Living in the comforts of modern day suburbia, life can become detached from reality. We take our weekly run to the grocery store to purchase much needed essentials… milk, eggs, meat and cheese. We pull them down from refrigerated shelves giving practically no thought to how they got there in the first place. Then, we take these items home to prepare meals for our family, wasting a large percentage along the way. Yes it’s true, it seems out convenient society has practically promised to make us forget where our food actually comes from.
A few days ago we took a family trip to our local farm, a field trip hosted by his toddler program. We spent the day filling our lungs with fresh air and basking in glorious sunshine… and let’t not forget sniffing the nostalgic scents of hay, fertile soil and animal poop!
Speaking of hay, our day began with Dutch conquering a large stack of hay bales.
As he carefully climbed all the way to the top, I caught a beautiful butterfly out of the corner of my eye. She proceeded to dance around me, almost begging to be photographed. I followed her around for a few minutes until she finally took a rest, allowing me to capture the intricate details of her wingspan.
We then took a tractor ride around the farm, singing “Old McDonald” all the way. My parents joined us on this trip. Dutch was so happy to have all his favorite people around that day.
The tractor delivered us to the back of the farm where we proceeded to fill carton after carton with freshly picked strawberries, eating a few (OK… A LOT!) along the way.
With full bellies, we rode back to the entrance of the farm, anticipating a visit with the farm animals. But first, we stopped to change Dutchy’s clothes. I remember wondering if any of those strawberries actually made it in his mouth. From the looks of him, it seemed his clothes absorbed more juice than he did!
We visited the goats first. Dutch successfully mimicked them shouting, “Maaaa, Maaaa!” Eventually we moved on to feed the pigs, birds and bunnies.
After scrubbing our hands clean and snapping a quick family photo, our day at the farm had come to an end. We left with 5 cartons of fresh strawberries, happy hearts and memories to last a lifetime!
This wasn’t our first trip to the farm and it definitely won’t be our last. Picking fresh foods, feeding livestock and playing in dirt have become favorite activities for Dutch. This rural experience teaches our children the efforts behind the foods we consume. And it teaches us as parents to conserve. In fact, my husband and I recently started a compost bin in our backyard in efforts to cut down on our food waste. Eventually it will be converted into rich, fertile soil for gardening. I look forward to sharing our composting experience in the near future.
But first, what to make with 5 cartons of sweet, juicy strawberries? Check back with us later to see! 🍓
Creatively Yours,
Lindsay ❤️
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Letters To Dutch 
Growing up in farm country I am lucky to see firsthand. One huge thing that really struck my heart was seeing Dutch on the hay. We remember Grandpa Haynes and Uncle Dutchy as preachers. But they were first farmers, and booming, hauling hay. Wonderful memories. 💙💙
My Dad mentioned about grandpa Dutchy hauling hay in his early years. That is not easy work! My Dad was very nostalgic on this visit. 😊☀️