Homesteader Life

One thing that I’m thankful for is that my children are growing up to notice the things going on around them. They have a keen sence of our farm as a little ecosystem of its own, our little world—if you will. The boys know where the does have there fawns bedded down, the birds have their nests and are always on the lookout for something new. As John and Noah and myself were traveling across the pasture yesterday morning, John told me to watch close. “Theres the mamma killdeer…..theres the daddy…..now watch dad and you might see the babies…..I think there are 4 of them.” Sure enough, 4 little babies came up out of the drainage ditch and trotted out in front of us. I didn’t even know that a pair had hatched any out up there. The boys knew. That same morning we saw a pair of brown thrashers foraging on the edge of the little woods. We saw a red fox that we spooked up, he took cross lots and ran right through the herd of milk cows and then dissapeared into the hedge and down into a little gully. The boys know where every patch of blackcaps are, they are waiting for the glorious day when the first tender berries are ready to munch. They are watching a patch or two of wild stawberries as well. They are very good at reading sign and tracks in the woods. They have been trapping with me since they were big enough to walk and have both caught animals in sets they have thought out and made. I am simply amazed at how a 3 and 4 year old can take all this stuff in and remember it. Well, the world tells me it is “amazing” but I’ve learned not to underestimate the little ones. These hills are their home and they are devoloping a real and intimate relationship with them. Praise the Lord, for the opportunity to raise children out in the sticks!

This entry was posted on Saturday, June 2nd, 2007 at 6:14 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.