Pioneer Farms

We spent this past Saturday volunteering at the Pioneer Farms in Austin. I was so excited to have this family day out in the sunshine, away from phones and computers.

The site we hosted today was a one-room homesteading cabin in a clearing of the woods. It's removed from the village and the other farms, so it's very quiet and relatively isolated.  I really enjoyed learning the history behind the structure and the details of daily life.

Unluckily, my camera was left behind in the van, so all I have from the day are mental snapshots. I tried to soak up the images and create memories of my favorite moments. Here are some of the things I took away from the day:

Sarah was very eager to show visitors how to wash clothing on a washboard in a metal tub of water using homemade soap. She did such a great job teaching the children how to do it. She'd run inside the cabin and fetch more clothing to clean whenever she spied visitors coming down the dirt road. She also fetched the cast-iron iron from the back of the cabin and showed them how to press the clothing. This is such a difference from her usually introverted personality. It was fun to watch her blossom!

Daniel observed Sarah washing the clothes and tried (very eagerly) to apply what he learned. He ran in the cabin and fetched a dirty tin plate. He excitedly rubbed it with soap and dutifully began rubbing the plate against the washboard! We all had a hearty laugh. This snapshot I hope to always remember.

Matthew really loved carding cotton. We had a basket full of cotton pods and we'd pluck out the seeds and comb the cotton. Matthew kept one of his carded sheets of cotton to add to his 'nature' collection at home.

I loved watching Matthew and Daniel play marbles on the wooden cabin floor.

I loved watching Matthew and Daniel play with wooden blocks on the cabin porch, spelling words and building walls.

Sarah loved playing with the wooden plates, tin cups, crockery jugs, and cast iron pots to make pretend food out of water, leaves, and fireplace ashes. She also  loved washing the dishes when I explained the ashes and water are caustic when they are mixed, and shouldn't be placed in wooden containers.

I enjoyed walking through the quiet woods behind the cabin with our children, listening to the birds above us and the wind in the trees. We did a hunt for different blossoms and enjoyed looking at God's beautiful creations.

Daniel loves playing with sticks, so he was very excited to find a ready supply of sticks on the ground anywhere he went. He performed enthusiastic sword fights with the support beams that held up the porch roof. He was winning until Daddy intervened and launched the wooden sword to the woodpile.

We had no running water on our homestead site, so the boys carried a large metal pot with me as we walked through the woods to the Tonkawa Indian camp, where there was running water in a supplies shed. We filled the pot and carried it back, discussing the blessing we have of sinks and showers in our real modern-day  home. It was a blessing to be reminded of the things that bless our daily lives.

Nathan gathered the children under a grove of trees and taught them how to whittle. The children all scoured the woods for perfect sticks to whittle.  I loved the image of them sitting in a circle on the grass learning something new together. I could hear them laughing and talking from my perch in the rocking chair on the porch. This was one of my favorite mental snapshots. Matthew kept his whittled stick to add to his treasures at home.

I loved watching our children run along the dirt roads, Sarah's braids dancing in the air and  the boys laughing as they raced each other.

I love period clothing, so just the image of everyone wearing old fashioned clothes made my heart sing. I think men are immeasurably more attractive when they look like a real gentleman. Nathan looked great in his costume. It was also so fun to see Sarah in a 1860's dress with pantaloons, apron, bonnet, and black boots. I loved it!

On our way out of the village, we stopped at the store and let the children have 50 cents to spend. The boys picked candy sticks and Sarah picked a collection of pretty marbles.

Next Saturday Nathan is working as an apprentice in the blacksmith shop, and we're excited about that. I am determined to remember my camera so I can capture these moments better. We are hoping to go to the farm every Saturday. We'll see how this new adventure goes.