Hi Farmgirls! It’s hard to believe it is already August. Soon we will be thinking all things fall, but for now, I am still thinking summer! It’s been a super summer here!

Summer started out later than normal with cool temperatures all the way to late May. Mother Nature sure made up for it, with super hot temperatures and high humidity, to boot, but I love seeing all the sun, because we miss it during the grey winter months!

We are a “stay-cation” family. We don’t want to leave our fur-babies (or our chickens) for very long, and we love to come home after a day trip and sleep in our own beds! There’s so much to do on the East Coast, and just when we think we have “seen it all”, we find something else fun! 

For my daughter’s birthday this summer, my family and I had a blast for the day in Stanhope, New Jersey at Wild West City, a family-owned theme park that first opened in 1957. 

Only a few hours from where we live in Connecticut, arriving at Wild West City, you feel like you have stepped back in time. We drank sarsaparilla at the saloon, took a stagecoach ride, rode an old-fashioned train (which was “held up” by “Billy the Kid”), and walked through museum-type buildings filled to the brim with interesting artifacts. 

I loved seeing all of the displays, especially the clothing from the 1800’s. I loved seeing period bride and groom outfits. The bride must have been so dainty!

We liked going to the printing press and seeing how newspapers in the 1860’s were printed. 

My favorite was the jail cell! Creepy-cool, it was made in 1890.

Family friendly, the theme park has something for everyone. We enjoyed seeing the “shows” in the town square, which occur often. We bought cowgirl hats, and ate old-fashioned snow-cones! I even bought a bubblegum cigar. My husband, daughter, and I had the BEST day!

It was such a beautiful day, and on the way home, we stopped at a farm stand for fresh veggies. New Jersey has such beautiful farms, no wonder it is called the “Garden State”.

Back in Connecticut, we spent another lovely summer day together at our local Beardsley Zoo. We had not been in many years, and enjoyed it as much as we did as when our daughter was little. My favorite animal this visit was the giant anteater. 

While the animals are fun to see, our little Connecticut zoo also has an amazing greenhouse and garden to visit!

On another beautiful day, my husband and I drove to Kent, Connecticut, visiting Kent Falls, where the water falls 250 feet down to the Housatonic River. We climbed to the very top! It was so picturesque!

At the other end of the East Coast, we drove to Sturbridge, Massachusetts to visit the Old Sturbridge Village for the yearly event, “Recoats and Rebels”, featuring Revolutionary War reenactors. I have written about this “living museum” before, but we always enjoy this special weekend there. I still do not know how people wore all those layers of clothing back then. I would have died of heat exhaustion!

This visit at OSV was extra special, because the museum also has the “Cows on Parade”, something we have not seen since the late 90’s. They are on display through September. 

We also just love summer in New England at home. June, July, and August bring birds, butterflies, flowers and veggies in the garden.

Keeping a garden is a lot of work, but there’s something so satisfying about making dinner from food you have sown and grown yourself – a farmgirl’s happiness!

We work hard so we can play a bit, too. We also saw the new Superman movie and LOVED it! What’s not to love when there is a fluffy, fun super-canine in the movie? Movies are a great way to escape the heat when it gets too oppressive.

The rest of the summer will bring days of picking veggies, canning, and the start of all the wonderful state fairs across New York and Connecticut. August is so nice because the heat is still here, but the humidity tends to wane a bit. Fall will be here soon enough. 

Tell me, what are you doing during the last hot, dog days of summer? What are your favorite local destinations? C’mon, let me know you stopped by in the comments below!