Distractions

Philippians 4:8 (NIV)

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right,

whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is

excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

A bed of flowers....ha ha!

I did not intentionally take a hiatus from writing, but here it is over a month since I wrote. Life on the farm became busy during October with all the Farm Fall Festival activities. That's my excuse anyway! Even though I was only involved with concessions and flowers, it added a time-sensitive-to-do list which kept me plenty busy and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Gourds!!

It also came at a time when my mind definitely needed the distraction. (See previous post.) There are good distractions and bad distractions. This was a good distraction. During the week, I was able to help make homemade caramel apples, hamburger patties, and yeast bread. Due to the unseasonably warm weather, I made sure the flowers were kept moist and I enjoyed gathering gourds from the back field. 

Farm walking tour.
Very educational.

Petting Zoo

We had record crowds in this our third year and it was fun to ask people where they were from and how they found out about the Festival. Some people drove 2 hours to get here! Families came and spent the entire day. It was so much fun to see families out together enjoying the beautiful weather, the great outdoors and each other. It was very satisfying to be able to be part of this great event for the community that was not only entertaining, but educational also. There are lots of people who have never had the opportunity to see a working dairy farm up close or had the chance to enjoy a day on a farm. This was their chance and folks made the most of it.

Delicious homemade caramel.

The concession stand was a favorite stop after the hayride. That’s when we started hustling to fill orders for kettle corn, chocolate milk, hot spiced apple cider, homemade desserts, burgers, hot dogs, fries and even homemade stew and hot bread on the last two weekends. The farm crew kept things rolling and we were one tired bunch by the end of the day.

It was all good wholesome fun and no time to be dwelling on worries and cares. I call that a very good distraction.

Tip:  Cares weighing you down?
         Find a distraction for a time -
         A very good distraction.

"Come closer so I can give you a big slobbery kiss."

Baby calves are very curious and playful. My niece, their caregiver, calls it a "mighty rumpus" when they frolic about in their barn. Get close and they'll suck on your clothing or fingers. Joyful, friendly creatures.

The "all you can carry" special for pumpkins yielded hilarious results. People were very creative in finding places to tuck pumpkins and very proud to show us just how many they could carry. Lots of smiles!

During the week many school groups came for the farm tour, hayride, corn maze, petting zoo, pumpkin patch and kids zone. Most groups brought their sack lunch and enjoyed a picnic on the grounds with extra time to run and play in a safe environment.

Kid's Zone:

Hay bale maze, gourd checkers, corn hole, no-kick cow, cotton seed play area, "fishing" and plenty of room to run, skip, hop, jump and be a kid!

No Kick Cow