Dear Diary,

Little did I know when I did the blog series on A Kid's Summer On A Farm, that within a few months I'd be living the dream and once again living in the country. Well they call it 'country' around here... even though it's 20 acres at 2600' elevation. It does have a huge barn, potting shed, chicken coop, a combo work shop/garage for the tractor and riding lawnmower (both of which came with the property - how about that!); a separate building that is being made into a music studio; PLUS a small orchard and fenced-in garden with raised beds.The house even has a canning room. (It's been a looong time since I've done any of that and even then it was only Bread and Butter Pickles. Yummy!)

 There's one small caveat to the description above - there are NO farm animals on the property - just wild turkeys and the usual critters like squirrels and funny looking rabbits (not exactly the kind you see at Easter-time); oodles of beautiful birds and, so far, five deer who visit regularly. RobinNestor reported on the critters in her blog that was just posted. She didn't talk about the bears though. I was assured there were no bears around here. The movers who were unpacking us said, "Then how come there's a creek (see photo on right) just down the road named Bear Creek?" I don't go roaming around the property at night; but then I didn't do that in the City either.

The park-like front yard/meadow with built-in lava rock as a landscaping feature is just one of the main attractions for me. The other is the kids at the elementary school that abuts the property line. How cool is that... having a website about kids and living right next door to a school. The best part is watching them during their recesses from the window while I work on my website.

And guess what? Even the deer must know it's a playground, 'cause when I see them over there they are playing Tag. So tell me, Dear Diary, how do they know it's a playground? Haven't seen them on the swings or sliding boards yet - but who knows! I'll keep you posted.
~ KidsGranny