Guests (2011) by Mary
Todd, Nancy, Allison, & Erin, left for a camping trip to Colorado very early Sunday morning, August 7th. We grocery shopped and prepared for guests the next day. Paul & Tillie Franks from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and their daughter-in-law, Heather, and granddaughter, Charis, from the Chicago area, were nearby at a family reunion, and were willing to come out of their way to visit us. We were excited! We don't get many visitors at the farm!
We met the Franks years ago when we attended the same church, and our kids were in the same Christian school. They are a couple to admire! Tillie and I have corresponded the last three years, sharing many interests in gardening, preserving, and preparing. She has been reading our journal, and wanted to see our hobby farm for herself!
They arrived at lunch time and we had a great reunion. Then we gave them the tour. In the late afternoon, they watched as Larry and Josh harvested sweet corn and potatoes for supper. Josh showed Charis how to feed the chickens and gather eggs, and the following morning, she and her mom thought it neat to eat those same eggs.
We had previously made an appointment to tour Shepherd's Mill, in Phillipsburg, KS, which was about an hour's drive away. So after breakfast, we took off across the border for an interesting morning learning about processing all kinds of fiber from beginning to a finished project. Shepherd's Mill is Kansas' only, and the country's most versatile processing facility, and they process fiber from over 40 of the 50 states. http://www.kansasfiber.com Erin had some of Hershey's brown wool being processed there at the time! It was interesting learning how they started their company, and they were all so nice and helpful. Heather is artistic and a knitter, so she really enjoyed the tour, as did all of us.
Afterwards, we had a relaxing lunch at "The Chubby Pickle!" and then parted to leave for our separate homes. What nice people. What an enjoyable time!
Paul & Tillie Franks, daughter-in-law, Heather, and granddaughter, Charis.
 | Pictures: While touring our place, Paul noticed an elderberry bush behind the spring. A real elderberry bush; not a weed! Larry took me down to see it, and then we later showed Todd. We were all so excited to find something edible that we hadn't planted; it just made us happy! Things learned: Paul not only found our elderberry bush, but he knew the names of many of our trees and weeds. |
