This little pathway is known to our family as, The Spooky Forest.
I have been religiously bringing my daughter to this farm since she was about a year old. We have many wonderful memories ranging from, feeding the animals by hand to their first time on a horse. But, at about 18 months old, my daughter was very much into Dora the Explorer and happened to watch an episode where an evil witch was casting spells on Dora and her friends. Well, this little innocent trail became the haven of the evil witch who would turn my daughter into a frog. Then mommy would have to fight the witch and help turn my daughter back into herself -then vice versa. We would spend the majority of our time in this little area, eating our ice cream that was purchased in their dairy store and sparring to keep ourselves from being turned into an amphibian.
This tradition continued well into her 4th year.
Now, my son is 2.5 years old and was brought up knowing about this Spooky Forest. When we arrive, they are both pining to run over to the "forest" to battle the evil witch, even before eating ice cream. Although, I don't think my daughter gets the same excitement out of it as she used to, especially not as much as he currently does. But I will never tire from watching her imagine and "pass the torch" off to her little brother.
It's funny, because no matter how many times we go to that farm and how many animals we see and how many times my children go horseback riding and how much ice cream we consume. That image of the spooky forest will always be in the forefront of my mind. This little local farm will always hold that special memory for me and years from now, I know I'll find myself sitting on a log, in the middle of that trail, playing back those incredible vivid memories of my two young children giggling, running, and laughing together.
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