Ingles Farm

I love adventure and going new places, so I was rather excited that we'd be going over to the Ingles Farm here in Virginia! The farm, also known as Ingles Ferry, is a great example of what life was like back in the 18th century. We got there on a Sunday morning just before they opened, the air was still cool and no one else was there touring the farm except us!

Me wearing wooden shoes, imagine walking in these!

It was a very educational experience and yet very enjoyable, we learned about different weapons and tools used in the 18th century, about how people would have lived and survived, also about the clothes they wore and what kind of food someone would have eaten. Joshua was especially interested in learning about how to make bullets, and was very happy to see their example of how to shoot a gun.

We learned about Carding Wool and using a Spinning Wheel, something I'm already familiar with, My mother uses a droop spindle and we card wool all the time! I enjoyed petting the Hog Island Sheep, they felt like a sweater!

•  Ingles Farm Hog Island Sheep, they are a breed of sheep descended from animals first brought to Virginia's Hog Island in the 1700s. During the 1930s and 1940s, storm conditions forced the island's residents to evacuate, leaving some sheep behind. These sheep adapted to the environment free of human intervention, becoming feral.

 
A lovely lady sat us down, and she told us the story of Mary Draper Ingles, about her being captured by the Shawnee Indians and the tale of her escape, it's a very interesting tale, I could imagine going through something like that! Click here to read more about Mary Draper Ingles

Flax Flowers, just before harvesting

 

 

 

 

• Flax is grown both for its seeds and for its fiber. Various parts of the plant have been used to make fabric, dye, paper, medicines, fishing nets, hair gels,cloths,ropes,high quality paper and soap. Flax seed is the source of linseed oil, which is used as an edible oil, as a nutritional supplement, and as an ingredient in many wood finishing products.

After which we learned about Flax, and I got to help in the process of making flax! In the end, this will become a piece of clothing, or can also be used as flax seed (something we eat in our house!) and many other things. It was such a wonderful day, and we all learned so many new things. It's interesting how things from the 18th are not all too different from what we use today.

Ingles Farm

A mother's birthday

July 3rd is my mother's birthday, and on her birthday dad actually had to work and we had sign language class, stopped at the library, and spent the day at the park. So unfortunately the party-ing had to wait until the day after. It was an educational trip to the park, we learned about how this town became what it is today, also learned and spoke about World War I and some of this areas history.

Also, they had cool canons at the park! Who doesn't love old war objects? Joshua has always been interested in this subject, he can go on and on for ages about World War I and II, talking all about life back in that time, what all the weapons they used, places they went, he can even describe to you what clothes they wore, and tell you all about their techniques and tactics. That boy amazes me sometimes!

 A hug? What a rare occurrence, I have no idea where this came from! Joshua never gives hugs!

 After taking a look at the little fountain here, we spotted some ducks. A great way to learn about something is to see it there in person, Joshua and I watched the ducks for a long time and noticed many things about them, such as how ducks the interact with one another, what they eat, how they live, and so on.

 Playing a game of volley ball!

Berry picking

Not only does the campground we're staying at for the summer have two apple trees, a plum tree, AND a peach tree, this area is surrounded by black berry bushes! I walked down the road a bit, and there is almost even hundreds of black berry bushes. I spent almost all morning out there, I don't think there is any black berries left because I done picked so many! We decided to put the many bags of berries I picked in the freeze, a camper doesn't have much room I thought it would be best to freeze them all, so in the next coming months I can eat them in smoothies, salads, or even make some jam! My mouth waters just thinking about it...

Storms and power outage

Heatwave, humidity, storms, lightning, thunder, rain, winds, destruction... what a way to start the summer!

It all started on June twenty ninth- Mom and I had just gotten home from attending an event at the state park, when dad announces that "Bad storms are coming" I knew it was going to rain that night, but I didn't realize how bad it would then become. Everyone in the campground started to put their awnings up, I was standing outside when the clouds became black as night, and then the wind started. A wind that was said to be 60-80mph, and I defiantly believe it. The cool breeze was refreshing from the days humidity, but it was so strong I felt as if I'd be lifted off the ground. The trees started dancing in the wind, you could feel the camper shaking and rocking back and forth. I honestly have never seen a wind like this in my life! Tornadoes of dust swirled around in the air, taking rocks and other objects around and around with the dust. My aunt said that her neighbor "had just gotten home when the storm hit" getting out of their vehicle and putting her little three year old daughter on the ground "when the wind literally picked her up, she started flying away!" she had to grab her by the arms, luckily the girl is OK. I could never imagine being picked up by the wind like that.

A tree limb fell right on top of a camper, destroying their awning and creating a large hole in the roof of their camper. Dad went out there with a flashlight, despite the strong winds, many other people went out to join him. After the wind had died down a bit, you could see many flashlights shining in the dark, going all which ways checking out the damage in the campground. By morning many of the people had left and gone home, except for us few that live here. There was four-five generators all running at once, it was so very noisy outside, plus the the fact the temperature was a hundred and ten degrees outside and one hundred percent humidity, it felt miserable. Along the road many huge trees were knocked down in the storm, for almost four days we had no electricity or power. Luckily our motor home as a battery, and we also have a built in generator. Though it still meant no showers or water for awhile!

 

The next day we all pitched in to started cleaning up parts of all fallen trees and branches, no one was hurt here though four campers had branches/trees come down on them. In the area, it was estimated an entire two million people without power, they were opening cooling shelters for people in need. Luckily we've had our power back on for a few days now, though the heat is still tremendously hot, and many people are still without power. People in the stores were fighting over lanterns, bottled water, and water jugs, you could tell they were getting desperate! I am thankful that we are blessed to have cool air conditioning and water.

Sign Language Class

We are part of a homeschool group here in Virginia, and one of the moms is actually studying to become a sign language interpreter, and she has offered her skills and knowledge to us homeschool kids. Once a week all of us meet up for our class, currently there have only been two classes (this coming week being the third)

I have to say, I've never been to a class this fun in my life! Our teachers name is Tina, and her teaching style is just brilliant. We all sit in a circle on the floor, each kid/teen having their own note book with the days lesson plan. Honestly though, it's not what you would call 'text book learning' because we all learn how we want to. My philosophy is that kids learn the best when the subject is introduced to them in a 'fun' way. Smiling, laughing, and enjoying themselves while learning will allow the person to look back on this experience and think fondly of it, and especially since they had fun- it's more easier to remember what you've learned. For example, Joshua and I were working on some math problems, instead of doing the boring math pages that you often dread, I'd say things like "There are 58 people, but 17 of those people were bitten in a Zombie Apocalypse, how many are still human?" Joshua likes zombies and he thought the question was funny, so he was more willing to learn and figure the problem out. In the future when doing other math problems, he can relate it to a fun experience he had and now enjoys doing math.

The class is fun and creative, it feels as if you are willing to learn and it's fun to find out more. We've also played games and have done other activities in the class which is also rather enjoyable too. Joshua didn't even want to attend the Sign Language Class at first, but after watching us all laughing, he wanted to join in. Only nine kids attended the first class, but then the following week it was at least thirteen to fourteen children and teenagers.

I have learned so much already, we've even started having conversations (with our hands!) it's a fun concept.

Libraries and Parks

I love books, so it's only natural for me to love the library! Our family makes a stop to the library at least twice a week, and currently since it is summer the library has their Summer Reading Program! I love going and doing crafts, so far I've made Dream Catchers, Dream Journals and Dream Paintings (the theme this year is 'night') They also have many other events, such as their animal programs- this month we've learned about Owls and Bats!
 

After stopping at the library, we enjoy checking out several of the local parks, one of which is actually on the river! I love going and finding clam shells, toads, snails, and even fish (if you can spot them!) There is also many trails you can go and walk, Joshua and I enjoy riding our bikes and making new discoveries by the water.