The best pictures I have of fall colour exist only in my mind.  It's hard to capture the incredible saturation of colour at this time of the year.  It turns the light itself into something golden that can not only be seen, but felt.

It restores the soul.

Last night was the night--the big freeze.

Well, the first frost, at least....   It sent me out to the garden to cut some last herbs and flowers for drying.

Including these lovely lavender flowers that are destined for a future soap-making project.

School Daze

Here we go again!  Every year looks a little different, and this year looks more different than any other so far.  With the oldest graduated from high school and on to University, and the youngest in second grade, we've crested the add-a-student-every-couple-of-years peak, and are coming down the other side.

Which is a strange feeling in itself.

                       But it's a good strange.
Most of the time this year is just the three younger kids at home with me.  So we re-organized the school room to make it a more workable space, and a more pleasant space to spend time in.  Because we do spend quite a bit of time here.

Apparently, we do school in pajamas frequently enough that I didn't even notice until I posted this photo.

I have a place of my own to work, or umm, sit and make sure everyone is doing what they are supposed to be doing.

We even have a place to sit and read in the school room this year without retiring to the couch.  

Rachel is at home part-time this year, doing History, Chemistry, Bible and Literature with me, and  I'm really happy to be able to continue reading and discussing ideas with her at home.  (Chemistry, on the other hand, I could live without). The rest of the time, she is at Freeport High School taking Art, Math and an AP Literature class.  She is really enjoying the classes there and doing well.  So far, she's received comments from her teachers along the lines of  "I'm very impressed with your writing", and "I like the way you do these equations".  

 I think she's even given homework help to some friends in classes that she hasn't taken there.

My only regret thus far is that I didn't take a picture of her "first day".  So, I'll have to include one from last summer.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that not only is she smart, she's gorgeous too.

Things feel a little slower paced this year, and that's a good thing.  It's been good to feel less rushed through the day.  It gives me some sanity time to keep up with the necessary parts of life, and also to play a little, with things like making soap, for instance.  See?  Chemistry can be fun too.

Well, it's been nearly two weeks now since we made the trip to take our oldest to University.  I won't deny that it was hard to drive away with only 4 kids in the back of the Suburban.
Somehow, four seems a much smaller number now that we're counting backwards than it did when we were counting up...
It's quite a journey--this parenting, homeschooling life of ours.  I think I've learned more from these kids than I've managed to teach them.  The younger ones might someday thank their older brother for being at the front of the line while I learned lessons in patience.  But somehow, he came out the other end expressing gratitude for having been homeschooled.

Not only surviving, but thriving...and maybe that's how this grace thing works.

Highland Games

Last weekend, we went to the Topsham Highlands, er, Fairgrounds for the last piping competition of the summer.  There were Solo Competitions,

In which Zac placed 2nd.  Not too bad for his second competition!

Band Competitions,

In which the band Zac plays with was the only one in their grade, so I guess they took every placing.

Classes,

Which Zac got to accompany.


And even a Merida wig,

Which Lydia got to model!

Clearly,

Even chickens have over (and under) achievers!

Around Home

It's turned into a busy summer here.  Through circumstances that I'll elaborate on later, we've decided to put our Old Farmhouse on the market, and free ourselves to consider other options, possibly even in other places.  That decision prompted us to finish many projects that had loose ends hanging on, and that has made for a busy summer so far!  Between projects and graduations, birthdays and holidays, competitions and camps, I have a lot to catch up on here.

  We quite often miss the peonies bloom time because of traveling in the spring, but we did manage to catch a little bit of them this year.  

I'll spare you the details of the many necessary but mundane tasks that we've filled many hours in doing this summer, and try to remember the more rewarding ones:

This is an area that had sadly deteriorated from an extra garden spot (that I didn't have time to tend) to an overgrown mess of weeds.  So we cleaned it all up, threw in lots of chicken coop cleanings, tilled it all in, and covered it up to cook into compost this summer.  Perhaps someone, maybe even me, will plant some blueberries here next spring.

 Rick, ever resourceful, built this kayak rack to keep things tidy behind the barn.  Also, it keeps the trailer ready to use for other things...

And finally, my poor neglected garden.  I spent more time pulling weeds out than anything else, but then again, that's what it's mostly about.  I can never spend much time out here without reflecting on the curse...weeds were an integral part of it, and I am reminded of that every time I walk into the garden. Of course, there is also grace, which is evidenced by the fact that anything good grows there this year at all considering how little time I've had for it.  Is there a lesson in the fact that more time must be spent in pulling weeds than in harvesting the produce?  I know that if I were to manage to keep the weeds pulled out altogether for a couple of years, they would become fewer and fewer as the seeds of them died away, however, that is much easier said (and even planned) than done.  Lessons?

Just Maybe.

 I picked beans and cucumbers today...the first measurable amount anyway.  I was in such a rush to get anything planted this spring, that I just used up any seeds I had hanging around in my garden stash.  I was a bit surprised that the beans were yellow this year.

 Being what I would describe as a haphazard gardener at best of times, I have taken it to a new level this year.  A few onions hung out all winter, and started growing again this spring.  I never realized they formed such beautiful globes of flowers.

 And bell peppers never cease to amaze me.  The largest fruits grow on the puniest plants...

The asparagus has been left to fern out for the most part since it is just on its third year.  We did get to eat some, but the real harvest is yet to come.

My herb garden turned into a (mostly) parsley garden this year, again through sheer neglect and the fact that parsley is very adept at seeding itself.

 
 These painted lady butterflies are enjoying the Oregano more than we are this year.

 I planted some sort of heirloom tomatoes this year.  With any luck,
I left myself the plant stakes so I can find out exactly what kind.

Enough about projects for now,

     I'll leave you with pink phlox.

 Until next time.