Stroll around the farm

This morning I had the pleasure of exercising outside. Normally, I get the kids started on chores and sneak away in my room for an exercise video. But today Andy was wrapping up a consulting report and suggested I take a walk.

Our house is on the "forest" side of our property. The farm land is across the street. I went around the back of the house, down the hills, and into the forest side. Among the woods are a lot of green fields for deer hunting. But we don't grow any produce over here except for a small fruit orchard.

As I left, I waved to the boys who were done with their chores and waiting on school to start. It was 8:00, or was it closer to 9? While many of their friends were starting school, they were jumping on their trampoline. It's a good perk, they say.

Here are a few of the buildings on the property. I call this the Chester house.

As in, Chester the Molester. Seriously, when I read The Room, I imagined the kidnapped girl locked up in a building like this. It's so creepy. But that silver door on the left opens to a huge refrigerated room, which is so useful for our summer produce. And behind the refrigerated room is a huge sink, great for cleaning the veggies. And that really creepy door that used to be red is a big storage room with freezers and picking baskets, as well as my Christmas decorations. Some time I will post the "China" story of how my attic has no steps. It's just a big square in the ceiling, like the door to no where. Except it goes somewhere...the attic! And we can't get in without a ladder. So guess what? It's empty. This creepy building is about a quarter of a mile from our house. I am very glad.

Moving along, this building is an old double wide trailer.
It is beside Chester. A very unfriendly man lived there who really made me uncomfortable. By God's grace, that man was willing to sell his little parcel of land to us and he moved away. And this little building came with the land. So my Dad has stuff in there for he and his buddies when hunting season rolls around. All the hand-me-down furniture in the family is given to my Dad. He can not stand to waste. Any way, his living room has a huge, ornate brass mirror above a pastel sofa that used to be in a beach condo, with an old burgundy plaque with a quote about joy on it hanging beside the mirror. This is just a sample of the unique furnishings he has brought together. My Dad is so easy to please. He could care less. He could afford to tear it all down and build a mansion, but he is perfectly comfortable with it, as is. I love that man!
And lastly, our new barn. I am at the top of a hill looking across the street on to the farm land. This building is brand new. That little house to the right of the barn holds a new well. This baby will pull 15 gallons of water from underground per minute. If you knew the method my husband used last summer to irrigate you would understand why this news is blog worthy. Summer for a farmer with a poor irrigation system in central Alabama=LONG days.

On my way home, the signs of fall around the property were breath taking. I wanted to freeze time. Loved the cool breeze, chirping birds, and beautiful colors. The balmy summer is so palpable here. So much so that the gentleness of fall feels and looks like a miracle to me after the harsh heat! I wanted to chant, "We made it!"

I question whether there was any elevation of my heart rate on this walk. With all these photos, did this walk even qualify as exercise? Oh well, sometimes it is good to actually SEE what I am walking past every day. Carpe diem!