January on the farm

What a lovely weekend this has been. Crisp outside, cozy inside, lots of projects to work on, plenty of sunshine to run around in...



Things outside are finally settling down into a pre-winter type of rest. We had to scrape ice off our windshields for the first time the other morning, and the piles we crash through on our way back inside are of old leaves rather than new.



The boys discovered "The Dirt Pile" yesterday and spent hours playing in it. I don't have a picture of The Dirt Pile, but it is so big that it is its own landmark, just like the barn or the chicken coop. Concerned because I hadn't heard the kids making much noise, I walked outside to check on them. Brett assured me "Oh, they're playing on The Dirt Pile," and I was immediately relieved. (Of course, after that I had to wonder what that says about me - being relieved that your kids are playing in and on a gigantic pile of dirt is probably not a normal response.) But The Pile is in the middle of a plowed field - no critters or ticks or nails or anything else dangerous to worry about. Just beautiful healthy dirt. They were so sweet playing together down there that I didn't want to get too close in fear of breaking the spell. As I snuck up on them with my camera, Moses saw me, and with a huge grin said "Mom, look at all these dinosaur bones we found!!!" while indicating the stack they had made of dirt clods. Man, my heart about burst with joy and thankfulness right there on the driveway. What a great life those boys have.



And when they came in it was hot baths and cozy sweats, a dinner of left-overs and a few games of Connect Four. Simple, unplugged, healthy. I love it. Hope you are all having a wonderful weekend as well.