The fifth and final day, Farming

The last day of our Odyssey was extended into this week due to inclement weather, but boy was it a beautiful experience to drive up to Maple Lake and farm for Mr. Jim and Mrs. Audrey Hennen. This piece connected us back to our Erdkinder experience in the fall, working with the soil and coming full circle back to the planting season of agriculture.

We arrived early in the morning and Jim had the boys jump right into planting their plot of land. Mr. Hennen owns over 60 acres of land but keeps only a couple acres for his personal garden. From onions to peppers to zucchini, the boys were instructed on how to plant, how far apart to plant the seedlings, and the growing process. He told them how he grows his seedlings indoors first so that he can prevent them from being affected by frost that extends into spring.

He let the boys use his hot digging invention to expedite the planting process.
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The boys got dirty, worked hard, and completed in two hours what would have taken the Hennens over a week to plant! What a blessing not only to see the beauty of Jim's farm but to see the mentorship of this elderly man to these teenage boys.

After our time planting, Jim and Audrey fed us a lovely lunch, with their dog Oscar jumping around. Once we got in the car, I asked the boys what they thought, and they asked when we could go back next.