the second day of camp

The second day of Grandma Camp starts early, ends late and has a speed of about 1000 orbits per hour running through it. It was not intended this way, but things had to be adjusted to meet the moment. So forgive me if my post is brief and half literate! 

I have an early start to the morning, because daylight comes early to the farmette, waking a little guest, and confusing her about the wake-up hour. Besides, the bug people arrive early to correctly spray some "natural" stuff to deter the newcomers -- mosquitoes who didn't get the message the first time around.

As long as two of us are up (Ed sleeps through it all), we may as well have breakfast. Outside, of course.

Now is the time to clean up the lilies and take stock of the flower beds, in a relatively mosquito free environment.

(two lilies with frogs and one without)

My visitor plays, listening to music.

And quickly enough it is time to pick up the cousins from Shakespeare camp. 

We eat a very quick lunch at Barrique's.

We have a 1 pm appointment at Hinchley Dairy Farm. This is a wonderful place, about 25 minutes east of Madison. They devote time to give tours of the farm to families. There are milking cows. There are pregnant cows. There are calfs. A few months old, and a few days old. And there are pigs, goats, turkeys, ducks and geese. And lots of cats. Lots. 

We take a tractor ride and are given an explanation of the cow feeding process -- the growing, harvest, storage of corn and hay. The digestion. And then the impregnating process. The birthing process. The milking process. Finally we see it all. Well, not the impregnation and birthing!

It's all extremely mechanized... Robot controlled in fact.

But here's the part I looked forward to: we also get to milk a cow. I dont remember ever doing this before. And now I have. All four of us have.

Another new adventure for me -- having two calves suck my fingers. Delightful!

 

(just days old)

Of course, there were, too, the other animals to admire. Including barn cats. Lots and lots of barn cats.

There was a second family along for the demonstration and observation and participation. When it came time to collect eggs though, I held back my threesome: you can do this at the farmette! Let the others get a thrill of reaching for eggs! And indeed, back at the farmette, all three went out with Ed to collect eggs.

(affection)

 

 

And climb trees. 

And prepare for the next art project which we will start tomorrow or the next day.

The plan was for Primrose to visit her cousins in their home tonight and indeed sleep over there. Unfortunately, little Sandpiper came home from school sick and so the only way the big three could have a sleepover was to do it at the farmhouse. My downtime is suddenly switched to a slumber party here. All three, packed in the little room upstairs. 

I had no special foods prepared for them. Time to order a pizza! And watch a movie. And I am so hoping for an early bedtime but that's just not likely given the level of excitement here right now. 

It was a full day!

with so much love... 

Family Sunday

It is the pinnacle of the peaks: (in chronological order) maximum lily count ever (986 this morning! I wanted to reach 1000, because, well, why not! But the lilies are as they are. I could not find 14 more to snip!)...

 

 

  

And maximum family love. All here, at the farmhouse, for brunch. Total bliss.

(The arrival of the Chicago kids -- both plow their way along the super secret path.)

 

 

 

 

 

I did one of my easy peasy meals: Madison Sourdough has the croissants, breads, and pastries.

 

 

 

I have the peaches, turkey, smoked salmon, local blueberries, and of course -- farmette eggs. 

The big three love closing themselves off in the art room. The little ones are still tied to the toys in the playroom. Everyone is content. Just the way I like it!

Shortly after the noon hour, all parents depart, taking with them the two littlest ones. But wait, the kids are feeling playful...

 

 

 

And there is a group photo to take. (Thank you Ed.)

 

And now I'm with the older threesome and the official summer 2025 Grandma Camp begins.

We start with cleaning up the toys left behind by the little ones. And then I launch one of my two projects for 2025, gratis guidance and suggestions given to me by crafts person extraordinaire, my friend Barbara. We do Mod Podge tissue cut outs, over glasses hiding battery candles. 

One fantastic aspect of this is that it allows for many mistakes and tears and irregularities. Perfect for us.

 

Next -- swimming at the big kids' neighborhood pool.

And finally, dinner at their local eatery -- Longtable. Grilled cheese, mac and cheese -- all fun stuff.

One more activity for this first day: a movie for Primrose and me, back at the farmhouse now. But I'm pushing it timewise. We stop in mid scene so that I could point her toward her bed already.

Camp ends with lights out. For Primrose, not for me. I exhale, on the couch, with Ed. But not for long. I have a very early morning tomorrow. I need to be ready for it! Day two of camp begins at sunrise for me. I am so hoping that the lily count will drop, but if not, I'm there for them. And for the kids. With July strength to meet the moment. 

and so much love... 

the buzz in the air

You think I'm once again referring to mosquitoes, don't you? Well yes, there were those. We had a lot of rain once more and this is very pleasing to those mozzies. But I'm thinking of another type of buzz -- there is a lot going on today and it began very early and lasted pretty much the whole day. And it just got better and better. It went sort of like this:

I'm snipping lilies. It is tough going today because everything is so wet. I'm drenched, my pickings are especially slimy. But, the flower beds do look good and I am grateful for that.

I nudge Ed to do what he promised to do weeks ago -- find a replacement for our couch cover (it has tears in it). I have guests tomorrow and I'd like the couch to look good. And he found one he likes: instead of the soft organic cotton throws we've been using (they wear out ever so quickly!) he found something akin to burlap. We spend the rest of the morning discussing the pros (according to him) and cons (many, according to me) of sitting on burlap,

I get a call, too, from my friend in Poland who has been helping me find a place to host a dinner this summer. One place closed, another is cavernous and weird. A third may work but it requires my initiating a conversation with the managers. Okay, I'm on it! Sort of. This is when I remember I'm supposed to be getting tickets for a movie this afternoon for the kids and a few grownups. Okay, I'm on it! Eventually. And this is when I get an email from Delta that on a forthcoming trip, I've been rebooked to a connection that has a 37 minute layover in an extra stop airport. There is no way that I would ever choose that kind of a connection. I must call them. Ah. Wait time to reach a rep? 1 hour and 16 minutes. Great, I can finish doing the laundry and settle a cat fight. This is when my last much delayed lilies are set to arrive. Just six, but they will need to go in. I'm NOT on it. I'm somewhere in between cleaning the bathroom and washing up breakfast dishes. Yes, there was breakfast. On the porch. It went by ever so quickly, what with our discussion of burlap and all.

And now I see that it is time for me to leave for a lunch meet-up on the Union Terrace with this group from Chicago!

Of course, this is the fabulous part. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Without Snowdrop this afternoon because she is over in Illinois, picking out a hamster. Not for her, thank goodness. She's assisting a friend. The remaining four? Happy as clams to be up on a Union chair again.

 

 

 

(ice cream for the youngest two) 

 

 

Lunch isn't really leisurely because, well, I did book an afternoon movie for three kids and three adults. 

And in the evening, all of us, including Ed, go out to Sardine. Such a family place it has become! So many important events and insignificant but still lovely dinners we have had here! 

Equally lovely are the minutes after dinner. We walk down to the edge of the lake and the evening colors are just right, and the lake waters feel to refreshingly wet!

 

 

Oh, these kids! So good to and for each other, so good for us big guys too...

 

 

True, I do feel like I've mashed the throttle today. The trick will be to stay cool, focused, but also calm in the days ahead. I'm on it! I think.

with so much love...