Fall-in LOVE with Exploring

Jason and I spent the entire day without a plan. Just him, me, an open road, and two cameras in tow. It took us to the most amazing places and no joke was the best date I think the man has ever taken me on! It was top notch!

Here's what the result was of fall exploring in the Southwest Michigan region!

Brown Lake, Keeler Twnship, MI

This lake is located in a middle of a cornfield. It is back behind the Burnett farms factory. It was quite a bumpy ride heading back there but we had so much fun exploring! We ended up finding the largest buck! He moved a little too fast for us to get a good photo of him but the experience was well worth it!

Hidden Acres Farm, Dowagiac, MI

There were signs all over Keeler about "We Support Hidden Acres Farm!". Of course, curiosity got the best of me and had to insist on navigating Jason to the place that everyone was supporting. It had the work farm of course so I had to check it out!

Come to find out, it was a rescue farm. Dawn, the amazing lady who runs the farm was incredibly sweet and kind to us explorers and gave us a tour of all the animals (and their backstories of where they came from).

...Meet the buddies! We are so happy to have met them!

MY favorite friend at the farm. He wasn't a rescue, he was the owner's friends horsey but he was the best! Such a sweet personality and would love the rubs!!!

Meet Wellington!

Wellington is nothing but a big dog who absolutely LOVES his food (and pumpkins!) Wellingtons backstory is simple, he had a broken foot and was brought there as a baby because nobody wanted him. The vet fixed it and he became part of the family! However, it was the first time that the owners had a cow so they didn't know how to raise it. They told us they may have accidentally turned him into a dog! He runs to greet you, He loves playing, and most importantly he doesn't know how big he is!!!! He wants to play play play! Also, his tongue is HUGE and loves to wrap around your hand when you feed him. He was definitely Jason's favorite and probably will be back just to visit!

GOATS!

The goats at this farm were incredibly friendly! They fought over your affection and couldn't get enough of the corn/pellet/veggie mix that Dawn had given us! Most all of them were acquired from unwanted 4H animals of which the kiddo's couldn't take care of anymore. Instead of broken hearts, Hidden Acres gave the kiddos a place where they could take their family and make sure they got an amazing home!

Homing Pigeons!

Out of all the stories of these animals, the pigeons were my ultimate favorite! Dawn taught us about pigeon racing and what a fun sport it is! She raises these pigeons, helps them learn what their "home" is and then travels all over the region to let these amazing birds out and have them return to their home as quickly as they can! I couldn't believe these birds are capable of finding their home from far away like that! I guess they have little foot GPS trackers on them that keeps track of their time it takes to get home. I asked the question everyone thinks, "How do they know how to get home?" Her response... "The scientists think its the magnetic field in the Earth but they don't really know."

What an amazing super power!

The Golden Pheasant

This bird is something you would see out of a fantasy novel or movie. I could hardly believe this was a pheasant! Michigan pheasants are brown, and... that's it. So when I took a gander at this guy, I was simply amazing at how much he looked like a parrot! Nope, it's a pheasant. Quite amazing!

Sister Lakes, Michigan

"Country road, Take me home..."

Portman Nature Preserve, Mattawan, MI

The Abandoned House!

This is on my bucket list and let me tell you, I got to check it off! I have always wanted to explore an abandoned property! I am not gonna lie to you, I was scared to go off the beaten path but I am so glad I did it! The photos are definitely not "photography worthy" but I will tell you I got as many as I could before I freaked out and left!
So, even though they are quick and uneven and some even not even edited, they are my favorite!