Greetings...

Sometimes I think we underestimate the importance of a good greeting.
When my husband and I were newlyweds living in a tiny, dark apartment in Lynchburg, VA I learned a lesson on this topic.  He worked for a short time for Stanley Steamer Carpet cleaners, an odious job.   His boss lived near us and often gave him a ride home, because we only had one car.  When I would hear them pull up I would race out the door to greet him with great glee. And a kiss.  Mike, his boss, would roll his eyes.  He told Chris, "Enjoy it while it lasts.  It won't last." He looked sad when he said it.  I made a mental note, and now, 27+ years later I still try to greet my love when he comes home. I taught our daughter, when she was small, to run and hug him when he came in, "Daddy is home!" I'd call, and we'd rush to the door for hugs and kisses. We made homecoming a small event. Sometimes when my man comes home, (tonight for example) I am doing something time-sensitive.  Like stirring gravy.  I will at least call out, "HI HONEY!" in a happy voice and pucker up when he comes around the corner. The gravy more than makes up for my lack of greeting him at the door. My guy? He has a thing for gravy.

I have a friend who has been married the same amount of years that we have.  Her husband told her how much a warm greeting when he comes home from work would mean to him.  He works long hours at a job he hates.  My friend refuses to accommodate his request.  "I'm tired, too.  Why should I act like it's a big deal that he comes home?"  Because it is.

My animals know  how to greet.  When I come back to the house... no matter if I have just walked to the mailbox or been gone for days, my dogs greet me with hysterical glee. They make me feel like a celebrity.   My ducks greet one another with an elaborate ritual of head bobbing with accompanying vocalizations.  My lambs call for each other if one is out of sight behind a log pile.  Even my chickens croon to each other as they arrive in the coop at night after a day of ranging the yard.  There are occasional inter-species greetings as well.  Pleasant nose touches and acknowledgements, "I see you here.  You matter.  Hello!"  

I am so happy when people come to visit me.  I greet them with genuine joy. How wonderful that they care enough to come here to spend time with us. And I am daily grateful that my loved ones choose to come back to this meadow hugged home each day.  They have gone to the world and had experiences I cannot share, and then they come back. Safely. And we are together.  If that is not something to celebrate, I don't know what is.

Viewpoint...

Sometimes my daughter borrows my camera.  I don't know a thing about it until I download my photo card onto my computer.  And then I am happy to find images from around our home that come from an entirely different viewpoint and perspective than my own.  I am delighted to think of her, lying belly down in autumn leaves to catch this mushroom sprouting by the mailbox.  I had noticed the mushroom... (it was enormous!) but I didn't stop to catch its fleeting form on film.  How wonderful that she did.

Decorating with food...

This fall a magazine showed photos of white pumpkins encircled with bittersweet berries. Since I love to decorate with things that are white, and since bittersweet brings back joyous childhood memories, I was all over this idea.  My favorite local farm market has white pumpkins every year so I went there and... no white pumpkins.  I am not sure if they didn't grow any this year or if everyone in my area bought them up after seeing the magazine.

Meanwhile, Chris and I went on a wonderful drive yesterday and found bittersweet vines growing wild along the way.  I felt a bit like a thief when I sliced some down from the wooded roadside with my trusty pocket knife, (it is one Chris gave me. It has my name on one side and "worlds best wife" on the other.)

Today we drove to the Belgrade Lakes region and Farmington, admiring the colors God splashes so lavishly on the landscape before the cold comes. The trees were mirrored in the lakes, doubling the beauty we saw.  There were many farm stands along the way, but all the pumpkins were traditional orange. Until we took a detour along the plotted route and I spied pumpkins glowing like moons tucked into a mass of of the more traditional ones.  Chris kindly stopped the car and we picked the best of them.

When we got home I got right to work... wiping off the pumpkins and arranging them.  Yes, yes I did. I played with my food.  And I liked it.

Frost on the...?

We had a hard frost this past week... and I couldn't help but think of the old phrase, "frost on the pumpkin" when I saw Bat Boy the black lamb all coated in ice crystals.  I plunged my fingers deep into his wool and he was toasty warm beneath that layer of chill. 

Today was 80 and summery.  The weather changes in a blink, and this blast of warm was a welcome gift. All around me the leaves are changing from green to gold, and the Sumac is a riot of red and orange at the edge of the meadow.  The cold days will soon out-number the warm and we'll turn to inside chores and stay close to the fire... snug as a lamb under thick fleece.

Impossibly small puppy...

My sister gifted us with a very tiny, soft dog bed when Flirt had her puppy.  The entire bed spans a mere 12 inches... but baby "Tease" could romp in it with friends and still have room to roll;  looking adorable all the while! 

She is almost 5 weeks old now.  Her puppy teeth are poking through her gums, she is experimenting with eating solid food, and she is learning to play.  She is not terribly coordinated at this point.  She'll try a tentative bounce, fall over, roll a few times like a plushy ball, then pop up and try again.  She adds extra smiles and laughter to our home. 

Scary..?

My sweet daughter and I have a long tradition of making scare crow's this time of year.  We used to make them when she was a kid, her friends would often join us for a happy time of stuffing old clothes with straw. The last few years we let the season slip by without decorating our yard with a fun personality, but we are back in the groove this year!    We like making girl scare crows best, and this year we came up with "Ramona."  She is a sassy wench, waving jauntily at those that pass by.  She makes me smile... I hope she has a similar affect on others. 

End of season...

I put the gardens to bed today.  The last harvest-able vegetables were picked, then I flung the gate open for the sheep, chickens and ducks to have a PARTY there.  They made short work of weed seeds, insects and the wilting leaves of pepper and squash plants.  

 The chickens searched for bugs...

The ducks rejoiced in the fine dining offered up by slugs and half rotted tomatoes.
I stood outside in a cold drizzle for a LONG time watching the livestock.  It seems magical that the ruined garden will feed the animals.  The garden continues to feed us....