Year 2, Day 310: Piney Woods Farm!

What a great last field trip of 2017!!!  (Maybe, probably not because Christmas brings more fun things!)  We were outside for 4 hrs!!!  It was 40 minutes away in Fortville, IN, but so worth it!  There was a hayride through their Christmas tree fields, and Indian corn to be picked, (we skipped the pumpkin patch because of mud), and gems to be mined, and the Thanksgiving story to be told while we munched on popcorn and lunch, and feeding goats, chickens, a huge sheep, and pigs, and a huge playground to play on!  It cost a little bit of money, but it was so nice!  I've never had a real Christmas tree, but seeing them out there makes it seem like I could handle it.  Probably not, but hey, I think it would be a little bit fun figuring out what tree we would want.  You can even do it while it's warm, buy it anytime of the year, and then go chop it down when you actually want to take it home.  Piney Woods has only been around for 12 years but they already have a haunted hayride and all the other activities in October and then a few days of Thanksgiving story field trips for homeschoolers (public school? I don't know), and then it's the Christmas season for them!  50,000 trees on their farm!  Way out in the middle of nowhere, so I got to see TONS of beautiful foliage.  The temperatures were cool at only 50-55 degrees F but we didn't feel that chilled.  My fingers are still thawing because I left my gloves off for more dexterity with the camera and such AND for chasing an almost 3 yr old around.  That being said, I'm exhausted to the max!  And so is Abishai because he walked and played the whole time.  But I think we are all farmed out now.

Let's see, we wore our winter coats, and brought hats and mittens, which we wore a good portion of the time.  We also wore our winter boots for warmth and because we knew they wouldn't leak like some of our older rainboots do.  The kids' coats got really dirty, as well as their pants and boots, so those went right into the wash when we got home.  It's amazing how many of these places there are.  So many hidden gems out there to find.  I guess I'm better now at traveling further away from now that we are settled and Abishai can handle longer trips.  I hope that the farm has a great winter season!  They said they started with a couple of acres of trees and a thermos of hot cocoa on a foldable table.  And now they have this big barn like structure with a little store and food bar.  They want to add an educational building for monarch butterflies and many other things.  So neat!

So many Christmas trees of all kinds!  Lots of baby ones to replace the ones that have been cut down, too, of course.  I've never been on tree farm before!

Who wants this tree?  Pretty!

Some of the first trees that were planted over 15 years ago.

Picking Indian corn.  Abishai wasn't very happy about tramping through the stalks without a clear path like we had in the corn maze we did the other week.

Keturah's ear of corn.

Loads of pretry colors!  The staff person said that American Indians grind this up for cornmeal.  And use the husks to paint with and make into cornhusk dolls of course.

Wow, lots of purply ones!  I got one that was full of nothingness because the worms had eating a lot of it.  Oh well.

Trees!

Hayride!  I used to say it wasn't a real hayride unless you used horses.  Well, that's hard to find and I have actually gotten so used to the tractors, I don't question it anymore.  I just grew up with the "real" kind.  Justin said, where are the railings!  We are going to fall off!  No, we aren't, just stay in the middle.  It was very muddy, so the wagon tilted a bit, but we were fine.

Feed corn used for the corn maze.

The gem mine!  Yup, that's water coming through the top and coming all the way down, just like they used to in the West when they were looking for gold.

Panning for treasure!

Abishai was excited to dig in.  Although it was cold out, I took off his jacket because I just knew he would end up too wet if I didn't.  Plus I put his gloves with the string in his jacket and they were dangling.

Treasure!

Sift it back and forth!  He lasted 2 rounds but I think they did 4 rounds of "rough."

Lots of directions to different places like North Pole, animals, pumpkin patch, etc.

Fossil and Gems, complete with string across it like a real fossil dig site.

Really fast slide.  He went flying at the end, but brushed it off.

Snacktime!

Feeding chickens, his favorite part!  If you ask him, he will say, "Feed corn chickens."  His sentences are coming together quite nicely.  He was nibbled by a goat to start off this section, but he wasn't upset about it for very long.  Abishai is a tough guy. And bold. And he kept going in directions I didn't want him to go because he was curious.  Exhausting.

Loads of free range chickens.  Most of the animals here are rescues.

Super friendly goats.  Justin said he found a new friend in one of them.

Easy to feed animals, too.

THE BIGGEST SHEEP I ever did see!  500 lbs!  And super tall!  I have seen a lot of sheep in my lifetime and I don't think I've ever seen one this big.  Again, I think it was a rescue, but super nice sheep.

Pig!  Abishai was trying to feed it corn and got his hand tickled by the pig's nose.  He didn't like that.  And when I let the pig eat from my hand, I got a hand ful of mud, too, so I understand.

Amazing playground!  Check out that spider web!  Loads of fun!  And the bridge to the right wobbled.

He did it all by himself each time.

This climbing wall was a bit tricky.  There were no handholds or foothlds past what you see there.  You had to hold onto the railings instead.  Abishai took one look and said no.

Abishai did however make it from one bridge to the other with a little bit of help from his siblings.  I thought for sure I would have to come there and rescue them all, but again, Abishai doesn't give up and tries hard.

Very cold out, but dry.

Abishai loved being caught from the slide by Justin or Keturah.

Swings of course.  Keturah liked that the swings had a lap belt instead of slid front so she could get in.

Balance beam!

He said, " 'ment truck!" and he was done in.  Large cement truck, bulldozer, car wash (the farm) for the truck (which needed the car wash).  Typical boy.

Loving the big sandbox!

I can't seem to remember what this kind of water system is called.  But of course it works by gravity.  And the water was coming out clear, but was already dirty by the time it got to use because other people were sifting their "rough" above us.

Surrounded by his favorite things in the whole wide world.  At this point, he was beyond tired and he didn't care if his boots had come of and he was standing there in his stocking feet.  I had to keep reminding myself that it's just dirt.  I'll wash everything when we get home.  Let him play.

He wanted to play with these so badly.  The logging trucks were $50.  Gorgeously handcrafted and worth the price, but I can't afford that price. 

Yup.

If I need a new option, I'd get this one.  So cute!

Justin helped me get Abishai out of the sandbox when it was finally time for us to go.  These activities can be a bit boring for the older kids, but having it be all new for Abishai, helps keep the novelty in it.  The Gem Mine was definitely a hit for both of them.  We will go back!

Look Ma, no shoes! And I don't care!  Most kids would cry if their shoes came home.  Not him, he just keeps going.

Sissy tucked little brother in tight.  He passed out within a few minutes of leaving the farm and then slept for another 3 hrs at home.  Yeah!

Cute little baby hand with a cute little gourd he picked out.  He went to bed with the band still on his wrist because he loved this field trip!

Best friends forever!

Some of the gems the kids found!

They might be a newer farm, but they've made progress every year and have huge goals and plans with education and kids in mind.  I love that kind of perspective!!