October Things

October is always the start of the (cold) busy season for me.  The warm busy season comes mid-Aprilish- with clothes switching, garden planning, planting and prep work all while in the throws of homeschooling.  The cold busy season has many of the same elements: end of year canning, doing the summer winter clothes' switch, winterizing and throwing home learning back into the schedule after a summer of flying, free as a bird, wherever the winds take us.  This always takes an adjustment.

This busy season, however, has holidays thrown into the mix. 

October flew by.  I expect November and December to do the same.

Here is a slapdash post of October Things... don't expect it to make sense.  It surely won't.

My sister and I take our children to Iron Kettle Farm every year for some pumpkin perusing.  There are animals, there are pumpkin people, there are overpriced pumpkins and playground equipment.  When we first began, all the playground equipment was free.  Nowadays, you have to buy tickets for much of their offerings.  But we find the free stuff and none of my children care a bit.

This year, due to scheduling, it was just the Littles that came and not the whole gang.  Fun for the Littles, I am sure they felt very special doing something all by themselves.  A bit bittersweet for me, though, as I find myself yearning for the days when everyone was available to partake in the whims of the Mama.  

Mothers with little children- having the children with you for EVERYTHING will be something you eventually miss.  Mark my words.

Moses sat behind and said "Look at the deer that I shot, Mama!" 
Looks like he is going the way of his brothers in this too.

Ineke took this picture of Auntie Beth and her Littles

Pictures often don't convey personality well but this one is spot on.  If you want to know who mischievous Moses is, here he is!

Kittens learn to read too.

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I had a bit of an epiphany this year about flowers.  I have always wanted to make May Day baskets to leave on peoples' doors secretly...but there are rarely flowers, it being so early in the season for where we live.

But I more than make up for it with "Frost Day" flowers.  Rather than regret not being able to make May Day baskets, I am gonna lean into this Frost Day bouquet tradition.  It's a good one.

I always cut all my blooms and make as many bouquets as I can muster and then I pass them along to friends and neighbors.  This year, we were told to anticipate frost three times without it ever freezing, so three times I cleared my flower beds just for them all keep showing off a bit longer.  

Frost Day flower bouquets, coupled with bouquets throughout the summer- I gave probably about 30ish bouquets away to people.  

One of the many reasons I love summer...

We have since had the inevitable hard frost and all the bouquets scattered throughout the house have long since been dumped.  

*sigh*

Until next year then.

                We had our church family over for a hayride and psalm sing and it just so happened to be *almost* peak autumn color here.  The sound of crinkling leaves, the rum of a tractor and singing voices rolling along through the woods is a very nice sound indeed.

Those thugs in back had strategically placed firecrackers along the path and feel pretty good about how that went.  The firecrackers sounded less nice.

Moses with one of his most favorite people.  Susie treats him like the baby that he is even though his head is as big as hers.  Maybe bigger. 

Corynn, with one of her favorite people too.  Two peas in a pod.

Well the garlic harvest was pitiful and the beautiful tomatoes were too often pecked by renegade chickens- but the PEPPERS.  

This was a whopper pepper year.  

This was just ONE (of the three) garden 'clean outs' before frost:  

Due to the unusually mild Autumn we have had, I thought I would take our Christmas pictures earlier this year.  It isn't Christmasy- but we weren't freezing!  And I may get the Christmas cards out in time for Christmas this year!  :-)  

Another reason I chose to do it this early is because our dog Ruby is failing and will likely not make it through the winter.   I felt she needed a place in the Christmas card one last time...

But the whole plan backfired when I looked through the pictures and Ruby looked as if she had already given up the ghost.

I leave you with:

(Which will NOT be our 2022 Christmas picture.)