Slate Run

Oh summer. It's a bitter-sweet time, really. On the one hand, life is more fluid: children get to sleep in, and have free play in and around (and in and around many more times) the house. We are loving the garden, and the animals that are thriving along with the vegetation.  We love eating most of our meals outdoors, next to the fire pit that does not only act as an insect repellent, but the perfect dessert cooking station for the kids. There are also still trips to take, memories to make, and the bags that get packed and unpacked many times over. We all love the adventurous side of summer, truly.



Then there is also a lot of time in the summer. Time to cherish, but also time to fill with the little ones who are always hungry for more. What are we doing today? is a popular question around here, especially when the calendar is wide open, not filled with camp activities or itinerary to places far beyond.



This week is one of those that I had to draft a general plan of attack (knowing full well that I won't get much of anything else done). We made a list of places we would like to visit, activities we would like to pursue, and then we were free to change it however we wanted, down to the last minute.



Today, instead of going fishing at a metro park nearby, we decided to visit another of our favorite metro park. It's summer after all...who needs to stick to a plan?



Slate Run Farm is everything you would want a 'park' to be. It's a 1880's living historic farm with fields of corn, a lush garden, a pasture with chickens, ducks and geese. The farm house stays the way it used to be, with old-fashioned toys, old fashioned sewing machines, artifacts and antiques everywhere you look. They also have several animals that work on the farm, a wonderful attraction for children and adults alike. All of their farm equipment stays true to the time period. You definitely feel transported back in time when people were busy with chores and outdoor life with no flat screens or gadgets to distract them by.

I overheard a young man, no younger than 13, telling his brother in that crackling in-between growing phase voice: "Hey, I forgot how much I like it here!"



We visited the animals, noticed several swallow nests with baby birds' beaks poking out chirping away. We walked through the barns and petted baby turkeys and remarked on how big the piglets had gotten since we were there last. My favorite part of all is the 'summer kitchen' - a room outside of the main farmhouse where they cook during the hotter months. A batch of cinnamon and sugar cookie was cooking in the wood-fired stove when we entered. The aroma was enough to want me to live there forever.



But summer is still young, indeed. There is still a lot more time and a lot more things to do. I am glad that Slate Run was part of this summery day I got to spend with the kids, as part of our 'doing' today.