MEGA Farm post

I wasn't lying. This is probably the most picture and text laden post ever. :) And there would be more, except that at the end of the first day my camera decided to freak me out and break its mirror off. I cried. I told Chris that it was like seeing your child with their arm bent backwards and up. Askew. Thank goodness, I found a great repair shop in Santa Cruz and they fixed it in a day. :-)

This chicken decided to lay her eggs and sit on them right in the middle of a big field. No shade. No protection. Just her and her eggs. I think my Uncle Rob or Grandpa Farmer put an old chair over her to protect her from the sun and random grandchildren. :) Uncle Rob said that he was using the tractor right next to her but she never moved. Brave chicken.

My Grandparent's have this gorgeous fig tree (I hate figs, but think the trees are beautiful) in front of their pool.

Swimming with Aunt B.

Eating grapes and one of Big Duck's fingers... :)

Relaxing.

What I love most of the Farm is that there are all of these random treasures in random nooks and crannies. Books on a shelf. No big deal. But books on a shelf that are old, worn and loved with beautiful paper? Treasure. :)

Pomegranates are quintessential Farm. They remind me of Fall, Thanksgiving and stained fingers and clothing. :)

The Farmhouse and the Barn all have this old river stone at the bottom. I've always loved it. There is something so substantial and strong about river stones. I love how smooth and contoured they are.

Abundance of fresh produce

During Thanksgiving you can always hear the clank of horseshoes and guys laughing and talking. I'm not sure how long these have been around for, but ever since I can remember. As children we were always cautioned to stand back and not go past the rickety gate where the horseshoes were at. Because if you got clocked in the head with a horseshoe... well, your prospects weren't good at survival. :)

The Hollow.

So many happy memories. We would spend hours and days down here making mud pies, digging in the sand, playing. We would steal grapes from the grapevines surrounding the Hollow to adorn cakes and cookies we made from the fine dust that is the Farm's dirt. I love how protected it is, the trees create this canopy with the leaves and branches trailing down until they almost touch the ground.

Old things within the Hollow...

Old telephone

Part of a table

A rusty child's size chair

These are the stairs going down to the Hollow. I remember being very little and sitting on the top stair and covering the word FORD with dirt and then wiping it away like an archaeologist to reveal the word Ford.

Ah, the washroom off the front of the house! I remember this sink and its cross knob well. Like all good children, we had to wash our hands at the start of every meal. But try to cram 32 grand kids into a teeny washroom the size of a closet with a teeny sink. This thing has seen alot of wear and tear. :)

There are things at the Farm that have always just been there, that no one really pays much attention too, but if they were gone you'd miss. The light switch plates are one of them. Yes, I know you are staring at me like I've gone utterly bonkers, but seriously! They have had these hammered copper light switch plates for as long as I can remember. I'd miss them if they weren't there. :)

Wooden pig bread boards run rampant in the Olson family. :) Those and grape vine wreaths. :)

I always love to peruse the fridge at the Farm. It is always covered with tidbits (announcements, letters, pictures) from all of the family. I find out who got married, had a baby, graduated, got married and everything else from the fridge.

Ah, this bed! So many good good memories of curling up on the bed during the hot days of summer. The mattress would be covered in bits of dirt and dust from the previous napper and smell like sunscreen and that Farm smell, but there was no place comfier. You could draw those shutters closed for some more darkness, and then you'd just sink into sleep. Even when it was 102 degrees outside, inside it would be cool and comfortable.

More Farm fresh produce :)

I LOVE the way the Farm is decorated. I love the mirror, the little red frame, and the corner sink. I love the corner sink. I want a corner sink!

Just outside the bathroom to the left is a wall covered in kitchen utensils. Again, its been there as long as I can remember. I remember standing outside, waiting for my turn in the bathroom, clenching, holding, and trying to distract myself from having to pee by inspecting the various instruments. A lot of the stuff I had no clue what it did, some looked more like instruments of torture than something to mash potatoes or separate egg whites with, but they were always interesting. :)

The wood burning fireplace. More memories of everyone crammed into the big room after Thanksgiving, staying warm, eating turkey and cranberry sandwiches or turkey soup, chatting, playing games, and toasting ourselves by the fire. Which always had a kettle of water boiling on top of it to keep our sinuses from getting too dry. :) I remember the oddest things. :)

I love how old fashioned things are. And how beautiful. Why are old fashioned things so pretty?

Another thing I love are the notes tucked everywhere. Little notes of love, encouragement, and humor are everywhere. I love that they weren't thrown away but stuck somewhere to be treasured.

I quite honestly don't know what this little picture is, but its been in the kitchen for as long as I can remember. I think that the little guy is sorta creepy. But its part of the Farm now that its been there so long. :)

Used to be one of my favorite things about the Farm. As long as I can remember, this bottom drawer has been for the toddler set. Little unbreakable cups, toys, spoons, measuring cups, and bowls were put here. So when the adults were cooking, the drawer would be opened and the babies could play on the floor. I have to admit that this past weekend, at the ripe ol' age of 26, I rummaged through it to see if my favorite cup was still there. And would you believe it, in the very back, there was a beat up white tin cup with little painted flowers, now hardly visible. Couldn't believe it. :)

Door knobs.

The Farm's door knobs are all worn from being turned all the time and by so many. There really isn't a place I've ever been that welcomes people so fully. The Farm and the Farm People welcome everyone, no matter what. No matter who you are, what you are, where you come from, you are welcome. A million people must have walked through the front door, and turned the old fashioned, worn knob.

I'm not sure if they still use it, but I remember cranking this to grind the coffee. Fun. :)

The vernable Bug Zapper!! I remember a hot summer evening, all of the kids were sleeping in sleeping bags on the lawn. The bug zapper was on. We whispered, and giggled as it lit up and buzzed as unfortunate bugs zoomed into it. We watched as a family of toady frogs set up residence below it for the night as a shower of food fell from the sky for them.

Hollyhocks. The Farm state flower. :)

Like I said, there are so many treasures tucked into places. Here are some details I grabbed just while walking around.

My Uncle Rob is a cactus afficenado. I've never been that into cactuses, basically because I thought there was only one or two varities, but I love love love the collection of cacti that he has given to my grandpa. So much in fact that I had to take pictures of each of them. They are all so individual and sweet and cunning and cool. I want my very own cacti garden!

Swimming in a bucket!

The chandiler in the living room. This is the room where my family would usually sleep when we visited the Farm.

My grandma's collection of glass pitchers

This couch has been there forever. I remember stealing pillows off of it to sleep on during an afternoon nap if the bed in the main room was taken. :)

The chicken coop. :)

Somewhere behind it, buried below the sand are probably five glass "time capsules" that my sisters and I and our cousins dug and placed years ago.

The garage.

The outhouse. Of which I am still rather scared of. Someone told a story of someone who got bitten by a snake in an outhouse when I was very young. Don't remember if it was THIS outhouse or another, but I still don't go in here unless I have too. There also was a story of a chicken who fell down the hole. Had to be rescued. Poor Grandpa Farmer. :)

The Barn.

So much merriment and laughter and love.

The Farm house. SO many good memories.

The stairs coming down from the Barn. So steep. Sorta scary. :) I remember spending a lot of time standing on these waiting in the food line for Thanksgiving.

Upstairs in the Barn.

My sisters and the Cluff cousins underneath the grape canopy out by the pool.

A nekid Lia playing with a turtle in the pool. :) In the buff.

Cousin Eva.

There is this cool mister that is looped up through the grapevine canopy that mists you as you are sitting out there. So wonderful when its hot outside. :)

The fragrance of allysum reminds me of the Farm. It always does and forever will. It borders the pool, and I remember sitting on the river stone edge and smelling that sweet, elusive fragrance.

The turtle Lia loved and played with in the pool.

River rocks bordering the pool. Slippery when wet! :)

"Uncle Jane" was the hit of the weekend. David and Lia loved her so so much. Davy adored her for her motorboat game. He would throw himself towards her with no regards to the fact that he couldn't swim. :) And Lia somehow got confused and began calling her Uncle Jane. Oh well. I think its going to stick. :)

How incredible is this? These are what my mom has been making. I still can't believe how talented and original my mom is. When ever I have a spare moment I'm going to set up an etsy shop for her so that everyone can see how incredible she is. I LOVE these. And I've never ever seen anything like it before.
In this day and age, something that is original should be treasured.

The famous boot.

The Farm sand. The very best consistency for making mud pies.

The fire ants. ouch.

Grape vines have surrounded the Farm forever. Except for a few years which I am conveniently forgetting where they were mercilessly ripped up for sweet potatoes. Thankfully that horrific period of history is now past. :)

Cousin Emma singing Wicked

Cousin Molly

My gorgeous little sister Mia

Singing. Love the wooden stakes doubling as music holders. :)