Super-Children

With too much candy and too many wrappers... I am happy to be able to say: "Happy Belated Halloween!"

7 a.m.

Still dark and cold, but our house had a boy playing a ukulele on a horse! Why not?!

Carving

They tried to be scary...

Momo took this one. Scarier than the rest!

It's that time of year again. Not my favorite holiday, to be honest, but with children, it's somewhat tolerable.

Pumpkin carving, if you have done it at all, is only fun once it's done (or if someone decides to take that gooey sticky pulp out for you since the kids have very little patience for it, so guess who has to do the most?). And not only done being carved, but done being lit with a candle inside, so you can see the light through the holes you made.

I do admit, that there is something magical about these glowing pumpkins in the dark!

I still don't get the costumes and candy thing...

More Apples

Our supply of apples was running low. So why not go pick some more?

We brought Jim this time to show him the magic of the place, and its simplicity, too. The kids enjoyed having him there. And the boys even got to observe a snake together while the girls nonchalantly picked some more apples. Who needs to be entertained by a snake anyway?

First Storm

They were not kidding when they said we were expecting a storm.

Sometimes, the weather forecast here can be a little misleading. Californians are not used to inclement weather, so a little rain here, a little wind there, can throw people way off.

But today, it's a storm alright!

The kids were shuttled in the car to school this morning, to their dismay. I promised them to walk back with them in the rain and wind, without thinking too much because it was really a bit of a bribe.

Then mid morning set in, and I noticed the trees swaying, the rain going sideways... I reconsidered my promise.

But I persevered. Oh what we do for our children! There were instances when I thought the wind was going to take my umbrella away, and me with it. My pants were drenched half way to school. The kids didn't seem to mind too much: they stomped in puddles, squinted their little eyes against the hard rain, and walked home like champs.

When we got home, Momo wanted to painted, and Claire was happy playing with her animals. There were also cookies to be made, and neighbors to play with! All in all, a rather fun and happy first stormy day (at least so far!).

"Blue Eyes"

We had a little visitor yesterday.

When I came home after running errands, the kids bounced up, ran over screaming with excitement and could not tell me fast enough about their new little 'friend'.

"We named it Blue Eyes, Mommy! It really likes me, it climbed up onto my back...!!!"

"We fed it milk, Mommy!! It's SOOO cute. You have to come see it!!!!"

Yes, it was cute. And yes, it was tame! And yes, it was wild.

After a little while of enjoying its company, it was clear to us that Blue Eyes (umm...it had brown eyes...but whatever...) was not leaving our patio anytime soon... So, we decided to find a 'home' for it.

Thank goodness for google. I searched for a wildlife rescue organization in town, and lo and behold, there is such a thing here! It's called "Native Animal Rescue Center". Imagine that.

So we put Blue Eyes in a box, gave it a warm-me to keep it warm, and we drove to the center (which amazingly is open 24/7!!).

I pulled into the place that looks no different than somebody's house. The gate opened up to a lush backyard, equipped with many animal taxis and beautiful old trees (and wild animal stench to add). A small screen door led us into the 'rescue room' where we saw other injured birds and mammals.

The man who worked there thanked us for bringing in Blue Eyes. He said nonchalantly:

"We have someone here who is an expert at taking care of baby squirrels..."

Imagine that!

We said goodbye to our little friend, happy that we had found it a temporary home before it can go back into the wild.

And that's the end of our little weekend wildlife story!

Apples Apples and Pumpkins, too!

We had a very seasonally appropriate day today.

Our friends recently told us about an apple orchard run by Cal Poly, at Swanton Pacific Ranch, up the coast, and a bit inland. You might think you are lost, she said, but it's there, and it's a great spot!

And she was right, in all accounts.

Swanton Road leaves Coastal Hwy 1 and heads inland, winding up and down the valley towards the hills of Santa Cruz mountains.

I am not too familiar with the connections, but somehow, Cal Poly Tech (located in San Luis Obispo, about 3 hours south of here), operates a ranch and programs here. There are farms, railroad tracks, this orchard, and probably a few other things. Their presence is not oppressive, however. If anything, like my friend said, you may feel like you are in the middle of nowhere.

As we drove about, I told the kids to keep their eyes open for a sign for Apple Picking. Just before I thought we had past it, I saw an apple orchard to our left, and a small make shift shack with a scale. This had to be it, I told the kids.

There was an OPEN sign on the fence, but other than that, you would not think this place was open for business. The shack had a note or two about the picking, and a metal money box for their self-paying honor system. Of course, I was sold. I love this kind of place!

Then we just wandered down the rows of apples, neatly marked by apple variety names: Fuji, Gala, Red Delicious, and some others that I can't remember.

We had the whole orchard to ourselves, and picked to our hearts' content.

As for the pumpkins, we stopped at one of MANY pumpkin patches along the highway. And I assure you that this won't be the only time this season that we will be bringing pumpkins home!

Happy fall, everyone, in the northern hemisphere!

Colors

Pumpkins, painted by Momo

Lots of colors around the house these days, as we enter into the season of some of my favorite colors...

More to come, I promise.

Fall

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Around here, changes in the seasons are more subtle. The air, instead of getting cooler, actually gets a bit warmer during the day (at least for a while). More telling than the climate is the produce, both in the markets, and in our garden. Things start to ripen, greens that love cooler nights continue to flourish.

As for the children...well, they seem to be busy year round... But now that school is in session, there seems to be even more creativity, the need to produce things, the love of paper and tape and scissors!

In the kitchen, I get to cook yummy squashes, stews and soups! And the house smells great again.

Change is definitely coming!

The Return to Grover Hot Springs, 2009

This was our third visit to Grover. This time we even got a real mountain thunder storm with lightening and all. We stayed safe and dry in the tent, reading stories, waiting for the rain to pass. The storm gave way to beautiful sunshine with the bluest of blue skies and a show of evening stars.

When we were here last May, the creek was raging with water from the winter thaw. This weekend, it was flowing at the perfect pace for us to explore and dip our feet and little bodies into. We also made the hike to the waterfall, a gentle stroll that became a small climb at the end.

When we had to leave, we said goodbye to Grover, knowing that we shall return again someday, to one of our favorite playgrounds of all!

The New Dress

I had to post this because I am a little bit proud of the dress that I 'made' for Claire the other day.

Actually, I did not make it at all... I found a skirt, for a 10 year old girl, in a garage sale a while back (for a few cents...). I knew it was too big for Claire, but I liked the fabric so much that I got it anyway.

When I saw it again, it occurred to me that I could make it into a dress by adding to small shoulder straps to it.

And voila, a brand new summer dress. She loves it quite a bit and has gotten a good use of it already! I love it when I can be thrifty. When she is 10, maybe it will become a skirt again!