Postcards from Iowa

We have been staying at our oldest son's house in Iowa this past week.  His darling family moved away from us, after being our VA neighbors for more than four years, just after the New Year.  [Cue heartbreaking sobs.]  We hadn’t seen them since we drove out in February, shortly after the birth of their new baby girl.

It’s been wonderful to be here, to see them creating this new life out here: making their homesteading dreams come true on their bucolic four-plus acre lot, complete with a beautiful old farmhouse, huge outbuildings, garden plots, and plenty of grassy pasture areas for the cows they plan to own soon.  We were here for the delivery of their 50 chicks, but we leave in two days so unfortunately we will be gone before the cows come home.  (See what I did there?)

Our son and his Regina plan to grow and raise as much of their own food as they can, and to continue homeschooling their brood--which with the new baby includes five daughters and one son.  We like their survival odds if the dire predictions for the world's future come to pass.

Our boy’s four oldest girls (who are also our four oldest granddaughters) are all voracious readers, doll and animal lovers, and quite talented with a needle and embroidery thread. They seem perfectly suited to an old-fashioned, sweet and simple, Little House on the Prairie sort of life. They’ve got acres of soft green grass to run on and plenty of trees that are perfect for climbing. They will certainly bloom where they’ve been planted.  (As will their brother, who idolizes and terrorizes them in equal measure!).

Anyhoo—

These pictures I’ve snapped this week look like postcards to me.  So hello from Iowa!