Are the kids having any fun?

My dear sister-in-law was quite concerned last week when we called to chat, "What are the children doing up there on the farm? Do they have any toys to play with? Are they having any fun?" Perhaps it sounded like a labor camp when I described having to move the 100-odd moldy and soggy hay piles that were left on the fields by the tractor mower because we couldn't get up to Maine until the grass was 4 feet tall. Or maybe it was the distance to town and lack of regular opportunities to play with a myriad of other children. But I can reassure her and any other worriers that the children are having a wonderful time, despite the chores and days of downpours we have been having.

Fun activities this past week:

pitching hay into a cart
sleeping on blowup mattresses and bouncing on them in the morning
sitting on Mommy's lap on the riding lawn mower and steering
picking up rocks out of the new garden and firing them them at dead trees in the woods
discovering baby field mice under a hay pile
finding little snakes, but not the stabbing them accidentally with the pitchfork (Poor Mary was traumatized until we saw the snake later doing just fine)
sliding down the giant dirt pile until all their clothes and skin turned a deep rich brown
climbing all over the tractor turning all the lights on and off
tromping through the fields on an "explore"
picking unripe apples and seeing who could throw the furthest
shooting Will's new BB gun
visiting our friend Jennifer and her relations: 17 children playing outside together
chatting up the builder and helping him paint trim
playing pirate ship on the new bunk beds
going to sailing class in town
collecting bucketfuls of orange slugs and crickets
following paths in the woods along the old rock walls
building ships, birdhouses, and lots of other stuff out of wood scraps
watching the linesman hook up the new phone by raising himself in the giant bucket
going to the library, checking out 4 bags of books, and reading them all in 3 days
watching their Daddy set off illegal fireworks that echoed off the trees

Nope those kids aren't having a bit of modern day fun. No TV, no computer games, no toys except a few stuffed animals and some stacking cups in the bathtub. Only good old fashioned creative and imaginative fun allowed here. I am determined that their summer up in Maine is only an opportunity to torture and break their little spirits. However, it could have the opposite reaction and they might never want to leave and return to suburbia.