Images of Fall

Oh, how I love fall. And the colors haven't really exploded yet--you've got to love those long drawn out Missouri seasons. There's just something about the quiet, the crisp blue skies and wispy clouds, the lack of bugs, the wind, and I could go on. The first picture is of the rain through the windshield by my friend Jenny's house. The second is by the St. Louis Arch--it reminded me of France. Then a picture of the stunning beans we found inside the scarlet runner bean pods. I had no idea that beans were such a brilliant color before they dried! The fourth is also at the Arch; how strange to see flower blossoms in the fall. Next we have some trees reflected on my newly washed deck and finally a cool mossy tree in St. Louis. After living in a dry, dry desert for over 4 years, I can't get enough green!

We are eying a gigantic empty for-sale-by-owner lot in town that backs up to an even larger green space that is owned by the neighborhood association. We could build our eco-friendly home there and I could have my herb garden and Jevon can grow the fruits and veggies (hey, I can't do it all!). And best of all, we would be in a real neighborhood (the kind where people sit on porches, go for walks, and really interact) and within walking and biking distance of two parks, horse stables, a health food store, and downtown. I think Jevon could even safely drive a moped to work. Did I mention it's next door to Access Arts? Kai and I (and eventually Tea and maybe Jevon) could walk to our art classes! I'll keep you posted.

"Hey Mom, take a picture of this!"

Life through the eyes of a child is such a gift. Kai was washing apples this morning and yelled at me that I needed to take a picture. (Tea woke up and saw a moth outside and wanted me to take a picture of that--I guess they see me taking a lot of pictures). Anyway, what a great shot! The most exciting part is that I am finally figuring out how to use the manual settings on my camera and this is especially helpful when I'm taking shots indoors and don't want the flash to go off.
Tea's clothes didn't stay dry for long.... I love the shot with just her arm and the apple in the faucet. There's probably something artistically wrong with a photo with just an arm, but to my amateur photographic eye, it looks cool.

I don't know if I can ever move back to South Dakota after living here. The growing season is almost six months long and the amount and types of food you can grow here is amazing. The Farmer's Market is a feast for the eyes! We've been picking hickory nuts from our backyard, black walnuts from the park, and I've been drying lemon balm and making lemon balm, echinacea, and thyme tinctures in addition to the apple juice and apple pies we made today. We went to a Chestnut Festival last weekend where there were local trees and plants, pecans, chestnuts, black walnuts, elderberry concentrates, goat cheese and wine and beer. We brought home 3 pounds of pecans, some blackberry wine and muscati wine, and elderberry extract. We're going apple picking at a place about a mile away on Thursday and I'm picking up 50 pounds of locally grown sweet and white potatoes as well as a turkey from a friend tomorrow. Ah, I just love this place and I love the feeling of knowing I have a bounty of locally grown food in my cellar and freezer for the winter. It's just too depressing to shop at Hy-Vee and eat that lackluster produce in the winter!

Chamomile Caterpillar

I couldn't figure out why my chamomile was blooming and then dropping it's petals so quickly. Today I found out why. It's a tiny little caterpillar that has adapted itself to look like a flower or maybe it covers itself in chamomile petals to camouflage itself or to store them for later. Either way, it's hard to be mad at such a smart little thing! The last pic shows it on the yellow part of the flower (I'm sure there's a fancy name for it but it's escaping me right now).

Tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes

I've been meaning to post this and then saw that SouleMama, who has a great crafting blog, had posted about her tomato canning. She inspired me to get my pictures up. The tomatoes we so beautiful!

My friend Deborah moved this year and gave me all of her canning supplies before she left. What a great gift. I went to a canning party earlier in the month and we canned apples, tomatoes, and blackberries. Then it was the 30 pounds heirloom tomatoes I brought home from the farmer's market, and the peaches for peach jam and apples for apple butter. Such a satisfying thing to be saving this food that's ripe and in season. I just want to avoid eating that tasteless produce the grocery store sells year round.

The kids had a great time with the tomato canning. They cleaned (and threw) and weighed the tomatoes and handed them to Jevon and me to process.

Lots of work but well worth it.

VOTE

This is such an important election. I personally have never cared about politics until the last 8 years and this election, especially, has me reading the news constantly.

It's our right to vote. I hope all of you out there are registered! There's no reason why you shouldn't be:
http://www.voteforchange.com/

I find this such an important issue that I've even been volunteering for this election, bringing the kids along and all.

I've had this song in my head for days now. It's Power to the People by John Lennon. I've got the cover version of it by the Black Eyed Peas on the Instant Karma Save Darfur album. Here's the original--a great video from You Tube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wos-dDxpJlQ

I get chills when I hear it. Makes me sad that this video was made 37 years ago and people were fighting for the same things we are now. Change has to be coming, doesn't it?

This campaign is giving me hope that the world will really be different and that the visions of people like Martin Luther King and John Lennon will come true.

The Haunted House Halloween by Kai

Gigi [grandma Debbie] sent us some stuff. I got a skeleton, some springs, some Halloween clothes, some socks. Then I put up a skeleton in my haunted house room. That's all I wanted to write.

Kai

Happy First Day of Autumn!!

We're heading out soon with a picnic and a blanket in search of a pile of leaves! Have a great first day of autumn!