My sister and her family grow carrots, onions, hay, and cherries on 1500 acres of farm land in Washington state. I love to go spend a week with them during the summer... preferably over the 4th of July since they always have a fun celebration there. For someone like me who likes to take photographs, it's a "target rich environment" with plenty of things to shoot at! Here are my favorite pictures from my 2006 Washington vacation.
This is Kindra, who I call my "niece", because
it's easier to say than "my sister's step-grandaughter".
I am Kindra's number one fan!
My "nephew", Carson... just being himself
in his new room in their new house.
If I were to call it a "mansion", I would only be exaggerating a little!
They have worked hard, and they are blessed.
My sister and my brother-in-law... two of
the nicest people in the world!
They keep an ATV tuned up and ready for me at
all times!
Kindra, looking at least 16, which she is not
Kindra tickling Carson, as any good sister
should do to her brother
It was cherry harvest at the time I visited.
The trees were loaded with them.
A farm sunset
My mom and I stop for a photo just north of Mt.
Shasta during our drive up to Washington
While I had to leave my own dogs at home, I was
not without dogs to play with.
This is "Snow Dog"... his owner works in the farm office.
I was glad I had seen many episodes of "The Dog Whisperer" before I met him.
He thinks he is dominant over any new people he meets. I set him straight.
Kindra's horse. Doesn't every girl this
age dream of living this life?
Carson waiting for "Uncle Jim" to take him for
an ATV ride
Kindra has a pony theme in her new bedroom
These two seem to like each other a lot
Kindra was helping me get that sunset photo you
saw earlier.
She looked so cute, I turned the camera on her.
Mr. Personality!
One of the highlights of the week was the kid's rodeo in the small town of Basin City.
This is a look at Carson in action in the "goat tail tying" event.
The object is to run across the arena and to remove an orange flag from the tail of a goat.
Kindra is a bit older, so she was involved in a slightly trickier event involving the
same goat!
Here she is relaxing on top of a horse at the rodeo
Carson also did a little horsing around at the rodeo
Here's Kindra in the 4th of July parade in beautiful downtown Basin City
Carson was one of many with a John Deere theme in the parade
The firemen were at the tail end of the parade, and by then it was so hot that people
were begging for a shower
Later in the day, the Easterday family threw a huge 4th of July party at their house.
They didn't have the barn when we visited them in 2004.
It's not actually a barn at all, but houses a full basketball court, kitchen, and bathroom!
The pool was as busy as the volleyball court.
I spent most of the afternoon in it, and was the oldest one in there!
My mom, sister, and nephew enjoy fireworks the night of July 4th.
My nephew was covering his ears because of the loud noises.
This is the new house my niece and nephew live in.
Their parents put up with construction hassles for over two years,
but now they've finally got their dream house.
Their home theatre. I watched two movies
here... it was wonderful!
A look at a portion of the kitchen. It's
so large, I couldn't fit it in to one picture.
Casual dining at the kitchen counter
Formal dining
The laundry room... featuring a sorting
table
that is bigger than the table that some families eat dinner at!
Kindra and Carson's favorite part of the new
house... the swimming pool!
As if it's not enough to have a "dream house" on the farm property,
they also have a cabin in the Blue Mountains of Oregon, about a two hour drive from the farm.
Here are a few pictures of the cabin:
An exterior view of the cabin.
In the winter, snow piles up all the way to that second floor deck.
This is the main living room, on the second floor of the cabin
One of two traditional-style bedrooms
Wide angle view of the same room as above, shot from the other direction
On the third floor are two loft areas, each with enough beds for an entire family
The kitchen
While visiting the cabin, we took a side trip to Jubilee Lake... about 20 miles
away
I got a picture of my sister and her husband while we were at Jubilee Lake
I was so impressed with the big trout this kid caught on Jubilee Lake
that I just had to have him pose for a picture!
A funny thing happened during my week
on the farm. It made me laugh because it illustrates the difference
between my normal life, and life on the farm. I wanted to scramble up a
couple of eggs for breakfast, but realized that I had used up all the eggs the
day before. In my normal life, this problem could be easily solved by
hopping in the car and making a quick trip to the supermarket. On the
farm, this problem is solved in an entirely different way... I hopped on
to the ATV and made a quick trip to the chicken coop down the hill, where there
were five eggs ready to go!
Another funny story...
At home, I would never think of leaving my keys in the car when I go in the
house. On the farm, I've been reminded to leave the keys in the pickup
truck when I go in the house. They actually have one old F150 pickup truck
with a malfunctioning chime system... you know, the little chimes that go
off to remind you to remove the keys if you open your door and the keys are
still in the ignition. On this particular truck, the chimes go off if you
open the door and the keys are NOT in the ignition... and they've never
gotten this repaired because it helps to remind them to leave the keys in the
truck!
Click here to read about a previous visit to the farm, during the summer of 2004.
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My email address is:
jimzim@charter.net
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