Ropp Road Roundup - Part 2!

On the same day that we went to Ropp Cheese Farm, we went down the road (they are both located on Ropp Road, hence the name of the round-up!) to Radar Family Farms. Like I said in the last post, we had heard that they had changed it since we had last been out, but we didn't really know what to expect. Part of why we hadn't gone back out was that when we last went out in 2008, it was free, but now they charged admission. Well, once we got there, I understood why they charged admission. Since we were last there, they have added a much larger pumpkin patch, and a retail store, and lots of things for the kids to climb on/jump on/slide on, etc.

Here are some of the pictures from the rest of our day:

A quick photo before we went in

Flower doing some practice roping

Here is what she is was trying to rope. Jelly Bean is pointing them out to her.

Jelly Bean was slightly more successful.

Then the two of them tried it together to see if that helped. It didn't, but I had to take a picture of them cooperating. :)

The huge tube slide

My kids were too big for this ride, but I thought it was so cute that I took a picture of it. The corn bins are in the background.

Flower waiting at the top of the tube slide.

The kids spent the longest time in the corn bins. Here is Flower in one.

Super being buried in the corn.

The girls together again in the corn bin.

Super jumping on the hay bales.

Flower at the top of the hay castle.

I love this picture. Flower mid-jump on the jumping pillow.

And Super mid-jump.

We had a good day at both Ropp Farm and Radar Farm. We are looking forward to next year's Ropp Road Round-up. Maybe we will even try the corn maze next year!

The Ropp Road Roundup - Part 1

We live very close to two local farms - The Ropp Jersey Cheese Farm produces fine quality cheese. When you visit the farm, you can see (and pet!) the our pure bred prize winning Jersey calves. You can see the cheese slicing room with viewing windows, and also purchase all kinds of cheese products at the store. We have visited the Ropp farm before, a few times actually over the years, and I blogged here back in 2008 when we visited for the first time.

The other farm is Radar Family Farms. Radar Family Farms is also a working farm and they concentrate on sweet corn and pumpkins. However, they have also started in the past few years adding other attractions, in part to expose more children to agriculture. We went out to Radar Farms a few years ago (and again, I blogged about it here), but we were unprepared for how MUCH it had changed in just 3 years. In some ways, it was great, and the kids really had a fabulous time. But on the way home, the kids and I talked about how we missed the more simple Radar Farms too.

Anyway, the first weekend in October, Ropp Farm and Radar Family Farm have extra special activities, and this year, we decided to go. We had a GREAT time.

We went to Ropp Farm first. (The next blog post will be about our visit to Radar, so stay tuned!)

When we first got out of the car, the kids took a quick jog through the straw maze.

Then Flower posed with Mr. Scarecrow

Then Jelly Bean posed with Mr. Scarecrow. (And yes, that is Flower down in the bottom corner of the picture.)

She was getting ready for this shot.

All three posing with Mr. Scarecrow.

Some sisterly love

The White Oak Wind Farm is just across the street from Ropp Farm, and we took a hayrack ride out to tour the wind turbines.

From right below one of the wind turbines.

After the tour of the wind farm, we went back to the farm. It was also back to the straw maze, but this time, they weren't just walking THROUGH it. Super jumped up on top . . .

And then it was Super and Jelly Bean.

And then it was Flower, Jelly Bean, and Super!

After that, the kids went into the barn to feed the cows. Here is Flower feeding a cow.

A shot of both girls feeding cows.

There was a sleepy cat in the barn too.

In the next barn, we saw a turkey.

And a VERY pregnant goat. (She was due that day!)

There was a llama in that barn too. Here is Jelly Bean feeding the llama.

Then we went outside to feed the calves by bottle.

We had so much fun! Thank you to everyone at Ropp Farm!!!

Next up, Radar Family Farms!

How to get happiness - according to Laura

(Taken from "Favors the Small Farm Home" in Laura Ingalls Wilder: A Family Collection. This was Laura's first published article, originally written as an address to a local farmer's club meeting. On this occasion, though, she was too busy to give the speech herself, and so she sent the text along for someone else to read. The editor of the Missouri Ruralist was in the audience, and liked what he heard. He decided to publish the article, and got in touch with Laura. And so her life as a writer began.)

"There is a movement in the United States today, wide-spread, and very far reaching its consequences. People are seeking after a freer, healthier, happier life. They are tired of the noise and dirt, bad air and crowds of the cities and are turning longing eyes toward the green slopes, wooded hills, pure running water and health-giving breezes of the country.

A great many of those people are discouraged by the amount of capital required to buy a farm and hesitate at the thought of undertaking a new business. But there is no need to buy a large farm. A small farm will bring in a good living with less work and worry and the business is not hard to learn . . . I am an advocate of the small farm and I want to tell you how an ideal home can be made on, and a good living made from, five acres of land.

Whenever a woman's homemaking is spoken of, the man in the case is presupposed and the woman's home-making is expected to consist in keeping the house clean and serving good meals on time, etc. In short, that all her home-making should be inside the house. It takes more than the inside of the house to make a pleasant home and women are capable of making the whole home, outside and in, if necessary. She can do so to perfection on a five-acre farm by hiring some of the outside work done. However, our ideal home should be made by a man and woman together. First I want to say that a five-acre farm is large enough for the support of a family. [A] great part of the living can be made on that size farm from poultry or fruit or a combination of poultry, fruit and dairy.

It used to be that the woman on a farm was isolated and behind the times. Now rural delivery brings us our daily papers . . . The telephone gives us connection with the outside world at all times . . . Circulating libraries are scattered through the rural districts . . . The interurban trolley lines being built throughout the country will make it increasingly easy for us to run into town for an afternoon's shopping or any other pleasure.

Yes, indeed, things have changed in the country and we have the advantages of city life if we care to take them. Besides we have what it is impossible for the woman in the city to have. We have a whole five acres for our backyard and all outdoors for our conservatory, filled not only with beautiful flowers, but with grand old trees as well, with running water and beautiful birds, with sunshine and fresh air and all wild, free beautiful things.

The children, instead of playing with other children in some street or alley can go make friends with the birds, on their nests in the bushes, as my little girl used to do. This little farm home is a delightful place for friends to come for afternoon tea under the trees."

I would so love a little five-acre farm home. It is my goal. I'm hoping to have one in the next five years. I hope that all of my friends will come out and have some of the eggs, fruit, and milk from the Simple Farm and spend some afternoons under the trees. Until then, I'll try and find ways to be as self-reliant as we can, and get out in nature as often as we can, and be as happy as I can here in the city.