Our sweet Texas kindergartner and 1st time preschooler began their School Days! (Our Carolina sweetheart goes year-round, so she doesn't have to contend with "back to school".) I spent part of Abby's 1st week of school in Ft Worth, seeing her "conquer her new world"! Then, just this week, little Ben was off to preschool - so proud of his "pack pack" (Auntie Amber always knows just which backpack each of our kids will love; Ben's - a Hedgehog!), and his lunch box, that he forgot to make any fuss at all. In North Texas, the start of school is not associated with Fall really; summer heat still rages and the pools are still open. But still, the kids pack up fresh, lovely boxes of newly sharpened pencils, perfect crayons, school glue, scissors, and cubes of tissues, carting them off for new adventures! Abby's teacher calls the children "Scholars". I love that! She truly meets the definition! In North Carolina, Piper is an "Otter", having graduated last spring from being a "Grasshopper". I know that she too is a scholar! Seeing these children heading off to school causes me to feel confidant about our future! We are in good hands! As soon as I landed back here at Little Bird Farm, it was out into the garden and then to the kitchen stove for me! What is it about the approach of Fall that makes the colors of the garden so intense and fabulous? The nights have turned cool, slowing down the cucumbers. But the okra and tomatoes are wildly productive! Pickled okra and tomato sauce!! And huge zinnia and dahlia bouquets! Captain filled each room with vases of flowers for my return home - how sweet he is!! Hello September! Happy to see ya!
We have enjoyed four days of Fall in Tim's hometown of Bemidji in northern Minnesota, and are now on our way back home. It is a world away from what we are accustomed to. We have eaten pounds of wild rice - bringing some home with us in fact. It has been over a decade since we have been here, and it felt nice to experience it together again - except for the mosquitos, oh yes. Mosquitos!! They are so terrible! Boating on a lake, looking for loons is a wonderful experience! And we also saw bald eagles. A highlight: walking the Mississippi River headwaters in Itasca State Park, then overnighting at the historic Itasca State Park Douglas Lodge. Beautiful!!
