The Wilder Homestead!

Our trip to the Wilder Homestead was years in the making or I should say years in our vision before we actually made the journey. We have adored all things Little House with our children for many years and Farmer Boy is definitely one of our favorites! For our kids it's special because, of course, Almanzo grew up in rural northern NY State much like they do. Although we live in upstate NY, Malone is still many hours away north of the Adirondack Mountains. And, as you might imagine, not much else is around. So, we had in mind to take our tent camping on the road and we needed to get better at camping before driving so far to do it! This was our year! It was with great excitement that we set out on a blistering hot day near the Canadian border to see the boyhood home of Almanzo Wilder, the setting for Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

The trip definitely exceeded our expectations and was the high light of the vacation- thank goodness! The property is very well kept and without a doubt our tour guide made our day! We were on tour for well over an hour with a man from AZ who comes to Malone in the summer to work at the homestead. He's been to all the Laura sites and assured us this is the best one of them all. So...if you've been thinking about hitting Malone on your Little House pilgrimage, don't hesitate! In addition to the well kept home, grounds, and barns, you'll find a shelter with picnic tables and bathrooms. They are also in the midst of building a one room school house like that of Hard Scrabble School. I'm sure it will be a fine addition to the homestead experience.

How can you not love this book? One of the things that I love most about the Little House books is that although it was written about a pioneer family living long ago, the stories Laura shares illustrate that human nature is just the same. Whether it's Laura and Mary fighting over wood chips, Almanzo's mother fussing over his eating, or Laura leaving a bit of her skirt out to spook the horses while Nellie Olson rides with she and Almanzo- it strikes a chord because you can see the same things happening today!

Mother's garden is there in the background- hers would have been much bigger.

Trying out the pump house...this is where Almanzo and Royal would get water for the stock.

Our tour guide Jim led us around for over an hour telling us everything he had learned about the Wilders and Laura and her husband. It was a fantastic tour for a nominal fee. We could not take pictures inside any of the buildings, but we could take as many as we liked outdoors and so I did!

"He stood in the snow and looked at the calves, and they stared innocently at him. He wondered how to teach them what "Giddap!" meant. There wasn't any way to tell them. But he must find some way to tell them: "When I say, 'Giddap!' you must walk straight ahead." 


Almanzo thought a while, and then he left the calves and went to the cows' feed box, and filled his pockets with carrots. He came back and stood as far in the front of the calves as he could, holding the rope in his left hand. He put his right hand into the pocket of his barn jumper. Then he shouted, "Giddap!" and he showed Star and Bright a carrot in his hand.


They came eagerly."

Mother's lilac bush- lilacs live to be over 200 years old and Jim our tour guide told us this one could very well be her bush!

"Almanzo yelled for Royal. They chased Lucy all around the house, under the snowball bushes and the lilacs. They chased her all over the garden. Lucy whirled and dodged and ducked and ran like anything. All the time she didn't make a sound; she couldn't. Her mouth was full of candy."

The barns are exactly as described in Farmer Boy- when they went to rebuild them (the originals were burned in a fire) archaeologists found the original foundations of the barns and at 80+ years old Almanzo in describing it to Laura was only one foot off!

"Almanzo went first into the Horse-Barn. It faced the house, and it was one hundred feet long. The horses' row of box-stalls was in the middle; at one end was the calves' shed, and beyond it the snug henhouse; at the other end was the Buggy-House. It was so large that two buggies and the sleigh could be driven into it, with plenty of room to unhitch the horses. The horses went from it into their stalls, without going out again into the cold.


The Big Barn began at the west end of the Horse-Barn, and made the west side of the barnyard. In the Big Barn's middle was the Big-Barn Floor. Great doors opened onto it from the meadows, to let loaded hay-wagons in. On one side was the great hay-bay, fifty feet long and twenty feet wide, crammed full of hay to the peak of the roof far overhead."

Our guide had us all line up- almost ten or more of us around the base of that Elm tree and we could not meet around.

"There were three long, enormous barns, around three sides of the square barnyard. All together, they were the finest barns in all that country." 

"The roof of the tall red-painted house was rounded with snow, and from all the eaves hung a fringe of great icicles. The front of the house was dark, but a sled-track went to the big barns and a path had been shoveled to the side door, and candle-light shone in the kitchen windows."

We had a tour of the entire house but the basement- which is still whitewashed. The steps are stout enough to go to the second floor and see the children's rooms and the attic where the loom and Father's workshop was- we even got to see the little door where Almanzo would have climbed the ladder to enter the workshop from the woodshed in the house.

Their rooms were fairly large up in the second floor and you could try out the bed and learn what "sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite" meant.

On the main floor, we visited the kitchen and pantry- the pantry was huge with a place where a well had been dug. When they renovated and shored up the foundation, they found the old well. Unfortunately, in order to make the foundation strongest, they chose not to leave the well accessible.

Are you ready for the best part? When we went into the parlor, we were shown the sick room- also the room where all the Wilder children were born. The stove went through the wall between the dining room and the parlor. But you know the same question was on everyone's mind...where had the stove blacking hit the wall? Jim the Tour Guide told us that until last August they could not answer that question. However, he visits a historical society which gave him permission to see the renovations of the Wilder home and guess what we could see in the picture? The place where there was a black stain on the lathe and plaster under the wall paper! Now we know for sure where Almazno chucked that blacking brush at her! I'll let you all find out for yourselves.

Our guide was really great with the kids and the stories and made sure to hit all the high points of the book. You can tell this is a love near and dear to his heart and we were the recipients of his great enthusiasm- definitely a God ordained moment for our family!

"The sun was rising, and all the eastern slopes of the snowdrifts were rosy in its light, when Almanzo snuggled under the fur robes between Father and Royal in the big bobsled, and they set out to the pond on Trout River."

The Trout River- to get to the part where they would dig ice out, you have to go upstream a ways to where it widens out.

"The cannons sat on their haunches, pointing their long barrels upward. The band kept on playing. Two men kept shouting, "Stand back! Stand back!" and other men were pouring black powder into the cannons' muzzles and pushing it down with wads of cloth on long rods."

"The Square was not really squre. The railroad made it three-cornered. But everybody called it the Square, anyway. It was fenced, and grass grew there. Benches stood in rows on the grass, and people were filing between the benches and sitting down as they did in church. "

Do you recognize this building? If you look in the illustration above you will see it. Garth Williams, you rocked it!

We passed right by the Franklin County Fair Grounds before I realized it and missed getting a picture. But, there it was, not long before we came to the Square. I can just imagine the Wilder Family following the same path we did to attend the Franklin County Fair and earn all those ribbons for the jams, jellies,and of course, the milk-fed pumpkin!

One question has always plagued me about the Wilders: If the farm was as successful as it sounds in this book, why did they leave for Spring Valley, MN? We have a lot of books about Laura and her family, but none of them addressed this issue. Well, I have my answer!

I was really surprised to see that the soil on the farm was sandy. It was VERY sandy! So, Father managed to have a successful farm on the land, but it was very hard work to make that soil so productive. Some of Mother's family had move out to Minnesota and found the soil to be very rich and easy for farming. Over some years, they finally convinced Father to move his family out there. They were back and forth for a while and finally moved on completely. He was also very prosperous in Spring Valley, but I won't tell you the end of the story.

Our kids love this series of books and have read them over and over along with all those books about the books and we still learned new things and it was a fabulous field trip.

I bought a few postcards for our scrapbook, but then I grabbed a CD that caught my eye. A Tribute to Charles "Pa" Ingalls was made by Bruce Hoffman who is actually playing on Pa's fiddle! The CD is excellent and features the songs Laura talks about in her books. It brings an extra smile to our faces knowing that the fiddle we are hearing is the same one Pa played for Laura! My kids adore this CD so it's been getting a lot of playing time and has now found it's way to our mp3 files and their individual players.

I'm looking forward to getting all moved in to our new home next weekend and just as soon as my new "Secret Lair" is put together in its new spot, I'm going to start a new photo album with just these set of pictures. I can hardly wait!

Cornell Lab of O & a Special Visitor!

Yesterday we had a chance to visit the Cornell Lab of Ornithology for the second time in a few days. This time it was to host a special blogging friend and her family.

The under story in Sapsucker Woods is particularly green right now. We had a great walk.

We saw some trillium and R11 and our Special Guest had a lot of conversation over wildflowers.

Heather and Barb (and J6)!

I have to tell all of you how delightful it was to meet Barb along with her husband and two boys. We had a fabulous time walking through Sapsucker Woods and identifying bunches of birds and would you believe that as we were watching a chipmunk and a small toad, the chipmunk ate the toad? Just jumped out of a tree hole and grabbed it!

Barb had not been to a forest in our area so she learned some new things on Monday. I'm so excited she took the time to contact me and it was a privilege to have a chance to go on a nature walk with Barb!

Barb it was fantastic! Let's sit over lunch again sometime! This time I want to see some sequoias!

Charlotte's Web

Over the last month we've been revisiting and old family favorite read aloud- Charlotte's Web. We've all been sharing it either by me reading to the kids or by J6 reading to all of us. Nothing like the sweet sound of a young, confident reader to fill a homeschool mama's heart! This was the book that really helped J6 to love chapter books being read to him. We had some read aloud dates with just him and I and from that time on, he's loved it. But for the last month we've been participating in the big Community Read of Charlotte's Web. A local reading organization which helps equip families to make great readers (through various programs like free books at birth and well visits along with the first day of Kindergarten- they were featured in the latest edition of Jim Trelease's The Read Aloud Handbook) sponsored the read. They did a fantastic job making it a fun thing to be a part of. There were webs all over town- yes all four word webs were depicted. We found two and I think the third is in our grocery store and I keep forgetting to look up at our check out and snap a shot!

The first web was spotted along the fence at the high school.

You couldn't miss these signs everywhere and free books were given to every county 4th grader at least- we scored a free copy as a homeschooling family as well. If you missed a shot at the free copy, they are for sale for just $3 in a bunch of places around town.

His manuscript was partially typed and partially handwritten.

He studied spiders intently and sketched it on his first page. He wanted Charlotte to be just right. We'll be studying Garth Williams as our artist of the month in April and it turns out that EB White hand picked Mr. Williams for the job.

 One of the highlights for us was going to the library to see the display of EB White's work. White was a 1921 graduate of Cornell University and the original manuscripts are held in the archives on campus. These pictures show copies of the original which were on display. It was really something to see his penmanship and then all the work he did on his drafts. There for us to see were a bunch of drafts of the first chapter and how he got from "there was a pig born in a barn" to "Hey Pa, where are you going with that ax?" Such great stuff!

We found Humble at the county library.

The month culminated with a stage production of Charlotte's Web at a historic theater. We were able to get free tickets for the family and enjoyed a lovely little show on Sunday afternoon. E13 is on our local 4H Fair Board and he was helping to hand out flyers about this summer's county fair. "Excuse me, did you know Fern was a 4Her showing Wilbur off at the fair? I'm a 4Her too and we'd love to see you at the Fair. If you hold on to this coupon, you can play a free game!" The county 4H program had a cute display on pigs. Of course.

Homeschool Bowling

At our last session of Thursday bowling yesterday the kids learned about the phenomenon known as Rock-n-Bowl...

We do bowling on a university campus during a PE class for the students. Turns out the instructor promised them a rock-n-bowl for their last day of classes! Here J6 watches his ball slowly move down the lane.

A good time was had by all and I'd say E13 has improved his game this fall. R11 is looking for better bowling times in the future without a broken arm. Scoring is old school at this alley so this counts as math too!

Pumpkin Patch & Cornell Plantations

Last Monday we went on a field trip to the farm for a hayride and a pumpkin from the patch. On the way to our homeschool co-op in the afternoon, we decided to stop by the Cornell Plantations because we had extra time after eating our lunch. We had such a great time, the kids wanted to stop on the way home after co-op as well. Here's a picture tour of our fun day.

The patch...a view from the hay wagon on our way by. Remember- you are never too old for a hayride!

R11 found some pumpkin blossoms in the patch and politely asked the farmer if she could pick it for her flower pressing class that afternoon. She was allowed to pick it and it is pressing very nicely.

The visitor's center was closed on Columbus Day...or maybe they are always closed on Mondays?

I made sure to point out any laurel to J6 who encountered some mountain laurel while rowing Down, Down the Mountain (yup...there's a post coming eventually!)

OK Handbook of Nature Study fans...who do you think Comstock Knoll is named after? The author of our beloved nature study text was the first female faculty member at Cornell.

Thought some folks were enjoying a contemplative atmosphere, my kids were trotting through the gardens- taking it all in, of course.

Some areas had these information bearing books nearby where you could learn about the flowers and their cultural references.

Every garden needs a sundial! What time did I snap this photo?

I reminded R11, just in case. No flower picking for pressing here!

On the way home we visited the arboretum portion of the plantations- my personal favorite.

We witnessed a lot of goose on duck bullying and the kids really enjoyed just staying put and watching for a long while. That was cool. The day was gorgeous- 70 and sunny. Just lovely.

Ah autumn...easily my favorite season of the year. Especially on a day like this one.

We kept hearing a bell being rung in the distance and we couldn't figure out its origin until we toured the rest of the arboretum in the van. We found the bell. And let me say that just after this picture was taken I nearly went deaf. I9 hit it as hard as he could and none of us were prepared for the result! The hammer reminded me of the one in The Magician's Nephew.

A view from the top

I don't know what's taken me so long to visit the plantations, but we will make a regular visit routine for sure. I've heard it is really nice to go weekly in the spring to see everything coming out. I will look forward to that!

Autumn in NY is well underway and we are past the leaf color peak at this point. It's starting to look a lot like November and before long the snow will begin to fly! Last year our first snow was on Halloween. That is a little more than a week away.

In the meantime, we'll choose some seasonal art projects to do and share them when they are finished. Since this was a spontaneous trip that day, we weren't prepared entirely for sketching. So, stay tuned!

Fashionista Fun!

Back in early spring, I had the opportunity to take R11 to several university fashion shows. Not sure why I'm so late in sharing this with you all, but here we are! Through alumni resources we were invited to a reception before the Cornell show which we gladly took advantage of. Our sewing pal Mrs. R treated us to a lovely evening with a formal reception and the fashion show. The reception was attended mostly by parents of the students in the program, faculty, and other folks who paid- obviously alumni were invited. So, we say thank you to Dan, who is an alum of Cornell's graduate school!

R11 had already been thinking about Cornell's program in textiles- Fiber Science and Apparel Design...now she is planning her senior show! She would love to design clothing.

We were able to get a tshirt for R11 which she is about to refashion into a dress- seeing as the tshirt is very big on her.

They had a great packaged deal on the shirts and bags...and there was this bonus little bag she carries everywhere. Just made from a jeans pant leg. We are so going to make our own! CDL is the old name- Cornell Design League.

Syracuse sent me posters to advertise the show- who could refuse? This now displays on R11's closet door. Photo credit: R11...who needs to back off on account of the flash.

I can honestly say we had a great time at both shows! I'm more LLBean than fashionista, but it was really fun to see all the designs. Some of these girls are really talented. There were a few collections done by seniors at Cornell that were really amazing! It was fun to see the fabrics and how the designers chose to put them together. I think my favorite was an evening gown collection. Cornell was unique because they had male designers and models and a Pendleton Wool collection. I did chuckle about artsy type folks though...

Syracuse was a matinee show which we attended with other school groups. A few things to note about this fashion show. It was more modest than the Cornell show (and fashion shows in general are a great lead off for discussions on modesty- just in case this wasn't already apparent to you!). The colors were very monochromatic among the collections in stark contrast to the Cornell show. I saw more that I liked at the Cornell. However, there was one young woman who had an amazing collection. Each outfit (and she had maybe 8) could be worn two ways. The model would come out to the end of the runway and back one way and another model was waiting at the back of the runway and she would help rearrange the outfit. Then the same model would walk with the new arrangement. The most thrilling thing for me was that the second outfit was just as stunning as the first. Wow!

One last thought on attending a matinee designed for school groups. Let me just say I really only put our school name down as a folly. Then when I picked up the tickets and she asked if we were ___ ____ I thought- oh she is just confirming my address. Yeah...so we go in and find a quiet corner in an auditorium full of high school girls. All sitting by school. So, the announcer comes out and says, "You know what it's time for!" "I'm going to call out your school name and you are going to make all the noise you can!" (room erupts into wild shouting and screaming and clapping and stomping and I begin to think "uh-oh") Announcer then says, "We're going to start with ____ _____!" So, the three of us...R11, our sewing pal Mrs. R, and I make as much noise as we can. Ok...I'll be real with you. I wooted as loudly as I could and clapped, while R11 clapped and probably thought was it going ON? And Mrs. R, in a very dignified manner clapped and cheered me on.

That is the last time I put my school name on a dotted line.

I'm just sayin'.

I also think I need a new school name. Leave a comment below with ideas. And just in case I do go back to Syracuse University to respond to a shout out, I can't have any Care Bear type names. I need something bold and catchy, but slightly intellectual and not too stiff.

It's your turn. Help me out with a new school name!

Just One More Kids!

Overlook that is... On Monday when we viewed those falls, we also hit some overlooks and a museum all about William Pryor Letchworth and Mary Jemison. We saw trees planted 142 years before and other stands of trees planted at various times. We had ice cream. We had fun. It was miserably hot, but we carried on. Finally, we had to give up. But, we remained undaunted and hit the rest of the overlooks on the way out of the park when we packed out a day early!

There was face painting and game playing and more face painting...which I have to warn you all is not such clean affair when sweat is pouring off of you!

I9 was well equipped with his binoculars and his compass. Love a boy with a compass!

The Odyssey...carrying everything and almost everyone and some bikes.

That's a Saturn Coupe carrying all the food supply (including three coolers!) and some bikes.

Question: Have you ever seen a rabbit haul like that? I mean that rabbit is cookin'...check out his ears flying in the wind. Apparently, he's being chased by a snake.

Sure it looks different here kids...can't you see it?

By the third overlook the kids had decided to stay in the cars. So, Dan and I got out and Dan looks over the edge and shouts, "This is AMAZING!" which brought out the two younger boys. When we got back to the van R11 says, "It was just another overlook and I and J fell for it!" She was also famous for saying, "It's just another gorge. It doesn't matter how many waterfalls it has!" Let me just say that we are no stranger to gorges here!

I have one more special post to share and I need a great picture for it. Stay tuned!