On our last day at the ranch, we all got one more ride.
While Adam and I were galloping through pine forests and hiking up to a flat rock overlook of the whole valley and snowcapped peaks beyond, the boys got to spend a few last hours playing with my parents.
They climbed rocks and played in the fire pit.
Then we headed out for the fairly short drive home - a drive that took us right past Harvestival, the fall festival at our CSA farm.
It was fun to see where our veggies come from, and we ate lunch and listened to the live music. The boys were still hungry after their hot dogs, and I thought they needed something fresh, so I went searching for more food and came back with an entire farm-grown watermelon. It was $1 per slice or three for the whole thing - easy choice.
While we all enjoyed the watermelon, the music stopped and an absolutely fascinating woman took the stage. The two-day entertainment is a mix of music and lectures, and once she started talking, I didn't miss the music. She is a CSU professor named Temple Grandin, an autistic woman who has an incredible understanding of animal behavior and who was actually on the Time Magazine list of the world's 100 most influential people. She has the kind of presence that makes you stop what you're doing and just listen; she is funny, engaging, very intelligent, and fascinating. I had no idea how well-known she is until I looked her up later. We were lucky to be at Harvestival at just that moment.
Isaac was less interested...and he wanted a second hot dog instead of watermelon. Isaac can put away two hot dogs as fast as most of us eat one. Our little vegetarian, in spite of his distaste for meat dishes, sure loves these three animal-derived products: hot dogs, good salami and of course bacon.
However, the watermelon was pretty yummy - it's usually one of his favorite things - and the six of us managed to finish the whole thing.
Our last stop was the pumpkin patch, which was just a field of pumpkins brought from elsewhere on the farm.
Each boy found a favorite, but we only got one for free with our membership.
So we brought it back in the stroller and headed home.
On the way to the car, we passed the chicken buses. The farm's many, many chickens roost here at night and scratch around for bugs all day. When they've finished fertilizing and de-bugging one field of crops, the farm workers move the buses to the next. If you're familiar with Virginia farmer Joel Salatin - you won't be surprised that he is a hero of our CSA farmers. No pesticides or fertilizer needed.
After a quick rest at home, we all met at a great neighborhood restaurant to celebrate my dad's birthday dinner. He picked Root Down, a veggie-centric place in a trendy, refashioned garage, perched on a hill with wide, beautiful views of the Denver skyline. It was a wonderful dinner with good wine, good food, a perfect evening temperature and a beautiful patio table where we could watch the skyscrapers light up as the light faded. Happy 60th to my amazing dad. And thanks for dinner (:
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