The 'Bye-bye' Game

Some years ago one of our young grandsons delighted in the game of shutting himself in a dark closet and then jumping out to surprise people. Now, his young sister seems to have developed the same game. Could it be heredity? At Great-grandma's house is an enticing pantry closet. It is a step up from the rest of the kitchen, which means that from inside, even a short person can reach the doorknob!

She waits patiently for someone to open the closet to get something, then scrambles inside, shouts 'bye-bye' and shuts the door. Of course, the best part is popping out to greet everyone outside the door. I think she could play it for hours. I KNOW she can outlast me!

What is that I see falling?

"Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting
and autumn a mosaic of them all."
- Stanley Horowitz

It has been a lovely, long Fall. Though this is hardly a forested area, there is plenty of variety in the trees to give us many Fall colors. It is a changing season where some varieties of trees are still green, while others have put on their Fall colors.









Yet it is far enough advanced that some trees are long since ready for winter.




The deer have started to come down from the higher elevations.



It won't be long before the city sends out the huge vacuum cleaner trucks to suck up all the fallen leaves that are hiding the lawns and streets.



All of those leaves falling are just a precursor to the next thing to fall. After a day of rain, this morning the clouds parted to give us a glimpse of what is coming next.

AWHC--Farewell for the Season

It has been a fun year at the American West Heritage Center. We enjoy our co-workers as well as the guests who come to visit us there to experience 'Living History'.

Today was our last day of Fall school groups. In Spring and Fall we host school classes who come to learn what life was in 'the old days'. It is always fun to take the children through various stations. Some stations we have for them from the pioneer era include candle dipping, pioneer school, pioneer games, visiting pioneer cabins, pioneer cooking, pulling handcarts, woodwright shoppe, and spinning wool. The children generally enjoy their time with us.



When we take school groups to the 1917 era farm, stations for the kids include running the cider press, making jam, shelling corn, milking the cow, visiting the farm house, doing laundry, visiting the outbuildings, playing 1917 era group games, and visiting the blacksmith shop.

It's always fun at the AWHC. Maybe we'll see you there sometime. Bye for now!

Rumors no more...

Back in July, we heard rumors of the vacant lot behind us being sold. Later we noticed someone was parking a trailer there off and on.

Today we left home around 8:30 AM to work at the AWHC and came home at 12:30 to find a large tractor in that lot digging a rather large hole.







That lot has become the residence and haven of the neighborhood grasshopper and vole plagues. Maybe with a house and yard there, they will move on to bother someone else!

More Harvest Activities at the 1917 farm

It was another day of harvest activities at the 1917 farm. The woodworker and his able sidekicks manned the woodwright shop, while daughter and I were in charge of showing folks how to use a 2 man saw. We also managed to visit a couple of other sites. It is really hard to resist taking a picture of the goats as we walk by.



Before starting the sawing, one of the farm folks agreed to spend some time sharpening the saws for us. That is his truck in the background...a 1925 Ford. Since this is a 1917 farm, that takes a definite time warp.



Nearby, visitors were busy creating scarecrows. It seemed to be a popular activity throughout the day.







Then it was time for the threshing to begin. That meant firing up the steam engine and running pulleys from it to power the threshing machine. That engine surely does burn up a lot of wood!







Broom maker was there to make some brooms from broom corn.



Laundry was out drying the old fashioned way...via solar power.



Daughter always likes to demonstrate her prowess with the wood stove. The stove is such a part of life in the farm house that 'he' has a name. His name is Eugene. Don't you like her fashionable farm dress?





The eggs needed to be gathered.





See...she wants the chicken to be her friend...even after she steals its eggs!



The visitor children enjoyed petting the chicken.



The farm horses seemed to like all the visitors and were frisking around, but they were happy to come to the fence for a little treat.





It was a fun day, but I'm ready for a rest after holding down logs for young kids to saw for a day and a half.

When the frost is on the punkin...

When the frost is on the Punkin
by James Whitcomb Riley

When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock,
And you hear the kyouck and gobble of the struttin' turkey-cock,
And the clackin' of the guineys, and the cluckin' of the hens,
And the rooster's hallylooyer as he tiptoes on the fence;
O, it's then's the times a feller is a-feelin' at his best,
With the risin' sun to greet him from a night of peaceful rest,
As he leaves the house, bareheaded, and goes out to feed the stock,
When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock.

They's something kindo' harty-like about the atmusfere
When the heat of summer's over and the coolin' fall is here--
Of course we miss the flowers, and the blossums on the trees,
And the mumble of the hummin'-birds and buzzin' of the bees;
But the air's so appetizin'; and the landscape through the haze
Of a crisp and sunny morning of the airly autumn days
Is a pictur' that no painter has the colorin' to mock--
When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock.

The husky, rusty russel of the tossels of the corn,
And the raspin' of the tangled leaves, as golden as the morn;
The stubble in the furries--kindo' lonesome-like, but still
A-preachin' sermuns to us of the barns they growed to fill;
The strawstack in the medder, and the reaper in the shed;
The hosses in theyr stalls below--the clover over-head!--
O, it sets my hart a-clickin' like the tickin' of a clock,
When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock!

Then your apples all is gethered, and the ones a feller keeps
Is poured around the celler-floor in red and yeller heaps;
And your cider-makin' 's over, and your wimmern-folks is through
With their mince and apple-butter, and theyr souse and saussage, too! ...
I don't know how to tell it--but ef sich a thing could be
As the Angels wantin' boardin', and they'd call around on me--
I'd want to 'commodate 'em--all the whole-indurin' flock--
When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock!


James Whitcomb Riley, the Hoosier poet, painted
wonderful word pictures of harvest time on the farm.
On "our" 1917 farm we have a chance to enjoy farm life
as it used to be. During harvest we invite our
community to share a bit of old-fashioned farm life
with us.



slinging gourds over the hillside





look carefully and you'll see lots of gourds down there!



playing in the hay pirate ship and corn maze



playing 'king of the mountain' with the goats











smoking meat in the smokehouse



sawing wood for the winter



trying to persuade parents to adopt a poor homeless kitten



running the steam engine




hitching up the horses



checking out the scarecrow family



making dinner on the woodstove




visiting the kids' bedrooms







riding the train



doing a bit of spinning



feeding the chickens



putting apples through the cider press



making cornhusk dolls



shelling corn for animal feed





Come along and visit some day!