december days I

These December days. They seem to inch along and yet time flies. It does not seem like December, so we are behind on holiday making/preparations. But that is OK. It looks and feel like fall. Or is it spring? Either way, we keep busy. Card games, board games, science experiments, robot building, reading, crafting (or should I just admit that I have done more craft supply organizing than actual crafting recently? ahem.), music making, microgreens growing, and ... more! What are you working on?

sunshine.

During this dark cloudy no snow December we keep searching for the light. MORE LIGHT!

We follow the sunshine when it does show up, even for a short time. We dance and play and lay in it.

G loves to scoot the trampoline along, following the trail of sunshine, jumping jumping jumping in the bright golden rays.

"I'll tell you how the sun rose a ribbon at a time."

~Emily Dickinson

first snow.

Ah, first snow. We look forward to it every year. The anticipation and wondering when it will finally come. The air smells different. The birds huddle up in the bushes. The light changes.




Today we finally had first snow. Just enough to play in, build mini-snow people, throw around and do a few snow angels. Just enough to pull out the coats and snow pants and boots. Just enough to lay the garden down. Just enough to come in cold and wet with rosy cheeks and drink warm elderberry lemonade. Just enough to let us know winter is coming.






It will warm up enough to melt and we won't have anything stick for a few more weeks at least. But today was just enough.


Bon Hiver!

my kind of saturday night.

I love the cooler nights, the early darkness. The boys play with friends in the alley - running in the dusk, bundled and rosy cheeked. The parents holding steaming mugs of tea or cocoa.


Last night was perfect for a fire pit. Our yard is so small it isn't safe to do it when windy, but last night was cold with only a slight breeze. We pulled out the pit, the boys setup the wood just so with some used paper wadded up below, and both had a chance to light it (yes, they lit a fire with matches :)).


We found marshmallows, graham crackers, skewers. The neighbors came over and all the boys roasted the insanely huge marshmallows and A counted how many times he could light his on fire. Ahem.


A grabbed his guitar, because strumming around a fire is just what you do.


The darkness fell, and the flames mesmerized and warmed us.


After the neighbors went in for the evening we sat out around the fire, watched the flames, and talked about things. My kind of Saturday night!

pumpkins.

Where we live road side farm stands, pumpkin patches, orchards and farms are everywhere. From the few rows of pumpkins outside of a rural farmhouse to the elaborate production of a farm that caters to the school buses and field trips. It's all here. We have many favorites, and will always stop at more than one spot throughout the season.



We have our favorite carving pumpkins, favorite pie pumpkins, the place with the chatty owner, the place with the friendly cats and some goats, the best hayrides, the place that always has unusual varieties of winter squash, the farm that has the best wagons. And if we can squeak in during quiet times, we visit our favorite farm maze or that spot with excellent caramel apples.



And so it goes, year after year. Boys keep getting bigger, but they still love pulling that wagon. And even if it is only a few miles from home, it is about the whole experience. What park do we have to go to nearby? Do we need a picnic, is the weather perfect? Do we have the right music for the drive? ;)



And only when the farms and road side stands all finally close up, when there are no more signs with arrows scattered along the roadsides, and all of our pie pumpkins have been puréed, does it feel truly like winter is not far behind.

fall days.

I love the cool crispness of fall. Colder days - some dark, some sunny, most windy. The crunch of leaves underfoot. The frost on the rooftops, the birds busy at the birdfeeder. Boys layered up to keep warm. Those red rosy cheeks when they come in from the cold. The smell of outside lingering in hair, on clothes. The rich aroma of fresh cider on the stovetop, ready to warm them. Yes, life is good.

welcoming autumn.

I love the change from summer to autumn. Cool days, chilly nights. The smell of the air. The angle of the light. How everything goes from such vivid green to every other color - red, yellow, orange, brown. Everything looks different.









The past few days we have watched the colors start to appear and so today we had to go wander to the pond and nature trail at our local apple orchard (just 5 miles from home) to get out in the wonder of it all. We are excited to welcome autumn!