{Life Lately} The Farm

We have been blessed with the ability to escape our house and small town for my parents' farm. They've been in quarantine with us, as they were watching Nate before it all happened, and we only see each other. I truly feel for those people who can't visit with their parents/grandparents. 

We rode their side by side (we call it the buggy), enjoyed the woods, and visited their pond, where we attempted to catch fish but had no luck. We did see a bunch of bullfrogs that were very loud. 

And while in the woods, we were driving through on the buggy and my mom says "I think that's a bat!" so we stopped and looked - and yep, a little bat was hanging out on the tree limb. I believe it's an Eastern Red Bat, a solitary bat known for living in trees. I was able to get up close and personal with it so I could take a few pictures and a video. After others looked too, it decided to fly away. 

How are you handling this crazy time? As a teacher and a mom, our days have been busy with online meetings and a lot of online work. I participated in a great Zoom yesterday with the creators The Spark File. I am not normally a podcast listener, but I will look into this one - the two ladies were amazing. 

{Farm} Father's Day

On Father's Day, we went out to my parents' house for a swim and a celebration. My dad is the type that seriously doesn't want us to spend money on him for gifts. But he does love pie (who doesn't!?) and so I always try to make him one (or more...I once made 6 desserts for when he turned 60). This year we went all over the place looking for blackberries, which I thought would be in season and ready to go, but apparently not. So store bought worked, mixed in with a few frozen blueberries and blackberries from the farm last year. I ended up making a crisp and it was delicious!

My parents have had blueberry bushes for years and some of their bushes are close to 5' tall! Isn't this shot, of all the colors and variety of ripeness, just great? You can't go wrong with produce pictures. 

When Lily was born, my parents planted a miniature peach tree. They did the same when Nate was born and now both are producing! Lily's tree is a little taller than her and Nate's tree is slowly growing too. Let's hope for some good peaches! 

And I'll end with the below photo... 

Above shows "Naked Nate" (there may be a series coming, but I probably won't publish it publicly). We went swimming at their pool and then straight to the garden before dinner. Here they are, digging potatoes (which is super easy in my dad's custom soil mix!). I'd like to say there's some funny thing about why he's naked but he's 3, we're in the middle of the country, and his swim diaper was swollen. 

....

He really does like to be naked though. 

{The Farm} Creek Time

Happy Wednesday lovely people! Today is my last day of school this week and I am definitely going to be enjoying this beautiful weather. My garden and I have a date tomorrow morning to get a little cleaned up and ready for Easter! 

This past weekend was gorgeous in Missouri! Saturday saw some family time in downtown Columbia and that was fun. I hadn't been there in a few years, even though I go to Columbia a lot. I'd love to have some time, without kids, to explore the stores but that may have to wait. 

On Sunday, we went out to the farm. My mom wrote a book that was published and her publisher wanted videos and photos from their farm, which appears in the book. You should totally check out the book, Letter Trees, on Amazon or at Barnes and Noble! It's a great book all about finding letters in nature - something we do a lot of as we walk around the farm! 

So during our visit, we went down to the creek. It's always a fun place, especially in the spring. We just had a lot of rain this past week, so it actually had a pretty good amount of water in it. Plus there were some little critters for the kids to see. I caught a bullfrog tadpole to show the kids and they were able to see some frogs too. No turtles though, which was a bummer. But luckily, there were no snakes! Now in a week or so, I'm sure everything will be out and going crazy! 

The above photo is just a vertical image of the horizontal image above to show more of the whole creek bed. The rocks are gigantic and full of plant life right now. 

Below is a rock face, the second we now have found. It was just staring up at us! 

Ferns! I love the look of them all coiled up. I should have dug some up for my garden. 

If you follow me on social media, you will hopefully have seen the video of the waterfall. It was so peaceful! I had to "rescue" Nate after he slipped in (barely, but dramatic for a 3 year old) so my feet were wet and I just kept getting in the water after that, letting me get a few shots that normally wouldn't have had happened. 

Get out there and enjoy nature and don't forget to buy my mom's book, Letter Trees! 

{The Farm} Blueberries and Birthday Cake

Hello!

Can you see the frog?? It's in a metal fish my mom has hanging from a trellis. It's been dry and hot lately, so he's hanging out in the shade. And pretty camouflaged! 

I have a whole series of pictures of my dad and Lily eating blueberries together so when this opportunity presented itself, I couldn't help but take photos. 

And yes, he's bottomless and barefoot. He needed help across the rocks. I'm not sure where his diaper went to but he knows he can pee outside at the farm (getting him to understand that its ok there vs other places is an issue). 

And a collage of cuteness as he shoves his tired face with blueberries. Never a dull moment with this kid! 

And not to forget big sis. She's the brave soul that tried out the pool. It was a little cold for the rest of us but she loved it. It's since warmed up and we've swam a few times. 

Also going on at the farm was my mom's birthday. We celebrated with a swim and some of their close friends (who are more like family than friends really) and I made carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. I also made a grasshopper pie and a jello salad but only photographed the cake. Nate thought it was his and kept poking it. It's a good thing he's cute. 

So good that it involves both hands! 

{The Farm} Fishing and Fun

Hello!

We went back out to my parents' farm again this week (check out last week's adventures here). It's only a 20 minute drive, so nothing at all to get there to have hours of fun and a great meal or two. 

When we first got there, we decided brownies needed to be made. Who doesn't enjoy brownies? This guy got his first good lick of a spoon, covered in all that brownie goodness.

Don't judge me on my parenting - yes, it had raw eggs. Wholesome, nutritious, locally grown eggs. And really, who has ever gotten sick from a farm fresh egg?!?

Lily can smell brownies from a mile away. She asks for them every chance she can and only likes them compared to other treats (well, except ice cream). 

While at my parents' house, I had to admire the orchids. Her orchid growing ability is insane. If I buy them (because they are so pretty!), mine normally are on their death bed and she can fix them. This is ONE of many plants that bloom all the time! 

And then we decided to try fishing in their pond. They've stocked it a few times (and built it years ago) but we only saw some babies. Or as Doug thought, fish that didn't have enough food to get bigger and aren't actually babies. But I'll call them babies because they weren't longer than 5-6 inches. 

And what trip to the farm wouldn't be complete without a tractor ride? Lily and my dad went to get their two person kayak to enjoy. 

Which, of course, turned into a three person kayak because Nate is sitting on my dad's lap. You can see his green hoodie. 

And because even my dogs get spoiled (some times), Krypto got to enjoy the lake. We've had him for almost 5 years and he has never gone to the lake before. He's gone to my parents, but we don't normally let them out of the fenced off portion. The lab side of him really enjoyed it and I'm happy the American Bulldog side didn't make him sink. He went pretty far out in the water, where it's deep, so I panicked a bit. He did great though. Zoey went too but she's not into swimming and has since lost her privileges to go back as she whined the entire time out there in the car and for the next 24-ish hours as she hurt herself. She's old, so she basically just needs a warm place to rest. 

And it takes them all to bring the tractor back. My dad may need a bigger one for when they get bigger! Nate likes to drive it. Can you imagine what he'll be like this summer when we let him drive the boat?!?! 

And we found another bird's nest. No inhabitants so maybe someone will claim it. 

{The Farm} Early Spring Walk

Hello!

It's almost Spring! Can you feel it?!? We live in Missouri so we've had a really mild winter and tastes of spring make us ready for the real deal. But I have a feeling we'll get a late winter and then all my pretty flowers will be hurting. Let's keep our fingers crossed for an early spring. 

Except the mosquitoes need to die. Like yesterday.

Anyway, this past weekend we went to my parents' farm and enjoyed the weather with a tractor ride to the "ridge" as my parents call it and down into the creek bed. It hasn't rained much lately so there wasn't a lot of water but in our newly found hole, there was. I'm loving the little spot and will be visiting throughout the summer, hopefully... until the snakes take over. 

Here's this adorable, and tiny, birds' nest my mom found (that's her hand in the back). She is watching to see if it's currently in use or will be a decor item in her house. She's all about letting nature be but also bringing it indoors to prevent its destruction. 

My mom walks this area pretty regularly and noticed how the trees touch on the top, creating a cathedral window like shape. It'll be fun to watch as the leaves come out. 

Here's the previously mentioned "watering hole". I climbed up to the top and took a few photos (see below). There were fish in this little pond before winter when we explored last time but we didn't see anything this time around. It's pretty shallow, maybe just 2 feet deep, so I bet it all froze over and killed them. Plus, how they got there in the first place is a mystery!

The view from the top. I love the streaks of sunlight. 

A tree and rocks. There are a few of these on their property where the trees grow around the rocks. I love it when they're off the ground but this rock seems pretty big. 

And there you have it. Photos aren't too bad for my iPhone 6. I'll bring my nice camera some day. 

See my early fall visit to the farm and the ridge here. What a difference a few months can make, right?! 

{At the Farm} Early Fall Hikes

Missouri in the fall can be beautiful and full of color. This isn't going to show that as we went a few weeks early. However, we explored a part of my parents' property we hadn't gone to in a long time (or at least I hadn't been in awhile). My dad has a tractor so we rode on the back in a little mini trailer. I'll have to take a photo of what it really is at some point.

Down the gravel road first to visit neighbors. Artie, my parents black and white dog, came with us. We left their hound mix at home. She's a short, little thing that just can't keep up with us. Or come back when called.

It was a little chilly that day, unlike a few other days since, but just enough to actually feel the chill of what's to come. Nate got to try out his new hat. 

Into the trees we go! Give it a couple more weeks, if that, and it'll be bright orange and yellow! 

Poor Miss Lily, sporting a bruise from school. But the girl loves her wildflowers and would grab them as we drove by. Luckily she didn't reach for the poison ivy! By the way, did you know poison ivy turns a very pretty red in the fall? It's like a little reminder of "stop, don't touch!" (as if we needed a reason!).

Nate's almost 2. Which means he's into everything that goes - cars, trucks, buses, trains, and tractors. This is his happy face for two reasons - he's on a tractor ride, his first really, and he's with his grandparents (my parents). This sums up his feeling on most everything we did that day! 

And since it's in the woods, there are mysterious growths and things all around. Doug spotted this weird fungus under a fallen tree. 

My parents have a couple small creeks that run through their property. I love going to look at them and how nature has taken its toll over the years. This little circle cave, above, was big enough for a small animal to bury into.  

And we actually found an area that held water! I had never seen this area before so it was so cool to see. There were actually small fish, lots of frogs, and some craw dads (crayfish) in it. We haven't had a big rain awhile, we were wondering how long the fish had been in there. Some were close to 3-4" long. Next time I'm bringing a net! 

The side of the cliff, all full of layered rocky goodness. And moss too. 

The downside of early fall in Missouri? Ask poor Artie, and my mom who had to help him with the burrs. My dad has since gone and mowed a lot of the weeds down so when we go back, it won't be so crazy. But poor Artie was the worst of all of us. He also went farther than any of us, always checking on random farm smells. He was one happy dog though! 

Do you get to go outside and enjoy nature? Where do you live? 

We went to a local pumpkin patch this past weekend and look forward to more outdoor adventures at the farm in weeks to come. We still need to get some more rocks for our backyard herb spiral (it's a work in progress from our spring collection of rocks) so we'll be out soon. Hopefully once it cools down more to kill off bugs. 

I'll be back soon for a bathroom update. Hint: it involves our medicine cabinets! 

{At the Farm} Gardening Galore

My dad's beautiful garden full of concrete raised beds* (read below) and their house in the distance. 

Talk about delicious… my kids eat their weight in fruit! 

Below: tomatoes (with the red paper covering) and peas towards the bottom. I can't remember what's in from to the peas. 

And this is just ONE of the many blueberry bushes!!! Give these baby a month or so and they will be ready! 

As for those raised beds (there are a lot of 'em!)… my dad made the forms himself, had the concrete poured by a local company, and then we (my dad, my mom, brother, Doug, myself and some others) helped put the concrete from the wheelbarrow to the forms, smooth them out, then my dad took off the forms and he and my mom gave them a texture (as seen above) on the sides. Labor of love!!! There is enough distance between them to mow the grass. Not all of his plants are in raised beds, but many are.

{At the Farm} Wildlife

On Saturday, I took the kids out to my parents' house, aka "the farm". It was the 4th anniversary of my brother's passing so we got together. We originally planned to go to the zoo with my cousin and her son to get out of the house, kill some time on a horrible day, and enjoy each other's company. However, the weather in Missouri has been crazy so that did not happen. Luckily though the rain stopped to have a pretty enjoyable day… or as much as one can have as we mourn the loss of my brother. 

Anyway, he would not have wanted us to be sad, so let's focus on some positives… 

My mom has the best luck with hummingbirds. She's now up to 4 cups of sugar water a day for these feisty little flyers. 

In their "backyard" (as in it's behind their house but not really a true yard), my mom made a Japenese inspired garden. It's absolutely beautiful. In it, she has two small ponds. One being below, the other being an oval shaped. She always has bullfrogs and other creatures.

And due to having so many frogs and toads… tadpoles!!! (all those little black dots for those who have trouble seeing them)

And a baby toad (or possibly a bullfrog, hard to tell!). Ignore all the dirt on my hand, I was holding him until Lily could come check it out and my mom could get a photo. 

More randoms are on my Instagram account, thebrickbungalow or #atthefarm (but lots use that… I need a personalized hashtag I guess!) 

Come back for a few shots of my dad's garden. It's insanely awesome and produces some amazing, organic food!!!