An Afternoon at Red Dragon Farm

I don't know what possessed me... perhaps it was the gorgeous weather. Perhaps it was the fact that Darling Man was planning to spend the afternoon taking the dog for a bike ride and working on the pool - leaving ZBoy and me to our own devices. Maybe it had just been a while. Whatever the reason, I called out to the farm and told Mom and Dad that Z and I were coming for a visit.

After visiting for a few minutes, ZBoy asked if we could go take Deacon for a walk around the farm. Sounded good to me. So we set off with Mom and Dad's dog. First stop was the barn. I wanted to have another look at Grandma's desk and be sure I wanted it for my bedroom before I came back with a truck to dig it out. Yep. Still want it.

My brothers' idea of a perfect barn ornament. A set of horns on a skull? No, not big enough! A gigantic swordfish? Oh yeah.

The last time Dad got baby chickens, he really got babies - they were only a day old. Unfortunately, at that age, you cannot tell if it's going to be a chicken or a rooster. Guess what? There was a rooster in the bunch. Not good if you're looking to have your chickens lay eggs for a living and not get all broody. This handsome young guy has a new home waiting. Dad's just got to catch him...

We spent quite a bit of time inspecting the garden. When I finally have a garden, I want raised beds like these!

At first, I thought the deer had been munching on the cabbages. Every single one of them looked like this. But Dad says it's the chickens - that they found the cabbages and pecked them down. Still looks like deer nibbles to me. The squash is blooming. I absolutely adore yellow squash and hope there's a bumper crop this year!

The strawberries are already bearing fruit. Z and I picked 7 ripe ones and ate them. Mmmmm! Dad also planted some of the field. He had, for a couple of years, let that part go and planted deer fodder. But the spectre of corn changed his mind and last year, he had some very lovely corn to show for it. I think he plants the deer fodder in the off season, so they're not totally out of luck!

Last year, there were no blueberries. It was dry as a bone out there and the bushes didn't produce. This spring, we've been getting some good rains, and LOOK!

Dad built this tree house for the grandkids a few years ago. My brother John's kids got quite a bit of use out of it, but I would never let ZBoy go up there alone. Except for that high rail, there are no sides to it! I'd still feel more comfortable if there were a few more rails around the sides, but Z has gone up in it a few times.

You can see some kind of contraption in the woods past ZBoy - it's a hayrake. After the hay gets cut in the big field, Dad hooks this to his tractor and uses it to flip the hay so it all gets dry. It looks like a fantasy piece of machinery - like it should be used by faeries, doesn't it?

Deacon was enjoying this walking and exploring immensely. Too bad Kida wasn't here - she loves to play with Deacon. She got her own entertainment on Sunday though.

As we left, I was struck by how beautiful the sunlight was coming through the pecan trees. We had pecan trees in our yard when I was growing up, and I knew then that one day I would have a little house smack in the middle of a pecan grove. They're bare in winter and have the most lovely shade in the summer! It may never happen for me, but I can always visit my parents' grove!

Oh, and of course we came home with a couple dozen eggs. They really ARE so much better than those sad little white store-bought eggs.

It was a wonderful afternoon at the farm. I just wish it wasn't quite so far away.