A Child's Paradise...

A child's paradise!

I've toured you all around general areas of our acreage several times, mostly through pictures taken out of doors. Now, let me be your personal escort through our children's "secret garden", their little paradise.

Bordering the rear of our property, a large portion of the farm crops are currently planted with soybeans. A short walk from our property boundaries sits a gentle flowing and shallow little creek with small fish swimming about it's running waters, one I haven't personally strolled out to explore just yet, though hubby has. It was always so muddy beyond our section of land when the idea crossed my mind, so soon, now with the field crop growth beginning to keep the grounds drier, I'll wander over to the brambling brook someday, having already been given permission from the farmer to enter the fields to do so. The children think it's just grand, yet to me, their little jaunts usually are accompanied with wet oozing mud dropping off their boots and over pants, hands and even cherub cheeks! Some fun for an adult, but for a kid, it’s normal fun stuff not thought of as part of a negative to the event.

Guess who was in the farmer's field?

Here are a few pictures to leave you with an impression of life here for the children. When I mentioned they run crazy and wild all over the place here, and sleep comes with the head dropping immediately to the pillow accompanying great snoring concerts, I wasn't kidding you know. *smile*

After waking in the wee hours of the morning to take the pups out for their daily morning walk duties, I'll often find one, or all of the children way out back. No wonder! It's a fabulous dreamy sort of never-never kid land, where huge creativity and imagination are initiated by uncluttered cityite lifestyles and boisterous annoying noises! It’s a place where real play embarks into lifelong memories. I wonder how they choose what to do first though, just where oh where… to begin.

Our first stop is the long awaited dream of building a tree fort for the older son here. The first thing he accesssed when entering this property for a possible purchase last December, was a tree, any kind of tree, to see his ever eager determination and vision of building and owning his very own tree fort, (like Nicholas and he constructed on his property), could come true for himself here. That specific ideal request was very important to him. On this land, hubby suggested the near dead one (smile) to erect a home away from home in. Oldest son was given a copy of “How to build tree houses, huts and forts by; David Stiles. for his birthday and has it memorized.

Not a bad staircase

While construction was beginning on our barn, small leftover plywood pieces and bent nails were set aside by the subtrades to use some other time, or take away as a garbage lot once the building was finished. Little by little, I’d look out the window noticing, yet again, one child poking through the pile and sneakily bolting up the back to add it to their fort bootie pile (like pirates!) and they gladly accepted all bent nails, banging away to straighten them all up again. A bagful now rests out in the tree fort supply stocks. If you ask me the book must be providing fairly good how-tos, because these stairs look okay!

In these tall grasses, any imaginative play comes alive!

- I’ve seen hunting with swords or Lego guns. I've followed little headdress feathers bob up and down, with the walking gait of the native Indians, as they strolled along to their teepees deep in the forest.

- Scavenger hunts always award the seeker with new goodies to collect. (Two large toads came to the porch into bug bottles two weeks ago, added next to the antfarm filled with small ants...oh goodie!)

- Sitting amongst the tall grass, is a great hiding spot, especially when mom is looking for a child whose chores are incomplete.

- Nature gardens have been constructed for little critters to visit during the midnight darkness nocturnal romps

You tell me. Is this not the perfect hideout for a young lad?

I found the perfect bell to hang outside and ring when seeking out the children for meals. My whistle as pitch perfect as it can get, isn't always heard, but this bell is!

Winding paths through the long grass
allow for imaginations to run wild

Caution; History of the ages at play!

Take two old swings from years gone by, one older teen who wants so badly to assist his younger siblings to have a swing set, and one very large Elm tree with an alcove surrounded with high grass to swing legs up into, back and forth with a tickle behind their knees, just above the grounds around the swing ground area, and here you have a lovely setting, in the shade of an old tree, one child or two usually swinging gently below, another (or two) hanging around above reading a book, finding a bug, looking for a bird’s nest, and you have a wonderful haven to mosey on to any time of day.

The secret garden,
with one red
and one blue swing hanging
under this Elm tree

One can only imagine the sights the child senses, and might recall someday in their senior age. I myself watched the horse farmer load her barn loft today with hay bales, horses prancing here and there while she was busy working away...not an easy job either.

Watching the happenings on the horse farm next door

As well, to the other side of us, the eighty pear trees, with six varieties. These will harvest one day soon, but meanwhile the children have been given permission to climb however many they wish. The owner merely asked them to refrain from entering the orchard when the pears are larger, so there isn't an accident for him to worry about with pears dropping on their heads and injuring them.

The pear orchard. Eighty trees, six varieties

.....Through the eyes of a child, time stands still. Ah, to be a child again!

Always out exploring.
Looking for the bunch of wild bunnies' hideout
found on our property in the mornings