One of the stops on our road trip was to visit Kim’s grandmother in Warren, MN. We timed it so that we would be there for the town parade and the fair. Both huge events for a town with a population of 1609. We had a great time visiting with family, seeing the old Engelstad farm and the girls really enjoyed riding rides at the fair.
For being such a small town, the fair had a big country star headlining this year, Jo Dee Messina. The grownups all wanted to sing along to some country songs, so Kim’s aunt hired a brave sitter for the evening to watch the group of cousins and we headed out to the concert. The kids were staying at the house Kim’s mom grew up in – what we refer to as the farmhouse, which was about a quarter of a mile from where Kim’s grandmother lives now.
Warren, MN is a small town, so we told the girls that if it got to around 8:30, they could walk back to their great grandma’s if they were tired and ready for bed. Or they could stay at the farmhouse until the concert was over and we would come and get them. We gave Abby one of our phones so she could let us know what they wanted to do. Around 8:00 we get a text that they were having fun with their cousins and were going to stay at the farmhouse.
We went back to enjoying the concert, then Kim’s phone dings again with another text. This time Abby says that Grandma came to pick them up. Kim’s response was ‘Which grandma’, since Abby’s grandmother was at the concert with us. When Abby responded ‘Great-grandma’, Kim thought she was joking. Great-grandma is closing in on her mid 90s, and after two broken hips doesn’t get around the way she used to. But Abby wasn’t fibbing, great-grandma had walked (slowly to be sure) from her apartment to the farmhouse and collected the girls. They walked even more slowly all the way back to her apartment, with Abby texting us snail emojis and promising to make great-grandma sit down and drink some water when they got back to the apartment.
It turns our great-grandma mis-heard us when we said that Abby and Maddy might come back at 8:30, hearing only that they were coming back at 8:30. She got worried when they didn’t show up and decided to take matters into her own hands.
Kim’s mom gave her own mom a hard time about walking that far without letting anyone know and over the week it turned into a joke. Every time grandma got up to move around her apartment, she got this sly look on her face and said, ‘I think I’ll head to the farmhouse’. Now that she knows she can make the walk, who knows what she’ll get up to next. We’ve affectionately renamed her the runaway grandma.
And speaking of runaways, our first Plants and Pets event this past Saturday was a runaway success! Thanks to everyone who braved the heat and came out with their pets. It was super fun to see so many different types of dogs and Mavis the Mini Pig even made a stop in to see us. We are impressed with how well-behaved all of the animals were and we hope that you enjoyed getting a chance to get them out of the house and to learn about plants that are pet-friendly. In case you didn’t receive the handouts that we had available over the weekend, I’ve linked them below. We had so much fun, we are sure we will have another Plants and Pets event in the future.
Pet-Friendly Plants
Below are some of the guides that we created to help you select plants that are safe for your pets. It’s great to know that plants and pets can live in harmony.
These handouts are intended to be informative only. If you happen to have a pet that loves to eat plants, please keep in mind that even non-toxic plants may still cause minor illness and digestive upset. Please consult a veterinarian if you have questions on specific plants or if you experience a pet with illness caused by any plants.
