Welcoming Autumn

 It was the first weekend of Autumn, and it could not have been more perfect.  There's a palpable difference in how the world feels right now.

The mornings are moist and misty - ethereal, actually.

By mid-day the sun burns through the fog and hangs, slightly lower, in the sky.

The temperatures are much cooler, and if I haven't already mentioned it (a hundred times) - it is such a relief from Summer's heat!

We celebrated Autumn's arrival in the best possible way... with the Littles.  We stopped by a local farm and bought a trunk-full of pumpkins, and began decorating the farm for the season.

Teeny, tiny pumpkins decorate all of the fence posts (at least all of the ones that the horses cannot reach - for I fear they would all be nibbled and consumed.)

We "played" farmer and harvested the remaining carrots from the garden (I was the Mommy farmer, he was the Daddy farmer.)

These will be stored in the barn refrigerator and be snacks for pigs and horses and donkeys.

The thing about play is...  you can disguise chore time as a make-believe play time and get twice as much done with twice as much fun!

(I am listening to a book on Audible, right now, and I heard just the best quote:  it basically said that if you want to understand what using psychedelics (ie: magic mushrooms) feels like - just have tea with a four-year-old.  I had to laugh.  There is nothing like a four-year-old!)

We spent much of the weekend, just noticing the little things....

like, spiderwebs...

spun with a tunnel entrance....

and this huge orb weaver spider....

a box turtle who crossed the driveway...

and so many other wonders of nature.

I seem to have fostered future fungi lovers!

Both children are eager to help with farm chores.  Easton does most of the water chores,

while, Mackenzie, who is more comfortable with the chickens, helps out by opening up the houses so that everyone can free-range for the day.

There is never a lack of enthusiasm from either of these two!  Pete the Cat, spent the better part of the weekend on his back...

Easton ate his weight in peppers from the garden and pears and apples from the orchard.

"Look Grammie, the moon is still out!"

"Why is the moon out in the day?"  "Why?" is an integral and repeated part of every conversation with this one! (This one who calls skunks "stunks"... quite appropriate, I would say.

Saturday night, as cold settled over the farm, we warmed ourselves by a campfire and toasted marshmallows for S'mores with our neighbor, Anna's two girls.

It might not be hard to guess that my grands are special to me.  They bring me more joy than I had ever imagined - not to mention un-ending laughter.

I am looking forward to a much quieter, cool week.  I hope to begin putting the garden to bed for the coming winter.  I also hope to get a little time to work on something creative, not to mention continuing the work on the cable knit sweater.

Autumn, like Spring, energizes me.  By Summer's end I am drained from the heat, humidity, and longer days.  Autumn brings sweet relief and gets my creative juices flowing once again!  I can hardly wait to jump into October with pumpkins, spicy colors, and warm, cozy sweaters... not to mention roaring fires in my tiny stove in Maven Haven on cold mornings!  I'm so excited!

Comments

Anonymous said…
What a perfect weekend for you!
Lisa said…
Here in southwest Nova Scotia it may say fall on the calendar and the trees are starting to turn but temperature wise it's still humid, hot and sticky. It's averaging 30 degrees celcius with 80-90% humidity. The greenhouse temps were 41 celcius with 92% humidity. That's with a large barn fan running, the vents and doors open and another smaller fan also. Oh well we'll be complaining about the cold soon. At least the evenings cool off which is nice.

Lisa
This N That said…

Sounds perfectly wonderful. Have a good week. Hugs
Lynne said…
Looks like the best weekend ever . . .
I can bet those two grands cheer for farm days/weekends!
Love the “orange littles” on top of the fence posts!
Pete and Mac have bonded for sure . . .
Enjoy the week Beverly!
colleen said…
I can't believe how fast Easton grew up. Every time when I see him lately I try to think what his name is as I don't think of him as being that grown up. Time sure does fly by. Tis the season for me to start knitting. I got a pair of cottage socks on the needles... if only Maven Haven was in my back yard :) xoxox
Sounds like a perfect Autumn weekend! I show the pictures on your blog to my grandlittles. They love seeing the animals. They especially love the names you've given them.
Kathy S said…
Lovely photo of the two trees at the ends of the fence lines. Nice work!
littlemancat said…
Just wonderful! The children,their observations,and the kitty Pete. I love the photo of the mini pumpkins!
Mary
THE BEARDED ONE said…
WHAT A GREAT JOY TO SAHRE THE LITTLE'S WEEKEND W/YO AND HUBBS...IT SEEMS THAT EVERYTHING WAS PERFECT...AWESOME....KEEP SMILING...THESE ARE SO HEART WARMING...I JUST LOVE THEM !!!



EDGAR C. BEARD
Agent X, not said…
Grands are the best, even when they grow up. Thank you for your posts, and sharing what many of us forget we can be thankful for. The little moments truly are the big ones. Have a great week.
Eileen in Fla. said…
Those Grand pictures are all calendar worthy - especially Easton in the mini John Deere loaded with carrots. Thanks for starting my week off with a smile.
Love your blog. You really get me in the mood for the upcoming seasons. I love all those little pumpkins on your fence posts! Your littles are so sweet and learning so much from being around you guys and your farm. What a wonderful way to grow up and appreciate everything. Thanks for another totally awesome blog post!