Old McDonald Had A Farm...

"Old McDonald Had a Farm... Eee Eye, Eee Eye OHHH!"

Last Sunday we visited a "living museum" -- a working farm, styled after farms in the late 1800's. This farm is very complete, with a large red barn, ice house (with ice blocks pulled from the river), beehives, orchard and of course cows, pigs, sheep and horses. All the people working are in period costume. The farm house is set up with as much original furniture as possible so we were able to imagine what it would be like to live in our county, about 100 years ago. Truly it is amazing how far technology has advanced in just 2 or 3 generations, compared to the eons of human history before that.

The best and most fun part of our visit was the picnic we had under a tree! And... the price of admission: FREE! (it's part of the county's park district).

Here's a few pictures.

The farm house. The landscaping was gorgeous -- a beautiful selection of shady perennials around the house with sunny perennials in the back.

This smokehouse is the oldest building on the property, dated from the 1840's. It is still used... You can open the door and sniff the hickory/smoky aroma!

As for this weekend Nana is visiting us during her last weekend before starting her new job on Monday. We have been busy having fun in the 85+ degree heat. Steve is working his "duty officer" weekend so he's missing out on some of the fun. Luckily Nana is here to help keep Rosemary and Elliott quite happy!