Family & Farm Life

Nathan, Barbara and Sanne just left this morning after a quick weekend visit. Ellis and Owain just love their cousin Sanne, who keeps up with them like she's always lived with savage toddler boys.

Duet

I especially enjoyed this innovative piano playing style with one on treble, one on bass and one on the pedals.

Out of about 10 photos, this is the best I could get of the three of them just barely sitting still. Really, who wants to sit still when there are pianos to bang, rocks to throw and chickens to poke at?

garden helpers

Until the next reunion--we love you!

In other farm news, we officially seem to have entered fall. Today is cool and gray and the leaves are changing quickly. We finished up the last of the apples with a few final batches of applesauce this morning - still warm in the pot and ready to be canned. The tomato plants will likely bid farewell this week as well, with weather in the low 30s overnight. I have to admit, it's a bit of a relief to see the garden slowing down. But in a moment of harvest glory yesterday, I walked through the garden picking and plucking, returning to the house with a basket full of sweet peppers, jalapenos, onions, cilantro, oregano, and tomatoes for some of the best salsa we've made to date.

I started thinking about the upcoming indoor antics to be had this winter - forts and playdough with the boys, soups and crockpot goodness at mealtime, snowy days and a steaming hot tub before bed. I like to note these good blessings not because I want to portray a blissful lifestyle, but because it is these kinds of things that beautifully balance our daily stresses and decisions and difficulties. This life may be aging me prematurely, but it's richer and deeper than I ever imagined.