Go Outside!

Go Outside, a set on Flickr.

You don't have to put in a lot of planning or be at all elaborate. Most of the time, your kids just want to be with you, and it won't matter that they are not at the zoo or a theme park. Just go outside! Be it a park down the street or right in the backyard, take that extra 15 minutes and fill the birdfeeders. Get to know your local sanitation and recycling crews. Enlist your child's help in yardwork. Take a walk around the block.

If you have some more time, find a good cause and register the family for a 5K. Go to a neighborhood celebration or a parade (there are a lot of these in the Twin Cities).

Photo set: The Farm on St. Mathias

Harvest for the Hungry, a set on Flickr.

The complete photo set for our trip to The Farm on St. Mathias, keeping in mind that this was a benefit show, sponsored in part by Finnegan's beer and featuring Celtic folk rock band The Hounds of Finn.

The Farm on St. Mathias

On October 9, the family piled into the station wagon and headed up north. The Farm on St. Mathias was our destination, and yes, it was 2011, not 1956, and we do, indeed, have a station wagon.

This was a benefit show that my husband's band was doing for the Brainerd-area food shelves, and I really had no idea what to expect. Our three-and-a-half-year-old boy was coming along because Pete said, "It's on a farm." Said boy never sits still, and corralling him can be exhausting and frustrating, but autumn in Minnesota is gorgeous, if fleeting. Plus before we know it, the boy will be 15 and think we are the dumbest thing ever. We have to cherish these moments when he doesn't know any better and thinks we are super cool.

The Farm on St. Mathias is simply a great place for families. In autumn, there's a corn maze and a great selection of pumpkins and gourds (the kid picked out five); there's a forge where a blacksmith makes candle holders, dinner chimes and other excellent, iron goods. There are slides for the kiddos as well as space to run. They have llamas, alpacas, and chickens as well as two fabulous Gordon Setter dogs named Coriander and Nutmeg who are just about the friendliest, most mellow dogs I have ever met.

They are a working farm, owned by a local couple, and there's much more information on their website (they are also active on Facebook). I encourage you to stop by if you are ever in the Brainerd area, which is only about 2.5 hours from the central Twin Cities. Be sure to check their hours and dates to make sure they are open!