BED, BREAKFAST & BARN

I don't do cows..pigs..chickens....gardens....or home made bread! BUT, in this months Southern Living they featured articles about several farmers that had decided to open their homes, land and barns to the public. Yep, a Bed, Breakfast and Barn idea. City Slickers are actually paying to visit a working farm for a week or so at a time.

What a concept! Families are actually spending vacation days to get back to nature via these innovative farmers scattered throughout the South. Children and grown-ups alike can watch an egg plop right out of a chicken and then eat it for breakfast. They can feed the cows, slop the pigs and drive the tractor at their leisure. The article made it sound like a Normal Rockwell painting come to life.

After sharing this new concept with Honeybuns his eyes lit up! He proceeded to dream aloud! Since he still has part ownership to the family farm in central Illinois he decided that this new concept of vacationing city slicers was right up his corn row! It took about 1/2 hour for him to visualize a new farm house, bunk house, barn, herd, flock and bank account. To hear him tell it this new idea was sent from heaven above. He seemed to think that this would be a great "retirement" plan for the two of us...nevermind that retirement for him might be when he's 84! How does a senior citizen feed chickens from a wheel chair, or plant corn with a walker?

He continued by saying that the boys and their wives and children could participate, too. It could be a revival of the Waltons! Jamie and Nancy could teach the paying guests how to quilt or demonstrate how to put-up pickles! The grandchildren could milk the cows! We would involve the whole family, nieces, nephews, brothers, sisters and cousins. He would invite corporate friends to hunt deer and turkeys and charge them dearly for the right to do so. We could offer day trips to New Salem, IL to visit Abe Lincolns town or Hannibal, MO to learn about Mark Twain and Huck Finn. A trip to St. Louis for a Cardinals game would also be included in the buffet of choices.

Let's not forget the fact that I don't do cows, pigs, chickens, gardens or homemade bread! Minor details!! The "city slickers" would be doing all the work and paying us for the privilege!

I stepped into his dream for about 2 1/2 minutes. I would LOVE living on "Walton's Mountain," with everyone I love near by.... but lots of hard, hard work and tons of money would be needed to make it happen. Not to mention the cooperation of about 50 family members!

His bubble was popped with a strong dose of reality....

And I'm canceling my subscription to Southern Living!