Super Kids

THE FALBORN BOYS

Walking into the Falborn’s two adjoining bedrooms, you enter the ultimate childhood sanctuary. Hand-crafted wooden bunk beds climb up one wall, while books, rocks, and specimen boxes fill up the opposite. In front of their windows are tables of morning glory and cacti; even a flower that they’re growing for their mom. The Falborn boys are a reincarnated old west gang (minus the violence and crime). Instead of hunting robber barons and seizing trains, they build forts, raise sheep, and explore the outdoor world around them. Donning cowboy hats and good manners, Wyatt, Satchel, Harrison, and August are as ruggedly charming and well-mannered as Butch Cassidy could ever hope to be.

Aged eight and ten (August, Harrison and Satchel are triplets), the Falborns live and play on 50 acres in west Longmont that used to be part of a Centennial Farm—one that’s been around for 100 years. It’s on this land that they’ve been raising sheep since they were barely out of diapers, to show at the 4H peewee contest. “I still remember what I named my first sheep,” exclaims Harrison. “It was Cutie.”

The long line of trophies tells me how skilled they must be at the role, but their enthusiasm for what they do reveals more. This past year Satchel and Harrison got their chance at delivering sheep for the first time. “We saw their feet showing and then it was very interesting. Our hands were really sweaty,” Satchel recounts like a
seasoned pro.

Out in the field, the boys holler at the sheep and cows the way kids call over to their friends on a playground: “Come here, Sissy!” or “How are you today, Sir Fillet Mignon?” They are in their element with the animals and love them as they do their white Great Pyrenees who happens to live with the sheep and guard against coyotes.

There’s an endless amount of adventure to be had out here, and the Falborns take full advantage of it. “It kind of educates you more to get to do things and learn about things. And the fresh air is good for you,” says Harrison. August adds that “some kids don’t have the chance to [play outside like they do] because they live in an apartment.” Young as they may be, all four boys are keenly aware of their privileges.

They point up to the ridge behind their house where just beyond, are two springs that they spend their summers swimming in and waiting for the chance to catch tadpoles and frogs. “There are peeper frogs and they are really hard to catch,” Wyatt explains. “And in the summer if you go outside and it’s a clear night, you can hear them.” They’ve built a dam in one of the springs, and last year they caught a huge garter snake there. It’s also around this area, and down in what they call Ladybug Field (you can guess why), where the Falborns have built up their stunning rock collections.

Collectively, they’ve accumulated 400 rocks. Ranging from clam shells to wulfenite, they’re all organized across the boys’ desks and arranged according to type. “These are baculites and we find them on our land because it was under water millions of years ago,” Wyatt tells me as he fits two pieces together like a puzzle. It’s here, in their rooms, where they bring back all of their souvenirs from the day’s adventures. And rest among amaryllis, monarchs and origami
masterpieces.

The End