Kansas, Part 1

On Monday, we visited with Tommy and Loretta at their ranch in Kansas. We also met Jack and Savannah (the dogs) and some geese, who ran after Papa Goose with their little wings out for balance.

It was the best thing.

And their fluffiness made me want to squeeze them.

We started the day exploring the ranch on a few four-wheelers.

First stop? A mystery wall in the middle of the woods.

There are tons of large rocks piled up along a ridge, with built-in peep holes along the way.

Tony told me that when buffalo roamed Kansas, they kept a lot of the vegetation from growing as big as it is today. And without those trees, this site provides a great view of the entire valley below.

It's perfect as a military vantage point. And that's what we think it is.

Even without knowing for sure, though, it was still gorgeous.

I love that lichen.

And then we continued on.

We saw some gorgeous Kansas scenery...

...and stopped for awhile to dip our feet in an icy artesian well.

We saw some cows.

Then went hunting for arrowheads...and I found a scraper! 

Just to clarify, when I say I found a scraper, I mean that Loretta found it.

And then showed me where it was.

Jill taught me this arrowhead-finding technique.
It works really well!

We ended the first part of our day with a delicious lunch, complete with homemade pickles and cookies.
And then we started Part II.

Love, T.

Sheep and Fiber Festival

This weekend, we went to the Sheep and Fiber Festival.

A place full of sheep, llamas, rabbits...

...yarn, buttons, and spindles.

We ate lamb stew and peanut butter cookies.

We drank lemonade.

We watched some border collies herd sheep.

And we dreamed about our future, because this is what we want.

Love, T.

Fosterfields Living Historical Farm

Today Casy and I visited a historic farm in Morristown called Fosterfields. We would like to move in immediately.

We met chickens, a hog, two horses, some cows and some sheep. The horses were called Calvin and Hobbes. Hobbes had only one eye. He lost his other one to cancer. He can still pull the plow, though, because Calvin takes his blind side.

They have a vegetable garden, an herb garden, a pumpkin patch, grazing pastures...it was so pretty. And all of the land, all of the animals, are cared for and farmed using turn of the century tools and techniques.

Farmer Rob runs the place and actually lives there in the second floor of the farmhouse. He and his wife drink the milk that they get from the cows, eat the eggs and vegetables that they collect and grow, and talk to kids like us about farming and staying connected to the land.

It is such a wonderful place and we plan on visiting often...maybe we'll volunteer there too so we can learn a thing or two about farming.

If you'd like to see more pictures, of the museum, other animals, and a Gothic Revival house, you can click here.

Love, T.