These are some wonderful memories. I grew up on a farm and was outside from daylight till dark, wandering the fields and pastures with our dogs and cats as my companions (they followed me everywhere). We had no close neighbors and my sister & brother were much older than me, so I had to learn to entertain myself. But that was no problem. To this day, I'd still rather be alone than with a group of people.
One of my absolutely favorite things to do was to play in the dirt. My kids think I'm crazy when I tell them my favorite toy was dirt! But I loved it. I had a few tin cans and Mama gave me some old kitchen spoons and a flour sifter. I would spend hours sitting on the ground. I must have spooned & sifted TONS of dirt through the years.
Another favorite thing was to lie in the grass in the backyard at night with my dad. He loved to lay out there after a long hard day of working in the fields. We would look at the stars and watch for satellites overhead.