Down on the Farm

Last weekend we took a trip home.  It was a wonderful trip down memory lane….  We went mushroom hunting, played in the river (I got scream at for that one), and even saw my cousin Larry with the Super Banana.

Growing up on a farm as foods came in season we ate those foods EVERY meal until they weren’t in season anymore! Morel mushrooms were one of those seasons.  (Sweet Corn is another that has turned me into a corn snob… forget that out of season stuff you get at the grocery store).   Morels are only available a few weeks each year, can’t be grown commercially, and everyone guards their spot.  My Aunt Linda used to have me drive her to her spot long before I got my license so that I could drop her off and pick her up later.  You would hate to leave any evidence of where your favorite spot is!  Mushrooms tend to grow in sunny spots where decaying old trees are coming up.  This year I managed to catch a frog too.  Konnor also tried to track a deer down, he followed the tracks through the woods.  I remember my dad showing me years ago which tracks are female and which are male (I don’t remember anymore which are which), it’s amazing how you can tell from the tracks.

Out in the woods I was reminded of all the times we would try to walk across logs (on ravines)  – I still am amazed that my brother and I never broke a bone in our childhood.  We would head out in the woods just to walk.  Across streams, through brambles, and with no particular destination in mind.

After mushroom hunting on the way home, I stopped and hopped in the river.  It was really cold – but what a memory.  It brought back memories of walking in the river, canoeing, and looking for shells.  My mother was concerned about all the trash (broken glass, needles, and everything else) that has now ended up in the river….  The river water did feel really good after walking around in the woods while it was hot out!

Finally after getting home my cousin Larry Wayne showed up.  He had his dad’s tractor the Super Banana with. My Uncle Lloyde used to take that tractor all over to tractor pulls and my dad would make us attend whenever they were at the local fair.  The tractor was loud!  They hook the tractor to a sled and you see who can pull the sled the farthest down the track.  My Uncle had ended up in the Hall of Fame for Tractor Pulls with his tractor, and that’s where Larry picked it up.  The tractor had been put away in the late 70s and yet it was still running!  It has 4 Hemi engines and was surprisingly no where near as loud as I remember from my childhood.

I also remember my dad challenging Uncle Lloyd to a tractor pull with his farm tractor.  My dad still claims he would have won if my cousins hadn’t hooked the sled to the farm tractor’s axle!

On a side note, Larry has the same birthday as me!  10 years before I was born, Larry was born on the same day.  Then Larry’s first daughter was born on his 30th birthday, and my 20th birthday!  Same day!  Our birthday is a popular day in our family.

Mom has also added a little fish pond that Konnor enjoyed feeding the fish.  Growing up our fish pond was huge and my dad had dug it with a big farm tractor, but the little one is nice for Konnor.  – My dad would move the pond when he felt like it, and have it stocked with bass and catfish.  There may still be catfish in the last one he dug.  They originally were trained to come up to the surface when he walked out to the pond – then he would feed them dog food.  It’s amazing to think that you can train a catfish to come to the vibration of footsteps!

We took a lot of pictures and everyone was exhausted by the end of the day!