September & Uncle Bobby

It's September now, and you can feel a change in the air. It's quieter, with the kids back in school. And it's cooler, though we haven't had our first frost yet. There are still flowers in bloom, but the ones that remain are past their prime and overgrown. Some of the maples and sumac around our house have started blushing shades of red.

We have had a bumper crop of blackberries (still do). The blackberries were green for so long that we thought maybe the spot they were growing in was too shady, and that they would never ripen. But now every weekend (this was the 4th weekend in a row!), Jon goes out with an ice cream pail and comes back with it filled to the top, with ripe berries. Whatever we don't eat fresh I've made into pies, though I think I'll try jelly with this last batch.

The little row of corn Jon planted in the spring didn't live long enough to produce cobs for us... its stalks were trampled and chewed apart by a marauder (probably a racoon). However, nothing's been bothering our tomatoes, and they've been ripening in waves-- several a day, with lots of green ones left to mature. Our intention was to make salsa, but so far the peppers haven't cooperated.

But, we're new here... we'll figure out how things grow, eventually. Next year we'd like to try a real garden, with a fence around it.

We didn't make it to the big farmer's market in Eau Claire this summer. And we haven't been to any orchards yet. But we've enjoyed lots of local produce, thanks to friends and family. We've had all the tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, green beans, melons and zucchini that we needed, thanks to the successful gardens of others.

Our best crop has been the sweet peas: and by that I mean our darling little Leila. She continues to grow like a (very cute) weed. Still smiley, but now belly-laughing when the other kids (particularly Emma) make silly faces and act like monkeys around her. Sunday night, while Jon was playing with her, she started copying him while he stuck his tongue out and blew a raspberry. He would do it; she would do it-- and everybody would laugh. She was very well-pleased with herself.

She coos and talks; she picks things up and puts them in her mouth. She bats at the toys we dangle in front of her. She likes to sit on the floor, with help, though is still pretty top-heavy. She likes to stand up while holding onto our ottoman (with Emma's support from behind).

We decided that next weekend, when Jon's home again, we'll let her try cereal, for the first time. With that in mind, I went through her things the other day and found four bibs (including a cute cow-print one from Laurie), so that's a good start.

Ever since we moved out here, Emma has been trying to convince me that a pet frog or toad would be a good idea. I've consistently told her that the frogs and toads would not appreciate this. That they would rather be free, and that they would very likely not last long in one of her containers, no matter how lovingly she tended it.

Well, last Friday the school officially sanctioned her quest: she brought home a note requesting that she (along with the other second-graders) find a frog or toad, put it in a bucket with some grass and insects, and bring it to school for the day. They are having their annual frog & toad race today.

So much for toad liberty. Emma and Daddy wasted no time finding her a champion jumper. She's just thrilled, as you can imagine. I'm not sure how fast he will be, but I have no doubt that all of the frogs and toads the second-graders acquire will do their best to jump away (very earnestly) from the giant hands of their adoring human fans.

Yesterday afternoon Mom and brother Bob stopped by. Bob had suggested that Mom come stay with him for a few days, so she could check out the big antique mall in Columbus. They decided to visit us on the way down. So Mom and Bob were here when the kids came home from school (with a big Uncle Bobby lurking behind the door to "surprise them" as they came in). Things are always spontaneous with Bob, so they ended up staying the night, as well (Grandma slept in Emma's bed; Uncle Bob made do on the couch).

We had a nice visit with them. The last time Bob saw Leila was Mom and Dad's anniversary cruise in June, so she's changed quite a bit since then. She had lots of smiles for Uncle Bob, and liked his beard very much.

Bob has a long-standing relationship with Michael and Emma; we travelled with him when they were little, all the way to Arkansas, once. He was endlessly patient with them. So the one-on-one time with Uncle Bob last night was pretty neat. Anyone who knows Bob knows that he is a big overgrown child, after all (in the best sense of the word). He wrestled with Emma and took Michael on in chess and Stratego (he was amazed at how cut-throat Michael is in board games).

Michael and Bob watched the Packer-Viking game together, though Uncle Bob was dismayed to learn that Michael now considers himself a Viking fan. We think this is mostly due to contrariness on Michael's part (what other possible reason could there be??), but Bob said Michael's feelings seemed to be getting involved, too... at the end of the game, when the Vikings lost, Michael shed a few tears, and he asked Bob several times if he thought the Vikings could make it to the play-offs (is this painful to read, Don?).

To close, here's a side-by-side view of my finished stained glass panels, which I hope to assemble into a light box some time in the next few weeks.