Fall, friends, fire, and cows

It's been difficult to find a good Fall event to replace the days of Fall Retreats and Barn Dances from college days. But I gotta have a definitive Fall event to celebrate this time year. It's all so good, with the weather and the colors and all . . . a special event just seems necessary. I think the need was met this weekend when we "bonfire-ed" out in the country with a few of our neighbors. We were hosted by the parents of one of our neighbors who own property just east of Decatur (Argenta) complete with pastures, horses, cows, streams, etc. We had the time of our lives! We rode 4-wheelers and motor bikes all day, rode horses, studied cows from an uncomfortably close proximity (in my mind), threw walnuts in a creek, hiked through the woods, roasted hotdogs and marshmallows and just sat and stared at a fire. It was the best. Our 5-year-old took his first solo spin on a 4-wheeler, crashing into an electric fence only once. (Thankfully the juice was turned off for the afternoon.) I didn't really grow up very "country," but I seriously think I could really enjoy living out on a property like that. It was just so fun. It was like this giant adventure for our kids, and it was just nature . . . and a few all-terrain vehicles. So, fall, you've been officially celebrated by the Henry's!