The Slide Continues
Time is just slipping away faster and faster, it seems. The retail settings have changed color to black and orange, even if the leaves haven't started yet. I've never seemed to get back into my stride since I took my little hiatus. It is my conviction to change that. I used to post twice a week. I'd like to get back to that. I'm trying.
This weekend found us at the Homesteader's Days at our local museum here in town. It's the substantial building in the background in this photo. It used to be a mansion back when our little town was established as a railroad stop on the trans-con. It's kind of got that "Gone with the Wind" vibe minus the slavery, the cotton and the war. Once a year they host sort of a day retrospective.
People bring out their old farm equipment and cars, now restored to pristine condition. There's a blacksmith, quilters, and a man who demonstrates making brooms by hand. There's even a man who rides around on one of those bicycles with the really huge front wheel and really small back wheel. We were there to see my dad.
He does historic re-enactment--sort of a living history thing. He's done a lot of American History periods--Mountain Man, Civil War, Lewis and Clark and other military of that period (and even Scottish Highland just for fun). It's pretty impressive. He makes everything from his clothes to the guns. He even gets so authentic that he'll eat squirrel for lunch when he's at a demo where they'll let him start a fire (which he lights with a flint and steel).
These historic functions really like him because most other people doing this historic stuff generally are real good at demonstrating it, but not so good talking to the spectators. So generally it's just a watch-and-see kind of event. But Dad will engage the crowd and talk to them for as long as they'll listen to him. And he's good at it. You'll look over and he's always got people around him, listening, laughing and interacting.
But it was all over when the kids caught sight of the ponies.
We had bumped into a friend who we went to school with that was in town from Maine. We wandered over to the horse ride with her because her nieces and nephews were riding. By the time their ride was over, Lemur and Bear were begging us for a turn. As we were figuring out if we had the cash and our friend was generously covering for our shortfall, we looked around to try and see where the Lemur was. There was no question in his mind---he had already found a horse and mounted it.
And boy was he cool riding around. I don't think he's ever seen John Wayne or a John Wayne movie, but he reached down deep inside of himself somewhere and found his inner Duke, and put it on like a long dusty slicker. While he rode he was all alone on the open prairie. The civilized world couldn't touch him. Till his 5 minutes were up, of course. That darn ticking clock gets the best of us.
The Bear was just as tickled as could be. We had to leave after his ride was over because his screams of desperation to be put back on were disturbing the other guests. After consideration, though, we thought a college education was more important than an afternoon of pony heaven. Those things ain't cheap, y'all.
However, our day wasn't to be without more adventure on the homestead. More on that later.
This weekend found us at the Homesteader's Days at our local museum here in town. It's the substantial building in the background in this photo. It used to be a mansion back when our little town was established as a railroad stop on the trans-con. It's kind of got that "Gone with the Wind" vibe minus the slavery, the cotton and the war. Once a year they host sort of a day retrospective.
People bring out their old farm equipment and cars, now restored to pristine condition. There's a blacksmith, quilters, and a man who demonstrates making brooms by hand. There's even a man who rides around on one of those bicycles with the really huge front wheel and really small back wheel. We were there to see my dad.
He does historic re-enactment--sort of a living history thing. He's done a lot of American History periods--Mountain Man, Civil War, Lewis and Clark and other military of that period (and even Scottish Highland just for fun). It's pretty impressive. He makes everything from his clothes to the guns. He even gets so authentic that he'll eat squirrel for lunch when he's at a demo where they'll let him start a fire (which he lights with a flint and steel).
These historic functions really like him because most other people doing this historic stuff generally are real good at demonstrating it, but not so good talking to the spectators. So generally it's just a watch-and-see kind of event. But Dad will engage the crowd and talk to them for as long as they'll listen to him. And he's good at it. You'll look over and he's always got people around him, listening, laughing and interacting.
But it was all over when the kids caught sight of the ponies.
We had bumped into a friend who we went to school with that was in town from Maine. We wandered over to the horse ride with her because her nieces and nephews were riding. By the time their ride was over, Lemur and Bear were begging us for a turn. As we were figuring out if we had the cash and our friend was generously covering for our shortfall, we looked around to try and see where the Lemur was. There was no question in his mind---he had already found a horse and mounted it.
And boy was he cool riding around. I don't think he's ever seen John Wayne or a John Wayne movie, but he reached down deep inside of himself somewhere and found his inner Duke, and put it on like a long dusty slicker. While he rode he was all alone on the open prairie. The civilized world couldn't touch him. Till his 5 minutes were up, of course. That darn ticking clock gets the best of us.
The Bear was just as tickled as could be. We had to leave after his ride was over because his screams of desperation to be put back on were disturbing the other guests. After consideration, though, we thought a college education was more important than an afternoon of pony heaven. Those things ain't cheap, y'all.
However, our day wasn't to be without more adventure on the homestead. More on that later.
posted by Will at 1:38 PM
2 Comments:
Okaaaaay...don't quite know what to make of that other comment... As for your Dad eating squirrel...eeeewwww. :) But the rest of it sounds very cool and it looks like the boys had fun riding.
HEY ... I had a squirrel for a pet for about 10 years (a red squirrel), so you can imagine how the thought of your dad eating squirrel made me feel. Eeewwww.
Great pictures of the boys ... what a highlight that must have been for them!
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