The Great Outdoors

One draw to country life is the amount of time the children get to spend outdoors. At our place in Texas, their room to roam was limited. I knew they needed to be outside more, but we simply did not have the space big enough for their imaginations. We tried to work into our schedule a weekly park outing, but even that was not sufficient for the energy of little children.

I have been pleased to see them outside for hours upon hours riding bikes, harvesting the plants in the garden, collecting eggs, chasing chickens that have gotten out, playing with the dog, and making up games at their little fort in the woods. They have given themselves little projects to clean up the walking path in the woods and lined a few more trails with rocks they have found.

The neatest little project is their 'log cabin' in the woods. Using felled limbs, they have made a little fort which is used for all sorts of settings: weddings, battles, and even a funeral for a little chipmunk that lost its battle with the cat.

A cedar tree is the location for a tree house. H and B like to enjoy some reading in their little refuge off the ground.

On school days, they all work hard on studies, finish their chores and are back outside picking up where their pretend world left off. Ironically, these playgrounds of their own creation get much more attention than the pre-made swing set in the yard.

It makes me smile to see them running around outside, soaking up all that vitamin D, burning off some energy, and building memories.

"Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is His reward." Psalm 127:3

Property Search Update

For those who know our plans, you have probably been curious if we have made any progress on our home. We are still looking for the right piece of land.

Randy has made it his full-time assignment. He has diligently scoured the internet for properties, driven to look at them, spoken with owners and met with a real estate agent. We keep tabs on the market to see what may come available.

We know that the Lord has his plan for us and we are learning to find peace during the wait. As you can tell from the other posts, we have been more than busy. There is not a shortage of things to do here in Missouri.

We covet your prayers for guidance and direction in our search and the patience to let Him lead.

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." Proverbs 3:5-6

Autumn in Missouri

Growing up in Texas, I always looked forward to the fall because it meant an end to the stifling hot weather; a time when I actually wanted to be outside. Now that we are in Missouri, the transition to autumn is much more subtle. The temperature gradually grows cooler as the days shorten. Where jackets and sweaters may not be needed until December or January in Texas (if at all), I have already worn each of those many times. (This morning it was 40 degrees outside.) 

The leaves are already starting to change which is another highlight of fall. I can't wait to see the colors the native trees of Missouri will make this year.

The weather and the shorter days invoke a desire for fall foods like apples, pears and pumpkins. Soups and warm apple cider or tea always seem to hit the spot this time of year. We have already prepared our applesauce and ventured a round of pumpkin muffins. Soups are on the menu and a kettle of hot water is always close at hand. A cup of hot chocolate was our dessert the other evening. Quiet walks in the brisk morning air are a special treat.

I know the winter here will be keenly different than Texas, but I am enjoying this season between the hot and cold weather for as long as it will last.

"Nevertheless He left not himself without witness, in that He did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness." Acts 14:17

Every part of the buffalo...or in this case, apple

Now that apple season is upon us, we knew it was time to can applesauce! We ordered a bushel and a half of Honeycrisp apples and set aside half a day to do it.  

In about four hours we turned 60 lbs of apples into 22 quarts of applesauce, 4.5 pints of apple butter, 1.5 quarts of apple juice and left a dozen just for enjoying.

While I have made applesauce before, I had never canned it, so that was a fun learning experience.

On the last box we brought the children in to help juice the apples and observe the canning process. It was great to see their enthusiasm to help and learn. There are many great lessons in the simple act of making applesauce: following instructions, volume measurements (quart, pint, and cup), and the law of thermodynamics (ie, don't put hot applesauce in a cold mason jar - this was a verbal lesson...no demonstration was attempted).

We truly used the entire apple. The peels cooked down with the applesauce and the cores were either eaten by the children or fed to the chickens as a treat. We saved the pulp from the juicing to use in a yummy bread recipe.

Apple season is just another reason I love autumn!

"My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee. Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye." Proverbs 7:1-2



Maclura Pomifera

Commonly called Osage orange, hedge apple, horse apple, or bois d arc (bodark) apple, the maclura pomifera has been a great flora discovery since we arrived in Missouri.

One afternoon on a family walk, I finally asked what these fluorescent green 'fruits' were lying all over the ground. The long list of names listed above were given to these mystery balls. Finally, the elusive bois d arc tree was exposed heavy with these same 'apples'.

I had seen the dog with one and thought it was synthetic by the color, but apparently they turn this color in the fall. We busted one open to discover they did not seem edible or usable, but the dog loved to chew on it until he hit the middle where it seemed to give an off-taste.

At the time of the walk, I did not think much about it other than glad to finally identify a bois d arc tree. A few weeks later, a friend informed us that these malcura pomifera were great for repelling brown recluse spiders! Their home was infested with them when they moved in and once learning this use for the hedge apple, they placed them in the crawl space and in closets and other strategic locations. It cut their brown recluse problem down 90% almost overnight. The nice part is that they do not rot, but instead just dry out. They should last about 6 months and then will need to be replaced.

That was enough for me. The next day I had the children collect some unbruised osage oranges and bring them in. I placed them in strategic locations and have not seen any more brown recluses in those spaces. We saw some when we first moved in and then had a reprieve; however, in the week before the news, we saw a half dozen or more. I plan to collect a few more and place them elsewhere in the house.

Since I seem to have a mild case of arachnophobia, especially of spiders that could potentially cause necrosis, I have been a little worried about brown recluses which are common in the area. Scientific studies have found that extracts of Osage orange do repel several insect species, in some studies just as well as the widely used synthetic insect repellent DEET. Since using synthetic insecticides is not an option for us, it was a relief to find this natural solutiong...literally in the backyard!

I find it amazing how God has provided a solution in His creation. Everything has its place and purpose in God's design.

"And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good." Genesis 1:31a

Silver Dollar City

Yes, this post is a few weeks late, but better late than never, right?

On a gorgeous mid-September day, we loaded up the children and headed to Branson for some fun at Silver Dollar City! For those unfamiliar with it, it's a great theme park with a setting in the mid-1800's in the heart of the Ozarks. It is built around the opening of Marvel Cave - the deepest cave in Missouri. We descended to nearly 500 ft below the surface to the base of the cave. The entire tour consisted of almost 700 steps! I am proud to say all the children made it the whole tour on their own two feet. It was a awesome sight and had an interesting history.

When we first entered the park the children were instantly captivated by a blacksmith working in his forge. By the looks of this guy, he did not just play a blacksmith on television. We sat and watched this man work for twenty minutes, at least. I'm not sure if the children or Randy were more fascinated by this guy's work. If you can imagine, we had to peel them away from the forge to go ride some rides.

The children enjoyed the children's section. M was finally tall enough to ride on most of them with an adult and a few on her own. She rode her first rollercoaster in the front car with Randy. When we made a turn I saw a big smile across her face which only confirmed our suspicions: she is fearless. :) H rode his first adult rollercoaster with Randy....and he loved it! He and I rode the 'ElectroSpin'. Imagine you are on a pendulum and gyroscope at the same time...all I can say is: Don't eat right before going on this ride. H handled it pretty well, but was not disappointed when it stopped. He decided he could wait about ten years before riding it again. He has already planned the rides he will ride the next time we go!  

 

 

A couple of lollygaggers



We interrupted the rides for a picnic lunch while watching the 'Sumptin Mo Stunt Show'. It was a perfect 'lunch' theater. The mellodrama was set in the old west with some pretty amazing stunts. The boys were getting into the shoot out scenes ready to jump in if more hands were needed rescuing the Mayor's daughter.

  

We ended our day with a train ride, but this was no ordinary train ride. I won't give it away, but needless to say everyone one enjoyed it...well, everyone except M who passed out about about the first 60 seconds. She was plum tuckered out.

The boys with cast from Sumptin Mo Stunt Show

It was a full day, but everyone had a great time. The weather was beautiful, we rode a lot of rides, toured the cave, saw the stunt show, and still left with things yet to do. I think it is safe to say we all look forward to our next adventure out to Silver Dollar City!