Brothers, Sister, and Brothers

This is the time of year when the fun really starts around here.  Adventures are had.  Memories are made.  And most of our hours can be spent outside in nature. 


Combine kids, a farm, nature, and a few pups and you have the recipe for a fun-filled weekend!  


Saturday, our littles spent the day on the farm with us.  It was a perfect sunny day - still a little cool... a perfect sweatshirt day!  Above is our littlest, perched on a bracket fungi.

We visited the animals,


did chores, 


 and had some make-believe time on the pirate ship,


We took the dogs for a walk to the stream to see what treasures we might find along the way.  First stop was the pond to see the big koi.  While there, Forrest became interested in something towards the back of the pond.  Curious as to what he was investigating, the kids also went over to take a look.


"It's a snake!!!" they cried.


Sure enough, Forrest and this guy were facing each other - the snake poised, ready to strike should Forrest get too close.  No worries, we told Forrest to "leave it" and continued on our way.

Our nature walk to the stream was filled with all sorts of discoveries.
Fungi - big,


and small - 


and even one we had never seen before - a veiny cup fungus (poisonous).


It's fun to explore nature with children - they have such enthusiasm.  Especially for creatures like frogs and snakes and bugs.  One of them found this red insect that looked like a tiny red strawberry with red legs.


The stream is so lovely at this time of year!


It's the beginning of wildflower season.  Dandelions and violets are plentiful.
Also, common periwinkle...


tiny spring beauties...


 trout lilies,


 and Virginia bluebells...


With so many hands tossing sticks, Forrest had a blast running through the stream retrieving them!  He was one tired puppy by the end of the day... and fresh and clean from all of his swims.


Sunday was cloudy and much cooler, but perfect for a much overdue "brothers" play date.  Even after several months, these two (Forrest and his brother Oakley) recognized each other immediately.  They took off, chasing each other and wrestling just like they had in the past.


They are the perfect match for each other, as they both love rough-housing.


A quick treat break...


Can you tell who is who?  Forrest is on the left.


Both boys love chasing sticks - and didn't mind sharing a big one.  It is amazing how much alike these two boys are - both in appearance and behaviors.  They are such sweet boys.  It makes me so happy that these brothers can also be life-long friends.  What fun lives they both get to live!

Comments

Is always fun times when there are littles about!
I think there are slight differences in the faced of Oakley and Forrest.
Do you ever make dandelion or violet jelly? We didn't get enough dandelions here for me to make any this year. No wild violets. That is something I miss about our last place. They grew profusely there.
Ann said…
That bright red creature is a type of giant velvet mite.
https://bugguide.net/node/view/91255/bgimage
jaz@octoberfarm said…
when i first started reading your post this morning, i thought that was you hugging the tree. i might need new glasses. but, it wasn't a far stretch!
Such a fun weekend for you and a fun way to start my week reading about it! Thanks for sharing!! We are a bit behind you in the blooming spring department but the spring birds a singing up a storm! We also are enjoying watching the goldfinches change from dull winter garb to bright yellow spring coats! We have a finch feeder outside our kitchen window and the goldfinches and pine siskins are loving the niger seed. The sunflower feeder has many cardinals, nuthatches, house and purple finches and of course chickadees! Spring is a glorious time of year!!
Anonymous said…
What kind of snake was that? Is it something that you need to be worried about if Forrest gets bitten?
This N That said…
The farm is a great place for the Littles.... Lots of memories for every body. It was a beautiful weekend. They are getting so big. That snake! What kind was it? Black snake??I'm glad Forrest didn't decide to play with it.
Huge Fungi!
Wonderful pictures.. Beautiful wildflowers..
Glad the "brothers" got together!
Have a fun week. Hugs
The flowers by the stream are just gorgeous. I loved seeing those. Didn't like seeing that snake...he looked so big and ominous. Ugh. So glad everybody had a fun time this past weekend at your place....including Forrest's brother.
THE BEARDED ONE said…
IT IS SURE EXTRA APECIAL WHEN LITTLE CHILDREN ARE INVOLVED...WE ATE W/OUR SON AND DAUGHTER IN LAW AND THEIR TWO KIDS...BROWNNIE IS ABOUT 3 YEARS OLD AND THE BVABY BOY IS BOUT 6 MONTHS OLD,,,SHE IS FULL OF LIFE...I KNOW YOU FOLKS HAVE A GREAT TIME W/YOUR GRANCHILDREN...THESE TOW ARE GREAT GRAND CHILDREN ARE SURE SPECIAL...THANK YO FOR YOUR GREAT KNOWLEDGE AND YOUR PERFECT WORDS TO DESCIBE WHAT IS HAPPINY IN TH EPICS,,,THANK YOU AND HAVE A SUPER FINE WEEK !!!!!!