Expedition

Kansas Dad and I decided we needed to talk a walk around the property - to try to get some enjoyment to temper the frustration of trying to fix the house. (I'm sure you'll hear more about that later.) We probably only covered about half the property since so much of it is too overgrown for hiking with kids in tow (a carrier each and one boy on his own). So we didn't get to see the creek today.

Just for Brandy, I took lots of pictures. (Ok, I took them for everyone.)

Our property is shaped a bit like an arrowhead. This is our driveway on the left and our land goes all the way to the highway on the right.


It's hard to tell in the picture below, but our land goes all the way to the car on the highway, just crossing the "bridge" over our creek.


Below is our lovely "4+ car garage" which is really a half-built outbuilding of questionable structural integrity. We found the rest of the pieces later on our walk. (Who does that sort of thing on their own land?)


Kansas Dad is already planning the tree house for the tree below. It has some perfect branches. We think First Son will be ready to help build (and enjoy) a tree house pretty soon, so we're hoping to tackle at least the first phase next summer or fall.


Below you can see the trenches where the owner dragged out the two cars Kansas Dad found rusting on the property earlier. They are among the things we've discovered missing since we moved in (along with the wires on the clotheslines and some ductwork under the house).


First Daughter loved the backpack. I'm predicting she'll ask to ride in it every day from now on (which I know is true because I'm actually writing and posting these on the 24th).


Here's a little "hollow". The grasses and wildflowers you see growing here are all probably as tall as Kansas Dad.


First Son actually kept asking to go back home while we were walking, until we started talking about climbing trees. Then he spent the rest of the walk trying to climb every tree he could find, most of which were so surrounded by overgrowth he couldn't even get to them. We're going to have to clear some out for him soon.


A huge old tree we think might be on our land. (It's hard to tell away from the house. We'll have someone come in to survey it before we start doing anything with the wooded areas. At this rate, it'll be a year of so before we have time for that.)


Finally, the ubiquitous spiders. I have a fear of spiders. When I was pregnant with First Son, I woke Kansas Dad nearly every night with nightmares of spiders landing on my head, great big ones just like this (ok, bigger). Out here on our farm, though, it's easy to see them as friends, eating up all those bugs that eat our plants. As long as they stay outside (and these big orb weavers only come inside if we catch their webs and carry them in ourselves), we're on good terms.


We also have about a zillion grasshoppers, but I couldn't get a decent picture of one. If you know us in real life and want to see more pictures, let me know and I'll send a link to a Snapfish photo album...just as soon as I get these uploaded, of course.