Down On The Farm

Every autumn, our county has an Open Gate Farm Tour. It's pretty much exactly as it sounds.

Local farms open their gates to the public, and show them how vital farms are to our community. They sell homemade baked goods and hot cider and bumpers stickers that say: NoFarms! No Beer! Truth in advertising right there, my friends.

I love Open Gate weekend, and we have been slowly making our way around to all of the farms. This weekend we only had time to see one farm, but it was a horse farm so Francie was in heaven.

We took the requisite hay ride, where my children made themselves sound like denizens of the dark heart of the city. They kept shouting things like, "Look! A squirrel!" As if we don't have fifty thousand squirrels in the woods behind our house at any given moment.

You don't even want to know what they sounded like at the petting farm area. I think most people there thought that we kept them chained to a radiator in a dark basement the way they were expostulating about the red leaves! and the miniature donkeys! and the cute rabbits! and the chickens! real chickens!

Good grief, my parents raised chickens, it's not like we stepped foot on an alien planet.

We toured the barns, where Francie stopped and read every single spec sheet for the horses that were for sale. We told her not to get any ideas, but we were too late, that kid was born with ideas.

Of course we had to do the pony rides, where Francie mentioned no less than 3,782 times that she has been to horse camp twice so she can ride one of the bigger horses, thankyouverymuch. She is what some might call an experienced horsewoman.

What surprised us was that Fiver wanted to ride. This child, who would not swing on a swing set 18 months ago, sat in the saddle, gripped with all his might, and went on a pony ride. I don't think he'll ever cease to amaze us, and thank God for that.

I'll tell you, there's nothing like a perfect fall day in the country. You just can't beat it.

I dream of Francie with the light brown hair.

Is it me, or do all of my men have the same shaped head?

Mom! The donkey! I love it!

I wish he was a happier child.

Someday donkey, you will be mine.

Cowboy up!

Serious introspection.

Fields of green and gold.

What a day on the farm will do to a boy.