Farm Boy

Dear Jack,

You were "Jack" today.  Yesterday you told me your name was "Jack" and that was enough to get me back on a Jack kick, at least until you actually tell me to stop and call you "John" again.  It's really become a day-by-day sort of thing with you.

We went to Crowe's Nest Farm today, you and your sister and me.

I get to take my students there every year, but they aren't open to the public except on special days and so when I found out that they are doing family days every Saturday this month, I knew I wanted to take you and Sydney there.

 

 Our first big adventure there was the hayride.  You and Sydney both enjoyed seeing the bison and the ostriches.

 

From the hay ride, we went walking around and you found all kinds of animals.  You saw the cows, of course, including Hershey who was being milked.  I know you like cows because you always yelling "cow" in the car any time we pass a field (and since I'm driving I can neither confirm not deny that every field in between our house and your daycare has a cow or three in it).

There were also pigs and chickens, which you found just as fascinating.

I think your favorites, though, were the animals you could actually get to.  Like the peacocks that walk around the farm.  You walked after (I swear I didn't let you chase) that peacock for a good two or three minutes before I called you to catch up with your sister and me.

And the other animal, you could get to?  The barn cat.  Because every good farm has one.

 

You also took lots of pictures... about 30 or so.  Which considering I took over 500, I guess isn't that many.

 

But when every single one was a shot of the ground, I had to laugh a little.  I guess part of it is that you just are closer to the ground than an adult, and part of it is learning to aim the camera.

You did get a really cute one of your shadow, though.

My two favorite parts of Crowe's Nest Farm are the themed gardens and the Faerie Wood.  Lucky that you were back to being "Jack," huh?

And if Mrs. Hazen had been with us, she would have gotten a picture of Peter with this little blue jacket.

Going to the Faerie Wood is all about the tunnel that leads into it.  Tunnels are just magical.  I guess there is something primal in our nature, having come through a tunnel from the womb to the world that makes us programmed to find mystery and intrigue in the form of pathways from one place to another.  I feel the same way about the tunnel under the road at Sweet Berry Farm, only in a different sort of magic.  The Faerie Wood tunnel is the magic of Lewis, going into Narnia by way of the Wood Between the Worlds.  The tunnel at Sweet Berry is the magic of Tolkien, using a hard concrete that speaks to castles and strongholds into the wildflower fields of the Shire.  Either way, though, I love the experience.

You and your sister liked the fairies, of course.  I knew she would, but you were really taken in by the Faerie Wood yourself.

 

During our first visit (because of course we were coming back), you really stopped to look at all of the displays.

 

 

We left because when I first suggested the wearing of fairy wings, your sister was unimpressed, but having seen the Faerie Wood, she saw my plan and wanted to go get hers from the car after all.  You, who had been prepared to wear yours in the car, were thrilled to go back and get your "yittle" wings (as opposed to Sydney's big wings).

  

Wings on, it was back to the Faerie Wood.  This time, in addition to the fairies, you found some gnomes, and one was even reading a book.

  

After two trips to the Faerie Wood, one nice walk through the themed gardens, and a chance to see all of the animals you were interested in seeing, it was time to just enjoy the expansive grounds and use the time and space on the farm the way children have used them for generations.

 Running, running, running, running around!

 And exploring, and playing, and just being outside, in the fresh air, having fun.

 

As I watched you today, so at home on the farm, I wonder if there is a part of you that wishes you were being raised in the country.  You have always had a much higher affinity for things like petting zoos that your sister ever did and I have seen you before looking at peace in farm settings.  I wonder if there is something in your blood, something from your West Texas rancher great-grandpa, or your East Texas farmer great-great grandpa.  And then I wonder what in the world those two men would have said about a boy running around a farm in fairy wings.

I guess it's just as well that we won't have to find out.

Love,
Mom