This Week Off The Farm: Week 22

It has been a very long time since we dropped everything and ran away to the woods with the kids for some time off. The weather couldn’t have been more perfect and we got to the campground early enough to snag a perfect spot right on the forest’s edge. This spring we made a pact with the kids that we’d start taking more time off and get away from the farm together as a family. We’ve gotten in the habit of filling every spare moment with busyness and over the last few years we’ve hardly taken any time off. That is thankfully changing this season.

Halfway up the winding road to our destination cell reception dropped off, so even if I had wanted to cheat and get on my phone to check email, it wasn’t possible. What a blessing to be completely unplugged for a few days. It has been so long that it took me a good 24hrs. to unwind and relax enough to be able to just sit by the fire or the river and take it all in.

The kids were in absolute heaven. It was wonderful to watch them tromp off to the water with their bug nets and buckets like the old days, to explore and search for creatures. Even though they are now big enough to trade clothes with, I loved seeing how quickly they both got totally swept up in the magic of nature.

We spent a great deal of time telling funny stories about their younger years and all of the wild creatures they brought into the house to study, rescue, observe or save including baby bunnies, a baby squirrel, dozens of birds, mice (sometimes pregnant) and voles, butterflies, spiders, crayfish, snakes, every type of pond creature you can image, leaches, frogs, toads, dragonflies, bees, kittens, stray dogs…. you name it, they’ve brought it home.

While we were away the field exploded into a rainbow of color. Chris and I are dedicating some serious time this week to capturing it all. I can’t wait to show you the beauty here soon! Wishing you a smooth start to the week.