Today we’re sharing the second installment of our From Our Homestead series — a look at what a “typical” day once meant for the farmers of the Champlain Valley. From dawn chores to fieldwork, from tending animals to repairing the tools that kept a farm running, their days were full, rhythmic, and deeply tied to the land.
These stories help us remember the skill, endurance, and devotion that shaped rural life here more than a century ago. We hope you enjoy this glimpse into the daily world of our region’s early farmers.
​                                                                      May 8, 2026

For our third "From Our Homestead" feature, we’re continuing our look at the skills and traditions that helped Adirondack families thrive in an earlier time.
​                                                                          May 21, 2026

For generations, a simple apron was far more than a kitchen garment, it was a companion to daily life on the farm. Today’s installment of From Our Homestead looks back at the humble “Grandma’s apron” and the countless ways it served a household. It’s a reminder that even the simplest things once carried the weight of work, warmth, and love.    4TH INSTALLMENT

                                                                                           May 29, 2026

Today we’re sharing the fifth installment of our “From Our Homestead” series, where we highlight the history and traditions of rural and farm life.
​                                                                               June 5, 2026

Our sixth installment of From Our Homestead takes us into the moonlit corners of North Country history, where farm stills, border roads, and the long reach of Prohibition shaped daily life in ways both ordinary and extraordinary. This chapter uncovers the stories that once moved quietly through our fields and along the Champlain Road.
                                                                               June 24, 2026

This America250 weekend, we look back to a Champlain Valley story that helped save the Revolution and which unfolded right in our own backyard.     From Our Homestead — Installment No. 7
                                                                                         July 2, 2026

From our homestead to yours, we wish you a meaningful and reflective America250 and a safe, joyful Fourth of July.

A look back at the logging heritage that shaped Peru, the Champlain Valley, and the Adirondack foothills from winter crews in the woods to the small mills along the Little Ausable River.
FROM OUR HOMESTEAD: Logging in the Adirondacks & Champlain Valley
                                                    Installment No. 8 – July 2026

NORTH COUNTRY APPLES -- For more than a century, the North Country has been known for its apples, a tradition rooted in the hardworking farm families who shaped our landscape long before modern orchards took hold. That legacy continues today, as the Champlain Valley remains one of New York’s most celebrated apple-growing regions.
FROM OUR HOMESTEAD — Installment 9
How the North Country Became Apple Country: A History Rooted in Peru, NY

Playgrounds Before Playgrounds: Outdoor Play in Rural America, 1900–1950
As we prepare for our 14th Annual Kids Fair & Festival on August 22 and 23, we’re reminded how deeply outdoor play connects generations. This year’s celebration of “children’s games from days gone by” echoes the inventive spirit of rural childhood a century ago when imagination, teamwork, and simple materials turned every yard into a playground.
                                                From Our Homestead — Installment #10

These early playgrounds were not just places to play; they were places where rural values were learned and lived.
Join Us to Relive the Joy
At this year’s Kids Fair & Festival, we’ll bring those timeless games back to life. Come celebrate the creativity and community spirit that shaped rural childhood, and rediscover how play connects us all.
Babbie Rural & Farm Learning Museum, Peru, NY
August 22 & 23 | 10 am – 4 pm

In this 11th Installment of From Our Homestead, we return to the decades when family dairy farms shaped everyday life across Peru and the Champlain Valley. Hill-Lee Acres, founded by Leeward Babbie in 1961, stands as a vivid reminder of that era, when hard work, community, and the rhythm of the milking parlor defined rural life.

From Our Homestead – Installment 12
Labor Day on the Farm: The Turning of the Season

INSTALLMENT NO. 13 - As we step into October and prepare for our final Special Event of the 2026 Season, Harvest Weekend, we’re reminded of what this month meant to families living and working across the Champlain Valley and Adirondacks a century ago.  We hope to see everyone at our Harvest Weekend on October 10th and 11th, and we send warm October wishes from our Homestead to yours.