“I am beginning to learn that it is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all.” ― Laura Ingalls Wilder
Oddly enjoy, October in Maine I'm still in the garden. Did some work in the orchard, still planting and transplanting. Garlic is finally in.
Still eating a few things directly from the garden (parsley below) and going through my homegrown stores.
I'm back to fiddling with my sour dough (home grown herb crackers).
Ironically, although I'm the one who does all the work for our homeschool co-op, there are no pictures of me with my kids, only my husband. He did frequently get to come to our weekly co-op this year, so that was a bonus.
Fall Semester Classes:
Adrian, Grade 8: STEM, Public Speaking, Home Repairs
Audra, Grade 6: Book club, Modern Art, Survivor Skills
Anna-Kate, Grade 1: Book club, Gym, STEAM
Mom: I did book club for 1st/2nd and 5th/6th, taught Entomology to the highschoolers and led the community service club.
We're on break until the New Year. Thankful for our Homeschooling pals.
So thankful to have had the chance for a weekend away with some marvelous friends. We laughed a lot, which was good for my soul.
The Maine fall has been quite mild. This is the latest I have dug my gladiolas and dahlias. I haven't even planted my garlic. We just pulled our 3 season porch screens out and put in the walls and windows. I still have quite a list of random things to do outside before winter. There are still a few things in the garden to eat and I am still working daily to put up food for winter (pears have been my focus the last two weeks). Our fires inside have been few and our outside after dark enjoyment has been more than usual. The wind was coming from the North last night and the temperature shift was striking. I welcome the colder and darker months, they are a fine reprieve from my days filled with garden and food preservation work. Board games, fireside books, sewing projects and snuggly animals coming right up, and I'm delighted. I love the change of seasons and I'm *almost* winter ready.
We were fortunate to have these cute little kitties for almost a week. Garfield and Frito.
And now there's a new little kitty we're fostering: Gyps. 
We still have Tootsie.
I know people flock to the ocean in the summer, but I will always say the Maine beaches are so special when they are cold and empty. We lit a fire and invited our Beachcombers 4-H club and had such a lovely time. A marvelous day to be homeschooling.
Birds...
I don't ever remember holding a live wild bird when I was younger, but it's totally something that my kids keep doing. This is one that Anna-Kate rescued from the garage.
After we had Tootsie for a solid month, the plan was to drop Tootsie off to get her shots and get adopted. She was there less than 24 hours when we got a call, "Want her back?" I guess Tootsie was driving everyone bonkers meowing for the kids. She's not like that at all at our house! So we drove back to get her and she was thrilled. She will be here until she is spayed and the plan is to find her a family with kids! I know the general consensus would be to keep Tootsie, but our goal as a homeschooling family home for our lessons a chunk of everyday, is to give these little kittens a ton of attention while they are awaiting adoption, so they are excellent family cats.
