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.

Labor Day weekend

We labored right through the holiday weekend, putting some final 2009 touches on the new garden we added this year, the pictures of which we will share soon.  The story of the garden itself is pretty good, one that I'll want to spend a little more time formulating before I throw it up here, so you'll have to take my word for it that by the time Monday night rolled around we were three tired puppies.  Of course, that might have something to do with the fact that, in addition to all that labor, we also partied our way through the weekend.  The full moon was delightful on Friday night, so we donned bug spray and long pants, grabbed our flashlights, and went for a full moon hike in the meadow, looking for bats and owls.  We didn't find any owls, but we found plenty of wonderful bats, and a handful of yawns as well.  Saturday, of course, was Opening Day for tailgaters, and Sunday found us staying up late yet again, this time for a camp fire in our own driveway (the backyard patio doesn't exist yet), complete with marshmallows and ghost stories.  I'd say it was a perfect holiday weekend.

Football season kickoff

It's that time of year again!  The leaves are just starting to turn colors, the nights are cooling off, the rains are coming in, and the Michigan Marching Band can be heard practicing nightly, at least by those who live in the area.  We had our first tailgate of the season today–a time to reconnect with good fall friends and good fall foods–and we even had an enjoyable football game following!  The past few weeks many Michigan football fans have been walking around with big question marks hanging over their heads.  What will the season be like?  Who will be the quarterback?  Will our coach be headed to court?  And, really, we are still walking around with question marks hanging over our heads, but they might at least be a little smaller, since the game on Saturday was actually enjoyable to watch (easy to say, of course, since we won, but I remember a day when a game against Western was not question mark at all, and a win against Western nothing to celebrate). But regardless of the team or the game, the tailgate marked the beginning of a great season of parties to come. 

Go blue!

Dirt.

A little boy's favorite sensory experience.

Here, there, everywhere.

That, in a brief statement, is the sum of our Saturday.  From home to Toledo, then to the other side of Toledo, then to White Lake, then home again.  If, however, we're to take that brief statement and make it more in depth we would say: to the Toledo Zoo in the morning, then to a first birthday party on the other side of that same city, then to dinner with friends in White Lake, then home again well after dark.  And if we were to make that statement even more descriptive we would say: After a hurried morning at home, to the Toledo Zoo, where the seals were being fed, the wolves were active, and the sloth bear was snorty; after a quick lunch at the zoo, to the first birthday party of an adorable little girl who belongs to a close high school friend of mine whom I haven't seen in, well, probably fourteen years; after snacks and cake at the party, straight up to White Lake, Michigan, with a short nap in the car (for one out of three of us), for dinner, drinks, and playtime with our good college friends and their two sons. And that about tells the whole story, but to give it color I'd have to add to it: that the wolves are my favorite animal and seeing them up and about was a true joy; that seeing a close friend after fourteen years, being able to talk with him as though that day fourteen years ago was yesterday, and having Jon enjoy that visit as much as I did, was also pure joy; that having some quiet time in the car on the way up to White Lake, sharing a book out loud and talking, just the two of us, was actually enjoyable as well; that a dinner party with good friends when our kids can play together, cooperatively and happily, for extended periods of time–in an entirely different room–is incredibly relaxing and added yet more true joy to the day; that being able to leave for home well past bedtime and have our son, who has been almost impeccably well mannered all day, fall asleep in the car and still go to bed without trouble at home, is the perfect cap to the end of a truly enjoyable day.  And now, that's the whole story.

More pictures from the day in the August 2009, too album.