Scenes from The Farm in mid-September

Our last visit to The Farm was pretty spectacular.

We got to celebrate all the September birthdays and as part of the celebration, got to get my future farmkids in the canoe and kayak for the very first time.

There were too many activities to list here, but I’ll go through the highlights, minus all the great food (lonches) and fresh cupcakes with homemade buttercream. Yum.

Most of our time was blissfully outdoors, enjoying the cool fall weather. And we were fortunate to get some real river time for the first time in a very long while.

My son took to the kayak like a fish to water.

 My daughter? Not so enthused by solo paddling. That’s me rescuing her from the opposite river bank learning how deep the river is after a pretty dry spell.

But she and just about everyone else loved the canoe. By the end of it all was ready to find a way to tip the boat so she could take a plunge into the mighty Mississinewa.

We also got to skip rocks…there’s my cousin, who skipped a rock clear across the river and hit the other bank. 

And, of course, there were some fire-building lessons. Here’s my Future Farmgirl with her tee-pee fire. My box fire lit up the bonfire though. Thanks Girl Scout outdoor training.

We also got to see the impressive work of the goats. See this guy?

He led the small herd that cleared parts of the small field that have been overtaken by weeds and willows. Maybe hay will grow here some day. That’s our hope anyway. Meanwhile, it’s fantastic for walking trails and makes it easy peasy to get down to the river.

It’s always fun to visit when the hens are laying.

And when there are berries to pick.

Almost all of this was thanks to this guy…who was among the birthday guests of honor and host of honor. Happy birthday Dad!