Harvest Festival

We felt transported back to some small Northern California town yesterday as the September sun beat down on our still tanned skin. The children wandered around freely, learning how to felt, holding small turtles, petting a woolly sheep, all under the bright blue autumnal sky. In the background, a group of musicians played nature-loving songs in that folky, hippy sort of way. We drank freshly pressed cider, harvested tomatoes and eggplants from the organic vegetable plots. We even won a raffle for a live (Charlie Brown's)Christmas tree. Blissful was the day.

I wrote more about our experience at Stratford Ecological Center in the Cool Columbus blog, so please visit the post there if you would like to get the story in more words. But I have a feeling that these images are almost enough to give you a good idea of what kind of day we had.

Maple Sugaring in Ohio

There are two reasons to rejoice if you lived (which we do, amazingly, we do) in Ohio today.

One: it's warmer here than it is in Northern California today! 60s, to be precise. And with sunshine. Yup. Not kidding.



Two: we live just north enough from the equator that there are sugar maple trees can grow here -- they are the ones that produce the sugary sap for maple syrup making!



The weather forecast this week is perfect for tapping. The cold nights, and warmish days, cause the sap to run wild inside the trees.

It's not just the trees that are going crazy. People are too! We think Spring is coming...and oh wouldn't it be nice? We are all cautiously optimistic knowing full well that we could still get another cold snap (or two or three), or another winter storm, or another ice day.

One can only live one day at a time, however. Rejoicing in tapping the maples is just what I did today.

Pear Juice, the old fashioned way

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Our friends from Michigan were in town for the weekend. Before they left to go home, we took them to Slate Run Historical Farm for a little taste of 1800s Ohio farm life.

Upon arrival, we saw a farmer with a wheel barrel by the pear trees. It turned out we had arrived too early, before the 11am opening time. The farmer did not seem too bothered. He told us a bit about the orchards; how the apple trees have a harder time with pests, and that these two pear trees can yield a lot more fruits than several of their apple trees can provide good apples. As we listened, we helped him collect the fallen pears for the old fashioned cider press.

The farm bell rang when they were ready for the cider pressing. The kids ran from the barn so fast you would think it was Christmas morning. They were allowed to help put the pears into the press as well as the pressing itself. How fun that they got to see and help with the whole process, from beginning to end.

And I hear (I did not taste it) that the pear juice was quite a delicious reward.

Pumpkin time, again!

The weather was really too cold to spend the afternoon on a pumpkin patch. Although, it did add to the experience, and it made our pumpkin hunting more speedy!

We went south to Circle S farm with some friends after school. Although we have been to many pumpkin patches in the past (in California and Massachusetts) I did not know what to expect from this experience...except that we were going to pick some pumpkins from their vines. Little did we know, it was a sort of farm-amusement park with hay stacks, hay slides, maze, petting zoo, hay ride plus donuts and cider! We were not prepared for all of that!

At any rate, we had fun, and it helped that we were there during their lull, so the only people who shared our hay ride to the pumpkin patch were new parents of little twin girls. We shared stories of being parents of twins. It brought back many good memories of when my own were little wee ones...just about the size of the pumpkins we brought home.

Birthday

The kids jumped on Jim this morning, after we were ready to show him what awaited him downstairs: handmade cards, a birthday banner and a couple of gifts.

There was also a beautiful summer day waiting for us outside, and so we took the opportunity to take him to Slate Run Farm (he didn't come with us last time). He loved it, and we decided that we would all be pretty happy if the 1880s life still existed.

A wonderful day was had by all...hopefully the birthday boy enjoyed it most of all!

Slate Run Historical Farm

I was elated to be introduced to Slate Run Historical Farm today by our neighbors. Getting out of the city, being on a country road with farmland and corn fields was enough, but to be at a well-run, historical farm like this one was even better!

If you have been following this blog for a few years, you will have seen that our family is a big fan of farms. We spent a year visiting (and basically living) on Blue Heron Farm and Codman Farm outside of Boston, Massachusetts.

Thanks to the Columbus Metro Parks System, we can now have a farm to enjoy (for free!) not too far from home.

Springtime at the farm

One of my favorite places to go with the kids. It's in full bloom right now. If I were a painter, I would bring up my brushes and canvases and spend a late afternoon capturing the beauty of springtime.

More Apples

Our supply of apples was running low. So why not go pick some more?

We brought Jim this time to show him the magic of the place, and its simplicity, too. The kids enjoyed having him there. And the boys even got to observe a snake together while the girls nonchalantly picked some more apples. Who needs to be entertained by a snake anyway?

Creatures

Who needs to go to the zoo when we can go to Blue Heron. Ellery found a baby snapping turtle today. Though it is very cute as an infant, the real deal is apparently vicious.


Momo and Claire found a catepillar that later becomes quite a mean pesty hornworm moth. We also caught a frog and attempted at catching more butterflies. There are always potato beetles and Mexican Bean Bugs in the field. Wildlife at its best!


We didn't get to sit in the back of the truck today as it was occupied with some pretty things!