A Season Ends

We gathered walnuts today.

Walnuts are the last harvest we bring in before everything rests for the winter.

One season ends, another one begins.  In eight days, a new season begins for us.  As much as I can hardly wait to get my hands on our little ranch, leaving this season in the trailer is actually bittersweet.  We'll miss seeing our amazing mountain friends every day.  Going from one good time into another is a happy problem.  As I begin to let go of one season, I embrace the other.  We'll have walnuts aplenty from the season before to enjoy along the way.

And walnut shells will make great kindling for the wood stove that sits in the center of our little cabin that will keep us snug.

 ~Read the archives of this journey here.~

Serene Autumn Afternoons

Sitting in the forest,

watching the kids play,

while I work on a Christmas present.

Serenity now!

I'm sharing this at Wordless Wednesdays listed here, This Moment,

Silent Apple Captures

I'm sharing this at Wordless Wednesdays listed here and This Moment

Days of Togetherness

Homeschooling means connecting during breakfasts instead of speedy swallows and rushing quickly out the door.  This morning, we had a surprise visitor.

We learned it was a red-tailed hawk, and that they can be trained as hunters for falconry if they are passage hawks.  We learned that passage hawks are less than one year old hawks who have left the nest.  We also learned that falconry is a sport where trained raptors hunt for humans.  Then we learned that raptors aren't just extinct dinosaurs, they are also birds of prey.

Homeschooling means music can be played and enjoyed by all ages anytime throughout the day. See?

Homeschooling can also mean as a mother, you get to weather through your children's least favorite subject with them, and you usually experience more moodiness than they'd probably throw at an unfamiliar teacher.

But it also means you get to enjoy recesses, too.  And recesses can be in the form of gardening, trampoline jumping, or teatime outdoors.  Or anything you want it to be.  And it is together.

I like being together.

This is a contributing post for Gratituesday,

  

Getting Outside

Inside is comfy, cozy, safe.

Books are read, hair is brushed and put up in "pretties," breakfast is enjoyed.  

But oh, to step outside this trailer door...

(I just had to make that capture look as backwoods as possible.  We live in a trailer on a mountain, after all.)

{Find out why here.}

Right outside the door are happy sunflowers, some thinking about opening up for the world to enjoy,

others in full bloom.

And there are squeals of delight and shouts of triumph when someone gets "jumped" and lands on his feet.

And yes, we live in a trailer and have a giant trampoline set up next to it.  If you're looking for words to describe us, just call us originals.  Or The Redneck Riddles.  It's been said before.  We don't mind.  Really.  Because I hang the wash on the line right behind our trailer home.  I love my clothesline.

~Read the archives of our journey here.~