Farm Day at the Library

Our little small farming community town has a brand new library and a staff at the library that is just amazing. Honest. I have another town library that I usually go to and have always brought the boys too but this library here in our home town, oh my, they are top notch. Organzied and helpful and when it comes to kids, they go all out.

They are amazing.

Every Saturday they have a special day planned just for the kids. A special theme day. And it's then the kids turn in the hours they have spent reading and get to have fun all over the library so it seems less....well, librarish.

On Farm Day, we didn't think we could make it. But Husband had to work so we decided to head into town and I messaged Alicia (head Librarian) to see if we could bring Broadhead the Rooster. She eagerly agreed.

And so we brought a rooster to the library.

Now, I am going to go out on a limb here and say, I think this is the fist time a chicken has been IN the library.

Broadhead was a HUGE hit. He behaved well, He made no messes. When the story about a Farmer was read he made little clucking sounds every once in a while to make sure all the kiddos were listening and to remind them that he was still there. Still a big deal.

After the story time, they had show and tell time. And it was then that all four of my boys brought in their show and tell. Show and tell I had not realized we had until we had arrived at the library. We had no idea they would get in front of everyone, but they did. And they did GREAT.

S1 talked about Broadhead and the care of him.

S2 showed off a tomato plant.

S3 brought in his birthday fish.

S4 hauled in a five gallon bucket lined in mud and showed the frogs he and his brothers had caught in the swamp.

They were the only ones with show and tell.

They were sorta a big hit.

A local farmer brought in some tractors. All the kids got a chance to sit on them.

S2, decked out in his farmer gear.

S1, thinking this would be a great addition to our farm.

I gotta admit, I love this shot of S4.

S3. Please keep in mind, it's sweltering out. But he was sure this is what a farmer would wear in the summer heat. It's painful to see this!

And here I am with all my boys. I decked out in my farm girl shirt and braids in my hair and my good friend Korene snapped the photo for us. it was a great day!

Sandhill Cranes

Once upon a time, these things were nearly extinct around here. Endangered I guess you would call them. Now they are a nusance, eating the seed right out of the ground when you plant it. Literally.

But I am still amazed by them.

As are the boys, apparently. They seen this bunch land in our field and snapped these pictures.
See, nothing. But then next one? Love it! It's as if it is saying..."hello? Anyone out there?"

Blurry...but these birds are BIG.

This one is really a good shot!

Can you just imagine the four boys, hunkering down in the grass and plants, fighting over the camera, trying to be quiet and talking amoungst themselves and snapping pictures? I know, makes me giggle too.

ASPARAGUS !!!!!!

Here it is! The first asparagus of the season! Yum Yum Yum!

With all the rain we have gotten, it is still quite sandy. My husband, who despises sand in his food, learned this trick from his Dad. Rinse it well and then boil the asparagus til it is a rolling boil, take it out and rinse again thoroughly, boil til it's to your licking and then rinse again. It's a lot of work, but if it rains a ton it's just what you have to do do to get the sand out of it. It's worth it! Because this is so fresh (from our field) and we don't use a thing on it once it starts growing, it's safe to pick right there in the field and munch on it. I prefer it cooked...but, hey, it's worth noting! The asparagus is pretty sparse due to the colder weather, but it is coming up!

Coming up in this handmade by my creative husband greenhouse, is some of my husbands tomatoes and peppers. They don't look like much now, but, keep in mind, we have 1,000 tomato seeds here and soon this little green house is going to be overflowing. It's just thrilling to see them turning green!

And this is why we do it, for the love of it and the family we love.