Billings Farm

 Our very hot weather finally broke on Thursday morning just in time to take our oldest two granddaughters for a last hurrah summer outing.  I remembered that the library had a pass for the Billings Farm and Museum in Woodstock, VT and it was available, so that's what we did.

The pass gave us entry for free, a savings of more than $60 which we ended up spending in the gift shop! Right next door to the Billings is the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historic Park which is free admission but tours are extra.  We didn't manage to make a tour other than the Junior Ranger half hour excursion which the girls did as we walked the grounds of the Historic Park.  We plan to return one day for that as both girls wanted to see what a mansion looked like.

The best part of the day was the animals at the Farm.  

Patting the retired cow - a champion in her time - in the cow barn.

We saw a heifer born the day before! Alas no photo!

In the heifer barn:

Granddaughter #1 took over being the photographer and captured these shots.

Small animal barn:

Not a small animal!  Dan!

You can see what a beautiful day it was!

From the barns and garden we headed to the farm manager's house set up as it was in the 1870s.  Here are the items that captured her attention.

In the office:

In the kitchen:

Dining room:

Family Parlor:

Formal parlor:

Bedroom closet:

Water closet:

Under the house was the buttery:

These stain glass pictures in the windows were a special exhibit.  Granddaughter loved them all:

As we returned through the visitor center to cross the street to the National Park we briefly walked through a quilt show.

Here are the photos of the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller Mansion that one day we will return to see inside.

It was a great day.  Much better than staying home and trying to keep them occupied.