course, we came to the creek. Conveniently located just where we thought we could not go even one step further, the creek cooled us off and became the landmark to aim for on the way back. Well, yes, some of us did get wet.

The farm itself was not terribly exciting. The pigs, sheep, and most other intelligent mammals and birds were sleeping in whatever shade they could find. The garden was beautiful to see and smell; it was hard to resist picking the flowers! We picnicked in the high-roofed dining area, then made our slow way back to soak in the shady creek a bit more before continuing on the long path home.

And, no, we did not see any deer; no mountain lions found us in our travels. But then, silly us, we had chosen to hike in the heat of the day.