Girl Scouts visit the farm

It is a beautiful fall day. The table is set with pumpkin plates and napkins, cheese puffs, and homemade goodies... chocolate chip pumpkin brownies and glazed pumpkin cookies.

The girls giggle and eat snacks...

They play girl games...

And they run through the field in search of the perfect pumpkin...

They march from the field carrying their chosen pumpkins...

And big smiles...

They each got a big pumpkin and a small one to take home!

And this is a shot of my special Girl Scout, my niece Naomi Jo...

What a wonderful visit!

Meanwhile back at the farm....

The last post I wrote was August 1, right before the 2011-12 school year started... and it's funny that the topic was about that panicky feeling I always get at that time of year. That was my last post... a month and a half ago. Daily I considered writing... considered posting... but my thoughts remain consumed with school thoughts at this time of year. My tasks revolve around school-related tasks such as grading papers, preparing lessons, and planning. I do this every year. Then when I get settled into the school year and get focused, I can take a deep breath and plunge back into my blogging again.

Meanwhile back at the farm.....

It's harvest time!

We have lots of pumpkins to sell...

We had worried about our harvest this year while we battled the squash bugs and cucumber beetles. And they did take a toll, as our pumpkins are much smaller this year. We have very few large jack-o-lanterns, but we have MANY medium and smaller ones. And the ones we have are beautifully shaped and perfectly colored. I love the variety we have this year.... green and white striped cushaws, gourds, and small decorative pumpkins galore.

And an added bonus... they sure make for pretty pictures!

The Top of the Ferris Wheel...

I'm getting that familiar slightly-panicky feeling.... as I admit to myself that July is now a thing of the past. August 1st... wow! Maybe I'm alone in this feeling that at this time of year, something wonderful is ending, yet something equally wonderful is beginning.

I'm reminded of the first paragraph in the prologue of Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt:

The first week of August hangs at the very top of summer, the top of the live-long year, like the highest seat of a Ferris wheel when it pauses in its turning. The weeks that come before are only a climb from balmy spring, and those that follow a drop to the chill of autumn, but the first week of August is motionless, and hot. It is curiously silent, too, with blank white dawns and glaring noons, and sunsets smeared with too much color. Often at night there is lightning, but it quivers all alone. There is no thunder, no relieving rain. These are strange and breathless days, the dog days, when people are led to do things they are sure to be sorry for after.

Ending are the lazy days of sleeping in and then taking naps... living freely without an agenda...
Beginning are the days of lesson plans, new classrooms, school clothes, marching season... football season... and pumpkin harvest.

It's not here yet, of course... but like that opening paragraph in Tuck Everlasting so vividly explains... we are hanging there in the balance like the top of a Ferris wheel.

I think very near the beginning of the year, we shall study Tuck Everlasting in my 6th grade class... I'm in the mood for it.

WV Capital City and Capitol Building

Our farm is located about an hour from Charleston, WV, which is our state capital. It is the largest city in WV, with a population of about 51,000. In my opinion, the capitol building in WV is one of the most beautiful....

It proudly sits overlooking the Kanawha River....

Its golden dome rises 292 feet high... higher than the dome on our nation's capitol building in Washington, DC.

By the way, am I the only one who thinks it silly that there are two spellings... capitol and capital that are so closely related?

Attack of the Pumpkins!

Upon returning from our nine-day vacation in Colorado, we discovered the pumpkin vines are devouring the rest of the garden!

We reserve one end of our plowed field for the vegetable garden, and the rest is all planted in pumpkins. Next year we may need a different strategy as the pumpkins are swallowing the tomatoes plants and vining up the corn stalks. It is amazing how far they will vine if we don't keep them under control! It's no wonder our tomatoes won't ripen when they never get a glimpse of the sun.

One pumpkin vine even decided to climb up a cage that we had around a tomato plant. (Maybe this is "the little pumpkin who could.")

But I'm not going to complain, because we have PUMPKINS too!! And I love pumpkins. I think they are beautiful.

And we also came home to the corn wearing their head-dresses...

And bearing gifts wrapped in silk packages...

The green beans were ready for picking...

As were the squash and cucumbers...

Colorado was gorgeous, relaxing, and basically perfect....

But we did miss our garden.... REALLY!

Rocky Mountain High = Less Blog Time!

Just a quick update.... I "lucked" into a business trip to Denver. I had NEVER been to the West, the Midwest, the Southwest... I've been no further west than Chicago in my life. So needless to say, I was so excited to experience this different part of America! My husband and I decided to fly to Colorado three days prior to my conference for some site-seeing in the beautiful Rocky Mountains!! I have time to only post a few pictures before dinner.... but I just had to share the breathtaking beauty of the Rockies....

That's all for now... gotta go get that Rocky Mountain High...

Brings tears....

I love this man...

I love to watch him work on the farm that he loves....

He reminds me of my first love, my dad...