Howell Farm

We spent Valentine’s Day at Howell Farm. 

The farm was having sleigh rides.  Since my son had never been on one we thought it might be a fun experience for him. The rides were free which meant they were short. We barely clamored onto the sleigh and got comfortable before the horses were finishing their tight little loop. Despite the length, we still enjoyed ourselves. 

After the ride, we stopped to watch the blacksmith work.  The forge was blazing and the tip of the steel was a fiery bright orange as the blacksmith molded it. I thought my son would take a quick look, see what he was doing then drag us up to the house for hot chocolate. Five years olds aren’t usually prone to long attention spans, but my son’s attention was riveted on the blacksmith as he hammered and shaped the steel. He watched transfixed as the blacksmith took an ordinary bland strip of steel and meticulously formed it into a heart hook in honor of the day. When he finished, cooled it off and passed the finished product around, my son held it in his hands and stared at it reverently. Later, he would not let us leave until he purchased one to hang in his room.

My son loves animals, so when the blacksmith finished we walked around the farm so he could see the chickens and sheep. He got very excited when a duck and then geese scampered across our paths.  After seeing the animals, our fingers – in spite of the warm gloves on our hands – were practically frozen, so we went inside and warmed up with a hot chocolate.

On our way home, we stopped in Lambertville to walk through the town.  Snow had started to fall and it blanket the ground, trees and shrubs with light fluffy whiteness. The world always seems prettier bathed in snow.

 My son wanted to walk across the bridge into Pennsylvania. As we walked, we battled strong gusts of wind that caused us to sway with each step. It has been so cold that there are chunks of ice in the Delaware River.  Looking down at the water, my son announced, “It looks the way it did when George Washington crossed.” Then, spotting pair of ducks in the distance slipping between sheets of ice, he laughed, “I think those ducks are pretending to be George Washington.”