Twice a year, beginning this year, my husband and I offer up our farm as a gathering place for people to come to to share ideas and information about modern day homesteading.  Although the Gatherings are a new concept in our area, the idea has been well received.  The first one held in the Spring was attended by about 75 people and went well.  We took the ideas given to us at that time, and planned the 2016 Fall Gathering.  It was held last Saturday, October, 29th, 2016, and was attending by 150 to 200 people from all over Southwest Missouri.  We have been beyond thrilled and beyond blessed by the over all response, the attendance, and the willingness of our community to help make this a reality.  This Fall Gathering would not have happened without the hardwork and help of four of our friends, Bree, Les, Melody and Justin.  Many of their family members were also involved with presentations and activities, THANK YOU ALL!  Our son, JD also worked his heart out, spending many hours at our place doing some of the things that need to be done, including getting our walk in cooler, wired and roofed so we would be ready for the day.  Our chuckwagon cook, Ken, made the atmosphere complete with his campfires, fresh hot coffee and delicious food that was served to presenters and sold to guests.  There were many more people involved, that I know I have missed.  To get an idea of who everyone was, check out the previous posts here, here and here.

We look forward to having some new ideas in the Spring and meeting more and more people from our area and beyond who appreciate and the knowledge it takes to keep the old ways alive in our modern lives.  In a few days I will share some photos by Kevin Esterline, of Prairie Wind Photography, who did an amazing job of capturing the mood of the day in photos.  For now, you will have to settle for the ones I snapped, that others shared on social media and were snapped by friends with my camera.