Frolicking, and some portraits

Like spring, the arrival fall is sometimes a matter of subtle finesse, and sometimes a more of a rude awakening.  The overnight cold snap, demanding that we turn on our heat and collect all our lingering tomatoes regardless of ripening stage, was much a rude awakening.  Today's high reaching into the sixties, with the sun bathing the harvest land in warm hues, was much more like finesse.  Calvin and I walked to the library again today, visiting with our friends, the squirrels, as we went, and taking our lunch along with so that we could pick a resting spot on our way home.  Calvin picked the gazebo in our little downtown park, and, before settling in, stopped by the bakery for fresh pretzels and tomato juice (the lady at the counter double and triple checking with Calvin that he knew it was tomato juice not apple juice, and my deciding not to enlighten her with the fact that he's only ever had and loved one of these, and not the one you'd expect).  Cheese, bread, and apples enjoyed in the sun that, at its fall slant, was creeping in under the vast geometric roof.  While there Calvin let me have a little fun with the camera and then, with that boundless three-year-old energy, took off frolicking through the green park space in the afternoon sun.  And I could have no better thirty-plus-year-old enjoyment than watching that boundless energy from a reclined and relaxed position on a nearby park bench.  The rest of the shots are in the October 2009 album.

Waxing into fall

The final days of a summer that was almost non-existent seem to have come and gone.  Day after day we waited for the high temperatures and humid air that we usually complain about through most of July and August, but they never really came and now we are here, summer waning, fall waxing.  I'm hoping for an Indian Summer (though I'm sure that's far from pc), but these wee hours of autumn's dawn are equally as pleasing.  It is still warm enough, if we bundle up, to go for evening walks, and because the sun sets earlier every day we see more bats before we have to go in for bed, and we love to look for the bats.  Even better, it's cool enough that the throngs of people who usually crowd our tiny village streets on summer nights are mostly home, ensconced in the light and warmth of their hearths, when we don sweaters and descend upon the Dairy Queen, then take our cones and, in the dimming light of day, walk along the newly released flow of Mill Creek, investigating the construction that is still underway there.  This time of year means it's cool enough to walk into town for story time without arriving at the library drenched in sweat, but warm enough still to walk.  On our way Calvin delights in pointing out the changing colors on the trees and the squirrels who are foraging for nuts to bury in preparation for the winter.  We spent upwards of fifteen minutes one day watching a squirrel do just that, and I'm sure I enjoyed it as much as he did.  On days when the sun is out, warming the earth just that little bit more, we are still able to enjoy one of our favorite summer pastimes, packing a picnic lunch and choosing somewhere, anywhere in the village, to sit and enjoy our food while watching the world go on around us.

I think I say every year that fall is my favorite season, but I'll say it again just for good measure.  I love the anxiety of the college football season, the colors in the trees, the cold nights and cool days, the warmth of traditional fall meals, the smell of the harvest.  It is a sensational time of year.

Another winner!

I could be talking about the football game, though today's game against Indiana left much to be desired, and may prove to be a real harbinger of doom (especially if, as it looks, Forcier is nursing an injured throwing arm), we can actually add it as another W on our schedule.  It was a dismal reminder, though, that we are relying on the courage and convictions of a freshman quarterback or two.

It does not, however, take a winning game to enjoy a fantastic pregame party, and this was one of my favorites.  At least once a season we rock the tailgate world with a full on made to order breakfast buffet, with eggs (plain, scrambled, or omelet? And would you like green pepper, mushrooms, or onion on that?  And what kind of cheese?), pancakes (would that be blueberry, chocolate chip, or plain?), bread (feel free to use the toaster, and help yourself to butter or homemade jam), and, of course, the usual sides of fresh fruit, sausage, bacon, cheese, crackers, taco dip, and chips, not to mention mimosas, beer, and wine (those are not all breakfast foods, you say?  Not a standard breakfast, maybe, but this is a tailgate, after all).  This is by far my favorite tailgate of the season, and as I walked back from the game I pitied all the people who were cleaning up the pizza or sub boxes from their own pregame revelries.  We love our tailgating crowd!  But alas, we've been spoiled for all other tailgating experiences.

Community Fair, take two

Fall, of course, isn't just about football and tailgating.  Fall is also about beautiful foliage, plentiful harvests, and community fairs.  Last month we attended the Chelsea Community Fair, and September is when Saline traditionally takes its turn at displaying its seasonal bounty, including champion steer, large melons, and crazy carnies, all of which were also available last month in Chelsea.  Saline, however, does have one major thing going for it over Chelsea, and that's Preschoolers' Day.  While at the Chelsea Fair it took a small fortune for an evening of entertainment, today at the Saline Fair Preschoolers' Day it took all of seventeen dollars, and that considerable sum got us in to see the animals, the produce, and the carnies, and also included a one hour concert by Gemini (our favorite!), lots of tot type games, and all the rides a toddler could care to enjoy.  Since the weather cooperated we were able to enjoy all of the above.  The Percheron stallions were my favorite animal, I think, while Calvin enjoyed one particular goat, and Gram seemed to enjoy those noisy, feathery roosters.  Gemini was a huge hit, of course, to the point that the woman in front of us asked if Calvin had the CD at home, since he obviously knew all the songs by heart.  As for the rides?  We happened to know, from the small fortune spent in Chelsea, that those would be a hit, and he's never been one to disappoint.  This one goes in the books as a real gem of an event.  Too bad it only comes once a year.

There's no sugar in wooden eggs

Halloween, that sugar laden pinnacle of the child's fall calendar, has come and gone, blessed by the orange rays of a miraculously warm fall sun. We're holiday fans here, and Halloween is no exception, so after breakfast we packed up and headed into Ann Arbor for the costume parade and trick-or-treating along Main Street.  Calvin chose his own costume this year (from an array of offered ideas, of course), opting to be a scarecrow - the easiest (and cheapest) home cooked costume ever: I got a number of fabric swatches from my godmother, Lonnie, and used thick thread and large stitches to put patches on a $2 resale shirt; for his head, a $1 straw hat to which I added ribbon from my craft collection and a couple of additional patches; and for the icing on the costume cake I added handfuls of straw (from the farm down the road) to his sleeves and hat. He was pretty excited about the costume, and everyone else seemed to enjoy it, but he was nervous about approaching strangers to say trick-or-treat.  The candy collecting process, however, was a big hit. In fact, having made rounds in both Ann Arbor and later in our own neighborhood, he came away with copious amounts of candy, none of which we thought he needed to eat. In the end we made a deal with him and he traded in all of the candy he collected (which we promptly passed back out to kids at our own door) for the opportunity to pick out a new toy. Therefore, today, instead of a sugar rush, he has a brand new carton of wooden eggs for his kitchen, with which he is at least equally as happy (the toy lasts longer anyhow) and we are much happier.  I think next year we will be the dreaded house in the neighborhood that passes out raisins.

More pictures in the Halloween 2008 album.