Vacation
Spent most of the week away from the farm this week. The kids and I spent some time in the Great Smoky Mountains. We took in the great veiws from all the way at the top of Clingmans Dome and visited a very old farmstead on the North Carolina side of the park. The old farm is very neat, with it’s split rail fences, molasses processing pans, lye soap making, apple house, chicken coop, heirloom garden, smokehouse, barn, blacksmith shop, springhouse, and pig pen. It was great for the children to see just how the old timers made it. The farmstead leaves me longing for simpler times and wondering if someday I might find some remote peice of land and give it a try the old way myself. The children learned all about games kids used to play and even made some toys and played some of the games like buzz buttons and corn cob tipped feathers for darts. I enjoyed the park the most, but the children enjoyed the shows and rides. Madison said her favorite part of the trip was our dinner show at Dixie Stampede. She especially enjoyed the trick riding. My little girl is quite the equine enthusiast. Kaylee and Garetts favorite part of the trip was Dollywood and it’s roller coasters. They like the rides. We rode all the roller coasters even the new Mystery Mine. I think later this fall I will try to take them to Kings Island. We all played miniature golf at Ripley’s Old McDonalds Farm Golf. The animated farm animals were cool. The kids all posed for pictures with them. While there we visited a dinosaur museum that had an old half track out front. Half tracks were used in WWII. My grandfather drove one through most of the war. It was great to be able to show the kids one and relay all the stories about my grandpa. He was 15 when he lied about his age and joined the army to go off and fight. It’s hard to grasp just how rough things must have been here to see a war as an improvement. I have always said the WWII generation truly is our greatest generation and I take my hat off to them all.
Back on the farm. We have decided to go ahead with the poultry houses. After much discussion we have decided that it is an opportunity. It will allow me to get out of the factory and be on the farm. It will also pay for the farm and allow us to grow if we so choose. I geuss bottom line it was going to be very hard to justify passing up a steady income. In farming there aren’t very many ways that you can make it anymore and this seems to be one. Cobb has a very good reputation in this area. I’ll keep you all posted as to how it progresses.
I better go for now, I have promised to use the 6000 to move some topsoil and fill some holes in the yard of both the log house and the double-wide. Be sure to check out the pics I have added and check back soon!
