Here and Now... and Then

bye for now, little blog

2017-02-04T11:09:00.000-05:00

On Monday, we took a train to Philly and took the kids to the Franklin Institute, it was a good time. D man hasn't ridden a real train since he was tiny, and of course he loved every minute. We were too frugal to spring for the robotics or dino exhibit but saw nearly two shows in the planetarium and all the other great exhibits.

Happened to catch the Lunar New Year parade in Media, where the people in puppet suits scared the kids. I was holding Donovan, bouncing around to the drums, and he said to me so sweetly, " Mama, it feels like my heart is dancing!" He also says to me, "I never want to let you down". Heart melts. Me neither, little buddy.

D. turned 4 years old! I always thought at four the baby was gone, but as my last ( knock on wood) little human I guess I will pretend he's my baby a little longer. He asked for a rainbow frosted cake and topped it with crushed (Aldi fake) oreos, a triceratops and some trucks. He only eats the frosting anyway.

Had a nice little visit with Memere, my brother, sister, her fiancee and his mom. Also snuck in a little visit with dear friends. And now am the proud driver of a minivan, though I resisted as long as I could. Memere made this beautiful quilt for my little guy- now each of the kids have one!

Sara's man, Leaf compiled a little film of our time together (with a Canon 5D Mark III). Pretty sweet stuff!! Gives me, as they say, "all the feels" ( man, that sounds dumb, though). In her defense for looking so exhausted, Sara was very ill with a stomach bug. ( video uploading )

But anyway, I came to say, hello/ goodbye. It has been many months since I managed to post here (just 2 posts in a year)! I have been busy going riding and doing barn chores twice a week which makes me tired, happy, and smelling blissfully like horse piss. Going to the shop when I can to help with sanding, etc. Working on my photography blog and business, trying to run the books and taxes for Springhouse, keeping the kids fed, and this blog has taken a back seat. Instagram fills the gap as a microblogging format. Perhaps I'll be back here, though I'm tempted to take up my paper journal again. We shall see.

kickoff to summer 2016

2016-06-07T10:43:00.001-04:00

Although just a few short weeks ago it was hailing, now June has arrived and life is good. The birds and crickets fill the air with sound, I just want to lay around with a book and listen to them! The garden is full of weeds (so much rain lately) and volunteers, the trees are shrouded with leaves. All is as it should be.

I chaperoned my wee ones on the field trip to Knoebels last week - no one got lost or sunburned and we had a good time.

The pool is up and clear and Lake Jean is back! We spent one long glorious day there and look forward to returning soon.

I have been neglecting this blog lately. My energy has been going to weekly mornings at the barn and photography. Shooting, editing, learning, messing with the website etc. While it is STILL in the expensive hobby phase, soon I will have been paid as much as I've expended on equipment. I've second shot at 2 weddings, and clients have been pleased. There is always more to learn!

Yesterday the meat birds went "to market" and that makes for a very taxing day. It is emotionally heavy to bring the animals we raised from babies to be butchered and put into the freezer, and it makes me want to be a vegetarian again for a while! I won't miss getting chased by a herd of hungry dinosaur relatives every time I go outside, though.

HAPPY SUMMER, EVERYONE!

mine buddy is three

2016-01-28T08:27:00.001-05:00

This cherubic little man had a birthday this weekend. We escaped the bulk of the blizzard, but managed to find just enough snow for the kids to make the snow angels and do a little sledding, as they have been longing to do.

Things I want to remember about how he is now:

Every day he tells me, "Mama, I want you. I want you." It's pretty adorable.

He has a sweet tooth and is partial to M & M's, which he pronounces Emma-Dums.
He requests chicken soup with "tates" = carrots.
Yesterday is pronounced yesterator.
He begs me to cut his hair (what?).
He has a thing for hot chocolate which he calls cocoa but it sounds like toetoe and I think it sounds cute and do not correct.
The dog is known as "mine buddy". No, not your buddy, his buddy.

For his birthday he requested a banana cake with orange frosting.
As the gifts were opened he exclaimed, "I'm so happy!" It was the sweetest thing.

Here big sisters dressed him up as a "scary princess" with makeup and hair.

the tree

2015-12-08T15:01:00.001-05:00

December, already?

We had a nice Thanksgiving in the southeastern part of the state and then came home to the reality of a one dog household - with all that December entails as far as gifting, prepping for a birthday party, getting the house readier for holiday guests and the weight of it was a bit much for a few days.

The girls say getting the tree decorated is their favorite part of the season, so on Sunday we headed out to pick one out. The weather has been mercifully mild and this operation went smoothly considering the size of the tree! the tree farm owner counted 18 rings in our tall concolor fir. Psst - if you are near NW Luzerne county or Columbia County, Spencer's Tree Farm between Cambra and Red Rock is a great place to get a tree. $25 for any tree.

The ole adults got the tree and lights up and then the kids do 90% of the decorating. This year, our 9 year old finally finds the top of the ladder a bit frightening (as do I), this is a new development.

We've had some pretty frosty and foggy mornings but no real snow yet, which is fine by me, since I'm behind on firewood and don't love the cold. It will be pretty when it gets here, though.

the long goodbye

2015-11-09T09:43:00.002-05:00

This is Cypress. He's our nearly 14 year old Labrador / Weimaraner cross. After we got our first pup, such a long time ago, she was lonely and needed a buddy. I dreamed up my ideal next dog one night, this very breed and color, so when I happened to see an ad for "nine chocolate beauties" in Nesquehoning, while glancing by chance through a newspaper in Bethlehem, I had to jump on it. Despite the purchase price being nearly tenfold of puppy #1. Like our first pup, he was the runt, and is the sweetest most gentle creature you could imagine. I always said he wouldn't hurt a fly- except he hates flies and used to eat them, which was funny to watch.

Earlier this month, after consulting with the vet, I relented and scheduled his euthanasia for later this month. 2 weeks from today. I filled his overpriced arthritis meds ($2 a day) for the last time, and now I watch as the contents of the bottle dwindle, paired with the days he has left. I picked out some blueberry bushes to plant on his grave, and they are here, waiting. Oh I have cried and cried over this, but the logic is solid.

Cypress has had bad arthritis for years, and falls down constantly. He leaks urine and makes daily piles of mess in the house. The laundry is incessant. The smell is not good. We have a small trip scheduled and the vet advised against kenneling in his condition. He needs so much care I really cannot hire someone to do it while I'm away. And so the time comes to call it. A good death under a Maple tree.

This is a bit like the slow motion ripping off of a band aid, I don't know if the long wait is making my life harder or giving me less of a shock than just getting things over with in one clean jerk. I want to give us all the time we can have. He still has good moments when he limps after the neighbor's female dog, or even does this bizarre loping run. He lives for his food and still looks sweet and alert. The hearing is going, and he had a bedsore last week, and he moans and paces and wakes us up at night.

I'm trying to remember all the good times. How he used to smell just like Fritos. How he would clean Maple's ears. How he cuddles with the cat. The walks and trips we took together. Once he came out of the woods with a brown sack lunch of pizza, which he has always liked to eat. Also ice cream. How he would whine with excitement in the car. The time he killed one of our first chickens, or another when he retrieved a live dove form the bushes, and released it, unharmed. He's a relic from another time, before being married homeowners with a house full of kids. This dog is very loved and will leave a hole in me. Good boy, Cypress.

Horseback riding in NEPA

2015-09-04T11:56:00.001-04:00

Once upon a time, riding was my absolute favorite thing. Then I got married, had three kids, and a business to run. Since we moved off of the gorgeous Chester County horse farm, I'd hopped bareback on my friend's Percheron, and got one lucky invite to ride the roads Western with my neighbor. I couldn't stop thinking about horses, though. I would groom them in my mind to fall asleep. I even bought a saddle off of ebay because there were were about 12 horses within a mile of my house and i figured eventually I'd weasel my way into riding one. But no, I am shy, and riding other people's unused horses alone with no ring or anything just didn't happen.

I went to Peaceful Valley Equestrian Center to visit. Everyone was very nice and they have a huge indoor ring. I think they have a 4H program there as well- near Harvey's Lake, PA.

Finally I decided to schedule a riding lesson with my daughter. We first hit gold at Springdale Farm. They are close to Benton and absolutely one of the most beautiful farms within a hundred miles. Annie has a great haflinger pony for kids. Beginner's lessons are affordable, and she has larger mounts available for adults. A couple retired Show Jumpers live there, including a Grand Prix winning stallion!

I stumbled across Royal Rock Equestrian Center on Facebook, and lucky me - Carrie was seeking a working student to do barn chores in exchange for riding. Dream come true! I love going there so much - and although riding is scarier than it was as a teen and twenty something, it is still a blast. There are over 20 horses at their facility near Noxen, PA and they also have an indoor ring.

My kids had another great camp session at Pony Party Paradise this summer. The four day camp is a nice way for young kids to get to know ponies and have some fun.

All of these barns are on Facebook and there are still more english riding facilities I haven't seen up close yet! Check them out, NEPA.

and the livin' is easy

2015-08-16T13:27:00.000-04:00

summertime... and the livin' is easy...

enormous zucchini erupting from the vine

homegrown tomatoes

dips in the pool

loads of eggs from the chickens

flowers everywhere

the hammock

warm days

lazy schedules

soon it will be fall but for a couple more weeks, we are soaking up the goodness

lush Summer

2015-07-05T09:17:00.001-04:00

Lush, green summer, my favorite time of year. Just wanted to make a few notes to remember it by. The rain has been relentless, making a weed jungle of the garden and yard. Harvesting lettuce, chard, kale, strawberries, broccoli, peas. ( Evelyn depicted here nibbling on peas - she's picky about food lately but loves fresh peas) The spinach looks done. Summer squash coming on. Worried about blight on the tomatoes. Time to check on mushrooms and blueberries.

Picked up am 85mm portrait lens and am having fun shooting that wide open at f1.8. I booked a wedding for next summer and am excited about that challenge as well as getting back in the saddle, riding horses again (occasionally and not with as much grace as 20 years ago, but still) !

Little man is exploding into speech, saying "Thank you" for the first time, and new phrases and sentences, even. Like when I asked what time it was and he chimed in: "three ten".

Miss E picked out a chin length bob since these pictures were taken and yesterday went on a looping steel roller coaster with a sheer drop, coming out unfazed.

Need to learn how to get a fish off a hook (so squeamish and unwilling to inflict harm) to get the kids back across the road to fish at the pond. After running Middle Creek in our canoe, thinking about trying nearby Fishing Creek - it is up and muddy right now!

My sis and her beau were in from the West coast and we spent a full weekend with my fam., it was fun and we were outside and active more than usual- bonfires, waterfalls, the works. Next up: kid's camps and the rodeo and blueberry picking- bring it on!

And Miss almost 9 years old went on a 6 day expedition with grandparents without a trace of homesickness!

glimpses of May into June

2015-06-10T14:30:00.000-04:00

Spring, the show-off

2015-05-12T13:55:00.002-04:00

Spring was slow and late again this year. Now she's in full swing, the show-off. First the birds and the the bugs, then the peepers. The daffodils, forsythia in a riot of yellow. The serviceberries and cherry blossom petals dust the woods with white... the apples and lilacs - oh my.

Spring: Winter :: Feast : Famine

New this week: Donovan says "help me" and ________________. This other thing was something I wanted to remember. But now I have forgotten (inset lament here.)

Aha - just over 1 hour later I remembered : He asks, "Why ?" Which is huge. String 3 or 4 whys with an, "oh no!" on the end, and its almost like having a conversation! This is new.

Amelia and I were on a roll with daily golden hour bike rides up our road. There's a hill, and we'd get going so very fast. Keep your mouth shut if you don't like inhaling bugs.

It had been at least a year or two since I'd ridden a bike! With a nearly 30 pound wiggly human lump strapped to the the back, I was worried about the gravel road surfaces and my balance. Well lil miss took a spill the other evening - and got her self a doozie of a case of road rash. It is healing and itching but many tears were shed and proclamations made regarding "never riding again".

We walked over to the pond across the corner the other afternoon, after I had a portrait session with my neighbor's kids. My kids are very interested in fishing and got to see a bass and a bluegill up close.

Oh, and if you haven't checked out the woodshop blog lately, Adam took my new Canon EF-S 10-20mm wide angle lens on his last installation and took some beautiful pictures of his work in a home in Villanova. Click on over.

seafood-studded dinner at Old Tioga Farm

2015-04-23T12:44:00.000-04:00

Adam and I recently shared a delightful evening at our friends' restaurant: Old Tioga Farm. A spot in their schedule opened up, a babysitter was acquired, and I picked up a bottle each of a California Riesling and a French red blend. The menu this night featured fish. We were excited!

We arrived a few minutes after 6 pm and were shown to a cozy table by the antique hearth- with light flooding in through the lace-curtained windows, fresh flowers, a candle, and delightful music.

Dillon Naylor is the restaurant's gracious server and hostess. She delivers Justin's house bread selection, still and sparkling water to get the patrons started - and throughout the meal. Chef Justin Naylor emerged from the kitchen before the meal to greet the patrons, open wine, and any answer questions.

Course 1 - crostini with whipped baccalà

These dishes were inspired by Justin's recent trip to Venice (then Bologna, and Rome).

The food and service were impeccable.

Course 2 - gratinéed scallops with thyme

These were a tiny bit spicy. I had a very hard time remembering to photograph the food before diving in and tasting everything!

I brought my new Canon 6D and cranked the ISO up. It blows the older 20D out of the water for hand held shots in low ambient light.

Course 3- tagliatelle with radicchio and shrimp - Not sure I've ever had cooked radicchio- this, like everything, was delicious.

Course 4 - pan-seared haddock accompanied by rice and sautéed spinach

The fish could be heard searing during the pasta course. I could also just make out the diners adjacent to us remark favorably regarding the portion sizes. The atmosphere (without kids interrupting) was wonderful and we were having a fabulous time chatting.

Course 5 - orange tart

I believe there may have been ricotta involved. I was wondering if I would like this much but it was tender and creamy and I loved it. Dessert was followed by coffee (decaf or regular - or tea- a decaf machiatto for me).

The other remaining party in the red room invited us over to try their homemade wine and spirits: grappa, limoncello, chococello, and red wine. I has quite happy by the time we made it home to put the little one to bed.

A visit to their restaurant is very highly recommended. The meal lasts three hours (which sound like a long time in our hectic/ instant modern world), but the pace was perfect and every minute was an investment in contentedness.

Cash or check only, check their menus and reserve ahead. BYOB. Reservations are released the first day of each month and can fill up the same day! You can also ask to be placed on their email list for a chance to grab a last minute opening due to cancellation.

See more of my photos from another visit to Old Tioga Farm here.

growing up

2015-04-10T15:24:00.001-04:00

Number one is 8. She no longer asks me to wash her hair in the bath. Now, she has graduated to washing it herself in the shower - every day! Little milestone. She still wants me to give her piggyback rides to bed, though.

Public speaking has pretty much been her nemesis. So, I sure was surprised when she volunteered for a speaking part in the second grade play (Frozen). As the day approached, I was nervous. After a pause, she did very well! She speaks second here.

Number two, who is six, sang us all the Pokemon songs last night. The Stairwell Gallery in Bloomsburg happened to have a call for entries for a show called "What are you watching", and we used an old garbage picked frame and ordered glass and brought her Pokemon drawing to the exhibit.

Their announcement reads: For the first time, one of the Stairwell Gallery's exhibitions has work by artists from two continents: Video submissions for "What Are You Watching?" include a piece from France as well as more than two dozen from across the U.S. The show also includes 2-D and 3-D pieces by artists in our area; in addition to adults whose work you may know, we have a new youngest-Stairwell-Gallery-exhibitor, 6-year-old Evelyn Karr!

Please join us at the continuous screenings, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. this Saturday, the 11th of April, at the Antler, 24 East Main Street in Bloomsburg, with the official reception 6-8 p.m.

That brings me to number three. He is very much two years old. Part barnacle, part monkey, part tornado. Shortly after making an offhand comment about how many trip stop the ER I had in store for me through the next 15 years of his life, we made our first. He fell and probably had a concussion. He didn't look right and passed out being put into the car- was he asleep or unconscious? When we arrived I was relieved that he woke up. He grabbed my face with both little hands and moaned "Home, home" in the cutest way possible. They didn't need to run any tests, thankfully, as he was quickly back to making trouble after being held for a while.

When he got up overnight, close to one a.m. he started vomiting much to my dismay, and we made the 40 minute trek to a different emergency room, as instructed. There, he was given anti-nausea medicine, more monitoring, and a very expensive red popsicle. One boy, 24 hours, two emergency rooms.

These little ones are so fun and so exasperating. I wouldn't have it any other way- but am looking very much forward to a few hours off of parenting this weekend.

beautiful winter

2015-04-01T08:19:00.002-04:00

As usual, I've been a bit of a whiner about Winter this year. In earlier years, when I'd get out and snowshoe or X-country ski or even (gasp) go winter backpacking, I enjoyed it more.

We got hit with a very heavy snow yesterday and I went on little walkabout last night and was transfixed. So peaceful, the crunch of snow underfoot. It is just so damn beautiful! And now the sun is out, and with it blue skies and twinkling glitter everywhere and I have to stop myself from taking snow photo after snow photo. It is enough to witness it. Maybe I will miss winter after all.

Farewell, February - or Good Riddance

2015-03-02T12:59:00.000-05:00

I had some additional thoughts on our almost Whole30, but honestly have been a bit busy cleaning up vomit and running to the bathroom myself. This, on top of all the regular trials and tribulations of keeping up with our geriatric canine's mess-making escapades. Perhaps I am becoming acclimated to puke? The laundry is out of hand and I still haven't sanitized D's car seat completely. Each episode, I fervently hope will be the final one. But here we are, two days into March, and we are 2 for 2 days with upchuck. Woohoo!

We got our twice annual babysitter to go out for a date, but I could hardly stomach dinner and barely touched dessert at Balzano's (what??). I would have enjoyed staying in bed so much more.

So, I lost about 7 lbs and A. lost 13 or so through the month on the sugar-free, grain-free, dairy-free, legume-free, and mostly alcohol-free diet. Right away, we slept really well and had more energy than usual. I also had clearer than average skin for me. All good signs. I'd been reading the book Wheat Belly to fortify me mentally. Let's say that this book could have easily been titled "Wheat Antichrist" or "Wheat Poison". Now, this idea should not be a hard sell for me. I had a small intestine biopsy as a baby for a suspected wheat allergy. When I wanted to have my first child I paid out of pocket for blood tests looking for gluten issues. After my first pregnancy was labeled "failure to thrive", I ate gluten free while pregnant with my younger daughter. (Typing interrupted by child vomiting, again. )

The science is very compelling. Basically, mostly due to breeding and hybridization, modern wheat causes diabetes, visceral fat, skin problems, neurological symptoms, etc. The book, quite honestly is becoming a bit tedious as it beats its point home with a sledgehammer (I'm much preferring Amy Tan's the Valley of Amazement). And I just don't want to believe it. But that doesn't make the devastating conclusions any less real. Thus, I will be trying, when I have the energy, to find ways to eat and feed our family less wheat and refined carbohydrates. For the kids, that will be difficult. But perhaps paleo-friendly baking recipes will help. I am open to suggestions.

what I learned by cheating

2015-02-20T19:37:00.000-05:00

Well. The Whole30 nazis would for sure say that I should start over, since I have cheated in... let me count the ways.

The big slip was born out of a gift of a bottle of German champagne. My super helpful father-in-law camped out on our zoo for three whole days and helped me wrestle though last year's accounting and most of the business taxes. I was on cloud 9 and wanted to celebrate- woohoo!

Then there was Valentine's day and our friends were having a party. With saag paneer and naan and wine and chocolate cheesecake that was to die for. It's a slippery slope. And well, after that, I feel guilty and defeated so...

But all is not lost. I lost 5 lbs the first week and feel more slender around the waistline. I have learned some new tricks like- how to make mayonnaise in 90 seconds, how to make almond milk, and ghee, and almond butter, and use the almond meal from the milk to "bread" chicken or other items. I have made amazing meals and eaten loads of vegetables. Cauliflower "rice" is a cool no carb trick; and roasted carrots are amazing. Creamy salad dressing whipped up from a dollop of mayo, a splat of whole grain mustard and a splash of vinegar may be the last salad dressing I ever need. I also have become aware that there is added sugar in 95% of packaged goods- from soup to pickles to tomato sauce.

This little guy has had a rough month. I started taking notes, because he vomited 8 out of 11 days, every morning, and with two additional episodes thrown in later in the day. The final event was a chain reaction in a moving car full of children, all threatening to let loose upon seeing, smelling, and hearing the red waterfall caused by one half slice of partially digested pizza.

I'd googled morning vomiting and found cyclic vomiting syndrome and a brain tumor as possible causes, oh great. That was some good worry fodder.

He's doing better now- but big sissy tossed her proverbial cookies last night, so this must be our annual visit from the local friendly norovirus strain. Come on in!

I already knew I was a sugar addict and carb craver. I didn't know how often I nibble food items for and left by the children until I started to pay attention. I see now that I don't need to eat wheat or grains at every meal even if it is easy. But boy I am looking forward to a nice bagel egg and cheese breakfast sandwich and some of Adam's pizza.

This winter has been bitter and honestly, I have not enjoyed it much. Perhaps this challenge might be more easily tolerated when there are fresh foods from the garden and daylight and warmth to go outside into. But perhaps my willpower just needs an overhaul. The 30 days ends on the last day of February and I for one will be pleased to see March. But still, it has been a fascinating exercise and a worthwhile learning experience.

starting the Whole 30

2015-01-30T08:23:00.000-05:00

It is snowing here in Northeastern Pennsylvania- again. It is very beautiful but oh so cold and ~~we shall see if school gets cancelled~~ we have yet another day off from school!

Today marks the first day of my experiment with Whole30 which honestly, I'm thinking of as a form of torture, albeit for a good cause- health! The idea is eating only whole foods for a month, but the diet is pretty strict: no sugar, no grains, no alcohol, no dairy, no legumes - just loads of veggies, protein, some fruit. I definitely have a weak spot for cheesy pasta and sugary things like chocolate. I'm already fantasizing about March 1st- Red Wine and Pizza, baby!

To prep, I've stocked the fridge with veggies, eggs, various forms of protein. I think I will need to make frequent restocking runs, for produce and ingredients. Sprouting seeds have been ordered. Yesterday, I made Mayo ( purchased mayonnaise contains sugar and off-limit vegetable oil) - super easy! Today I will clarify some Amish roll butter. I'd also like to make some lactofermented kraut.

Breakfast was some black coffee and two eggs. I don't really like black coffee. I'm hoping that I will feel healthy and energetic at the end of February and look forward to shedding a few pounds from all the time spent sitting at the computer, avoiding that cold winter air. In the mean time, there are loads of recipes out in the blogosphere to peruse while I do just that, it will certainly be a month full of food prep and cooking with the easy carby options off the table.

Q + A with Photographer Nicole Dumond

2015-01-06T13:11:00.001-05:00

From time to time I see a newish local photographer on Facebook, busy booking days full of affordable family mini-sessions, and I think - I could do that. But then I saw family portraits by Stillwater based photographer Nicole Dumond, and I thought - I would love to do that! It was a whole other feeling, of inspiration, coming from the spontaneity and painterly light her images contained. When I saw that she was hosting an open house at her new studio in Benton, PA, and that her husband, Rich Dumond makes furniture and offers draft horse powered wagon rides, I bit the bullet and wrote to her, with some trepidation. What follows are excerpts from our conversation that I thought others might also find interesting. Click on the link above or her photo below to see more of her lovely work.

Nicole Dumond, Photographer

NK: My name is also Nicole and I also love to take pictures.You and your husband recently liked our business page on Facebook, thank you.I love your work- first saw it on a friend's wall on FB.

If I had a budget for family photos I would hire you- maybe a mini session sometime? Normally I try to DIY which can be tough.

I also adore horses and think those wagon rides look pretty great. Sleigh rides too???

ND: Hi Nicole! You’re welcome, and thank you.

I offer mini sessions 2x per year. Might do 3 next year and hold one in the Spring. They typically sell out quickly and are a great time for all involved! I also try the DIY situation, which is not ideal. I would love to try to find a photographer to trade with… I’ve been searching!

Rich does have a sleigh!

If you are interested, we might be able to collaborate and trade on some family portraits in exchange for displaying art work in your studio- Is your studio seasonal? I haven’t had time to browse your site all that much but am looking forward to seeing more! What I have seen is absolutely beautiful. I’m attaching my current portrait guide for you to review. It contains pricing as well. I look forward to hearing from you! It’s always awesome to meet other creatives/business owners in the local area.

NK: Thank you for your thorough response!

Our studio (furniture gallery) is currently open by chance or by appointment but we are usually here-

and are thinking of making a schedule of open days during the warmer months, 2 Saturdays a month

or a schedule similar to Forks Farm market where people could casually drop in. We have more work to do on the building and would like to have smaller items that would be more likely to be gift/ impulse buys instead of only major investments.

What would you like to hang there- some fine art type framed imagery? That could be neat. I was an art/ photo major (back in the days of film and darkroom) and plan on getting some things together but honestly don't get a ton done outside running the woodworking business and being a mom to my three little ones.

I really like your largely spontaneous, prop-free style and how you're presenting yourself as a business. When I googled you I saw you had a profile on CreativeLive.com - has that been a big help to you? I watched some free videos there.

I feel like I could learn a lot from what you're doing. I am curious how you gained confidence and business savvy, I've been a passionate shooter since I was a girl but haven't been frequently paid, I do it mostly for fun so far and can't fathom charging for prints on top of shooting time just yet though I understand the business reasons to do so. I have a site for my photo stuff here.

ND: Yes, framed fine art pieces are what I would likely want to hang... I have an exhibit coming up where some of my pieces will be on display for two months, perhaps some of those would be a good fit.

My mother was an art/photography minor in college. I actually have some of her film gear and have recently taken up film photography as sort of a 'hobby' at this point. I'm hoping to include it into some of my work in 2015. I have a wild fantasy of putting a black/white darkroom in the basement of my studio. I would need to run some water down there, but I don't think it would be an issue. Time would be an issue, however, as I still currently work full time.

Thanks! I have sort of spent the last year evolving my style and am still in the process of that. I have found that I basically hate props for the most part (unless they are somehow meaningful to a person/image)... I use them a little for mini sessions but tend to gravitate toward emotion rather than posed shots. I owe basically everything to CreativeLive. When I first started shooting (only 3 years ago) I didn't know a thing. I bought a used canon rebel xti with two lenses off of craigslist after wanting to learn about photography for a very long time and never going for it. I never once shot in auto, I switched it over to manual from the day I bought it and just did trial and error and read the manual and googled everything. I joined photography groups on facebook, and learned about creativelive. I listen to it while I'm at work (even if I'm not watching) to this day, whenever something remotely intriguing is broadcasting. I have never purchased, as I always try to tune in live. I learned A LOT about business/lighting/gear/etc from watching/listening to CreativeLive.

I have always loved photography. I took a lot of art classes in high school and ended up dropping out of my second year as an engineering student at Penn State to head to art school in Philadelphia. I studied fashion design then interior design and moved home and got a job as a designer/product developer. From there I ended up opening up my own boutique, and I learned quite a bit about business through that experience. And now I work as a full time designer at another manufacturing facility (Bloomsburg Carpet) and have been building my photography business since the beginning of 2014. It is a lot of work. I basically work from 8-5, sit through most of my lunch hour editing photos, get home and do my wife/mother duties then go back to work until midnight... It's been a long year. I have a dream of being an entrepreneur, so that's why I do it. It's a temporary sacrifice!

As far as prints are concerned, I guess I am very 'old school' in that approach. For the past year I have been a 'shoot and burn' photographer, I took photos and handed over a disc. While that was very easy for me and less time intensive then switching over to prints, it pains me every time I see a client hang a Walmart print in their home. Photography is just like anything else, you can find it cheap or you can treat it as an investment. Pricing photography is just like pricing anything else, you have to take into consideration your time, cost of goods, cost of doing business, etc. I run a legitimate business and pay sales tax as well as income tax, carry proper insurance, carry professional quality gear, etc, so I suppose my prices are somewhat higher than a lot of other area photographers, particularly new ones. I am also focusing on providing a more personal experience for my clients this year; I set up a 'project' for each client in an online business management software where I send clients questionnaires to figure out what's important to them and take time to get to know them so their session is less forced and more fun and relaxing, so I can capture clients how they truly are. I guess that is my ultimate goal. I want my clients children to cherish these photos when they are old and grey.

I fell in love with shooting weddings this year, much to my surprise, so that's sort of what I plan to focus on in the future. CreativeLive is what got me through my first wedding. I actually tried to turn it down and told the client not to hire me because I had no clue what I was doing. I watched Susan Stripling's 30 day wedding photography course and took tons of notes and literally learned everything I know about wedding photography from that. I had asked numerous photographers if they needed a second shooter around here and no one would take me on. Heck I even offered to do it for free. I to this day do not know if they just didn't think I was good enough or what the issue was. I am not sure that I have a ton of confidence as a photographer; I always question myself and want to be so much better. I do have confidence that I have a good eye and good taste... my mom always told me I had champagne taste growing up and I definitely have an eye for color because I've been tested... so little things like that help shape the whole picture, I guess. I am a stickler for skin tones; I hate it when a photographer over processes something and someones skin looks green or pink... I just don't get it! I think working full time has helped me value my time and realize that people are going to either book me or not, and I can't price myself too low for fear of no bookings. My time with my family is far too valuable for that!

NK: I'm astonished at what a hard worker you are.

I have so many more questions for you- gear, Lightroom v Photoshop or both, Do you ride English or western, how are those riding lessons going? etc, but I really appreciate your candor.

I find it super interesting to hear how people got to where they are.

Are you from the area originally? We moved here 10 years ago.

I find the directing people aspect of portrait work mystifying, you seem to have a knack for that.

The quality of light in your photos is often very painterly, beautiful.

re: your darkroom fantasy- I may be able to help you with that. In our first apartment circa 2000

my husband and I turned one of the bathrooms into a darkroom and I still have the Bessler enlarger, a book and much of the equipment. I'd love to find it a home. I found dealing with the chem disposal taxing as I wasn't ok with dumping it down the drain like the lab at the camera store where worked- and carted it to hazardous waste disposal. The silver etc is toxic and I didn't want to be polluting.

Personally I have had a hard time focusing on where to turn my energies- I think about becoming a doula, writing fiction or freelance, getting back into riding, my dream job when I was younger was magazine photography... but I would like to become competent in photographing people. I will keep watching those creativeLive videos!

ND: Gear? Oh boy... where do I begin! Haha, here is my list:

Canon 6D (two of these)

Canon EOS3 (35mm film- fits all of my lenses hooray!)

Mamiya 645 | 80mm lens

Canon 70-200 f/2.8L IS II

Canon 135mm f/2.0L

Canon 85mm f/1.2L II

Sigma 105mm f/2.8 EX DG OS HSM

Sigma 50mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM

Sigma 35mm f/1.4 DG HSM | ART

Canon Speedlight 600 EX RT (two of these)

I'll probably add something wider than all of these at some point early next year... I had an older Sigma 24-70mm but just sold it last month as I wanted to upgrade that lens.

I use both lightroom and photoshop... they are both so different and essential to me. I use lightroom to organize and catalog everything and do minimal editing. Anything that requires more intensive editing I bring over to photoshop. They work so well together and compliment each other really well, I don't know any photographers that don't utilize both!

I don't ride english or western or anything at the moment. I haven't started lessons yet. I have been on a horse before, but it was a long time ago. Our horses are all draft horses. We have a Percheron, a Suffolk Punch, a Belgian, and a spotted draft.

I am from the area! I grew up around Bloomsburg and went to Penn State and the Art Institute in Philadelphia for college and moved back to the area in late 2008.

I think creative people often have trouble knowing where to hone focus.. me as well, big time! I have had a variety of 'careers' and really struggled in college with what I wanted to study and what I wanted to "be" when I grew up. I still don't know. For now, I do love being a photographer :-) I want to travel more... with having a family it's not high on the priority list, though! Maybe someday.

NK: Wow, thank you for your gear list! I had a mistaken idea that only NIkon had digital lenses that were compatible to film lenses. I have just been learning about these L lenses, I love the look of the big glass but the price tag!!! I am guessing you've invested much of your earnings back into your gear at this point? I bought a 6 X 7 cm mamiyaRB67 film camera and lenses about 15 years ago and a Nikonos 35mm dive camera for a whitewater rafting trip we took through the grand canyon. I have a fun Holga plastic medium format camera, a twin lens Yashica, and a few other 35 mm cameras. Thus I haven't spent much on digital, my sister who is also a photographer and now studying documentary filmaking gifted me her old 20D body but I have been lusting over the 6D. The only lens I have over the kit 18-55 is the 50 1.8 which barely works now as I had the neckstrap on and leaned forward getting into a car I think and bonked the lens- now it rarely makes sharp images. Such an inexpensive lens I imagine repair would outprice replacement. I rarely use my Mamiya but haven't really thought of selling it since the value has decreased since I bought it... Maybe I should reconsider.

Where is your work hanging now? Have you thought about bringing it to the Fine Arts Fiesta in Wilkes-Barre? I've been meaning to do it for years but the drop off is always by tax deadline which means I am busy. You drop off your work and they jury it and if accepted it hangs during the festival. I'd be happy to hang frames in our schoolhouse, we still have some work to do... but want to get there .

How is your business organized currently? We changed the woodworking business to an S-Corp this year.

ND: It took me awhile to work up to the 'L' lenses. At first I thought I didn't need them... I had a lot of different lenses that were less expensive that were just fine but I felt that I started to outgrow them. I do feel that since I have upgraded my equipment my photography has grown tremendously. The lenses can handle so much more than my old ones. Love your gear list of film cameras! How cool! If you ever intend to sell your mamiya please keep me in mind!

My work will be hanging in the Multi County Land Abstract in Bloomsburg for two months starting on Jan 30.

My business is organized as a Sole Proprietorship. Considering the move to LLC for liability purposes.

Yes, I use my own property for much of my outdoor portraits, although I do love on location sessions and have done quite a few of those. I would love to see your church/home. I think that's so amazing... I would love to do something like that.

Final Dispatch from babyhood

2014-12-16T14:03:00.002-05:00

Donovan, at 23 months.

Yesterday my agile son climbed up on the laundry folding table- found some fun bottles to open and dump- this time it was the GooGone and my new bottle of lavendar oil. The tabletop is soaked and the clean items there now reek of petroleum distallates. He has drowned two rounds of cordless phones by bathing them in the dog's water- the first I pitched and replaced, the second was saved by a jar of rice. He mercilessly pounded the keys of my laptop, removing the spacebar. The think is a relic at 8 years old but I was making it work. Other liquids have been relieved of their lids and upended- including but not limited to: spray bottles of tangle spray and laundry spot treatment. Add to that list a jar of cinnamon, smells good at least.

Donovan's antics have me thinking often of the boy in the book Love you Forever.

"The baby grew. He grew and he grew and he grew. He grew until he was two years old, and he ran all around the house. He pulled all the books off the shelves. He pulled all the books off the shelves. He pulled all the food out of the refrigerator and he took his mother's watch and flushed it down the toilet. Sometimes his mother would say,"This kid is driving me CRAZY!"

This is most probably/ certainly? our last baby, and there's not a lot of baby left. Pedals his tricycle in circles around the living room, runs down hiking trails, still comes back to cuddle mama, and have his booboos kissed, for now. He has about 30 words- most used are "no" and the sweetest little Curious George-inspired uhuh (meaning yes). Lately he has added "Dough" and "die". The latter he says repeatedly to our new tetra fish; one complied. Evie is called Beevee and he's often heard saying truck "TUH" or cocoa "toetoe".

I was never much of a baby person until I became accustomed to being a mother to my first tiny daughter. Now diaper commercials make me mushy, but I think I'm ok with this guy being my last babe. I will miss nursing and being everything important to him- but perhaps will find the energy to accomplish more with my days when he needs me less. (Other mothers have written eloquently about coming to terms with the last baby, if this topic interests you, read their words here and here. These posts resonated with me.) All the while our home steadily fills with trucks, cars, and books about construction site equipment. I will certainly miss holding my own small child on my lap, in my arms, on my hip. He's growing so qucikly; they all are.

Everything and anything becomes a gun or tool in his hands. This sweet boy of mine, about to turn two.

the rug factory

2014-11-20T12:02:00.002-05:00

Now that my son is reaching 2 and has discovered Curious George, I seem to be able to fit in some handwork again. Perfect timing since gift giving season is nigh.

The latest thing I've been cranking out (albeit slowly) is crochet rugs. Most are made from cast off clothes and other prewashed or felted fabric cut into strips. They've pretty simple, since they are only single crochet.

The first and second rugs I made in previous years were ovals, but lately I've made peace with circular rugs. There exists a work in progress plarn (plastic bag yarn) version sitting unfinished, before I mastered getting the beasts to lay flat.The secret, according to this lady's genius post, is pi. Short version- about 3 increases per end for oval rugs or 6 increases per round for round rugs

I started making a rug for the girl's room, originally saying they could share it (hahahahaha), then gifted the blue one to E, as an early birthday present, which as I knew tied me to making a second for A. They are so thick and feel great underfoot.

The first oval versions had nice neat stripes of colors, but for these I started with spiral instead of joining each round and then switched partway through back to joining each circle and turning the work every time- which seems to help the rugs lay flat.

Back to ovals, I made this one as a 40th birthday gift for Adam (super bulky Alpaca fiber, works up fast and crazy soft). This brown one is the only rug here which is not machine washable and dryable- unless we'd like to shrink it, I imagine. Guess I'd better make one for D now and we'll be all set. Except for the bathrooms. And the kitchen, and by the doors...

fall festivities

2014-11-14T09:28:00.000-05:00

It has ben a gorgeous autumn. Now, the leaves are mostly down and we're expecting snow, so I'm taking a look back at all the fun things we've done this fall so far. We carved the pumpkins a little too early, so they were a moldy heap well before Halloween, oh well.

For Halloween, Amelia found a great angel costume, and an elephant for D. Evelyn wanted to be a zombie. I found some stained clothes and roughed them up with scissors and tearing, coffee + grounds, pokeweed berries, etc. At first she kept posing like a derranged KISS fan, but we straightened her technique out. The angel was terrified of the zombie, however.

My girls and I had been anxiously awaiting the annual Benton Fly-In ( & Pig Out) which was a blast despite getting rained/ winded out of the plane ride. Great home-cooked lunch plus the excitement of planes constantly coming and going. Absolultely worth putting on the calendar for next year! See more images at my photography site here.

Another local fall event worth checking out is the Fall's Edge Alpaca Fest. I pass the place on my walks and wanted to see what it looked like up close. We arrived just after the birth of this adorable alpaca, who we were lucky enough to see struggling to stand for the first time. Yarn crafters would love the wares but there were plenty of gifty items, a tour of the yarn mill (amazing) and empenadas I brought home for dinner.

Finally, no fall is complete without jumping in a pile of leaves. We raked (well, I actually used a push broom if you must know) and jumped at Memere's new backyard, where the leaves were much fresher and still bright and it was good fun that got debris right in to Donovan's diaper and bits of leaves were stuck in our hair for days and helped the new house look lived in.

Garden wrap-up

2014-10-21T14:20:00.001-04:00

Yes, there are bloggers out there who document their garden WEEKLY throughout the year. Alas, I am not one of them. This year I will settle on one look back. All thats left to do now is dig the sunchokes up, gather the green tomatillos, clean things up and perhaps mulch. We had our first freeze this week but I believe there is still some chard out there, which would be great in some palak paneer! (Psst recipe at link- I've made this a handful of times and it is a new staple here.) Once Papa made some fresh farmers cheese, but I usually just shred whatever cheese I have on hand and melt it over the curry).

This year we didn't buy any seeds and just used what we had leftover. We used our awesome plant stand to start tomoatoes and eggplant galore as well as sunflowers and- honestly I forget what else. Personally, I thought the eggplant was a fool's errand since we often see no fruits from our labor (I checked- they really are a fruit) due to flea beetles. But this year, we beat those flea beatles with neem and pyrethrin applied frequently early in the season. We limed the soil this year and were better than usual about fertilizing. My favorite thing to do with the eggplants was pizza (of course) but also this awesome smoky eggplant dip. Throw a roasted red pepper in there while you're at it.

We neglected to grow kale or broccoli sadly, but a friend gave me some gorgeous kale and I finally made kale pesto- really good! I direct seeded arugula- which lasted all season somehow, and lettuce, and squash- which strangely were unaffected by squash bugs and just succumbed to the cold.

Memere went out and bought some weed barrier cloth and that was a godsend for lazy gardners like us with heavy weed pressure. She also picked up some cucumber seeds and beans which did very well. The half of the garden without the cloth looked like a jungle. Now the whole thing does.

And our golden delicious apple tree produced its first apple, which we sliced up and shared. It was quite yummy! Hoping for more in the years to come.

Double exposures

2014-10-13T10:41:00.004-04:00

I've been loving talking double exposures with my mobile phone lately. In-camera film double exposures were a project I played with in the darkroom in college, but using a camera phone and an app called camera360 makes the process lightening fast and easy to share via Instagram. I'm wondering how these might look printed up - Instaprint is a website offering prints of all kinds (framed, on canvas, etc) made up to 20 x 20" from Instagram. It shows a huge library of images to choose from or you can upload your own. I've shared more of these double exposures on my photo site. If you like these, please click on over to see more. I find the layered images to be dreamlike, poetic, and less static than a single frame snap.

I have a Nokia 925 on AT&T - but if I could get a do-over, I would get a Galaxy on Verizon. My camera is great, but the local coverage outside of my immediate surroundings is pretty lousy. Also, windows phones DO NOT play nice with google apps. As a user of Picasa, Blogger, Drive, Gmail, Analytics, etc - I wish I had understood this. In fact I think I may have been warned- but in a case of in one ear and out the other. I think I was too distracted by the name "Carl Zeiss". We have a chromestick as well, and I'll be darned if I can find a web video caster for my windows phone or my ipod that will work to fling video from my phone to the TV, while the other phone in the house, a Samsung Galaxy, does this with ease.

And Instagram! As a person who loves to take photos, that is one of my favorite phone apps. Well, wouldn't you know I can't get the real deal on a windows phone- only lowly Instagram BETA - lacking all the great updated editing tools. Oh well. As a phone and a camera and for everything else, its just is fine and having a smartphone is pretty amazing- if terribly addictive. To run an additional IG account for work (@SpringhouseStudio) I'm also utilizing 6tag to manage the second account. Very handy, but the filters are inferior to the real deal in my opinion. It does allow adding the white or black sidebars to square up an longer full frame image, which is cool when square just doesn't cut it. Other great apps I am using are Citizens Bank mobile app where you can deposit checks with your phone(!?!) and the free version of icyclebeads, an app for women to accurately track their fertlilty cycle at a glance. What don't phones do anymore? If you have an app or phone or photo here that you love, leave a comment and let me know.

Unrelated- anoyone else using Shelfari or another website or app to keep track of your reading history? I read whenever I get the chance (and to fall asleep sometimes) and I like being able to make a note of each book and go back to remember which authors were my favorites to find more of their work.

State of the Chicken Union/ Incubation Links

2014-10-01T14:05:00.000-04:00

At the start of the year, our flock was down to a trim 10 chickens- 9 hens and that gold barred fellow up top. Now we are back up to 19! Chicken math. The red hen with puffy cheek feathers went missing, I feared she was dead. But she was broody, underneath the coop. Her efforts went unrewarded this time, but she was really patient. 21 days is a long time to set on eggs!

The preschool took eggs for their incubator. With the cold cold winter, my gals weren't laying enough to fill the 42 spots within a short enough time frame to guarantee fresh hatching eggs, so I begged some from a friend. Plus, I figured it would be good to get some outside bloodlines. She had a flock of barred rocks, buff orpinton, and roosters with Favorelle and Maran breeds in them.

The results were not as great as last year. The teacher reported "I was curious so I opened the other eggs. I found 17 formed, taking up the whole inside, and 8 that were runny. (It was hard to keep count knowing they were so close) I did not inspect them closely I just opened them far enough to tell the chick looked formed and I could almost tell by how heavy the eggs felt. Sadly, they didn't hatch. But, at least you know your eggs were fertile. The last one in the incubator died before I got it home. I couldn't do anything with it at school."

One of the dark chicks that hatched seemed healthy at first, then weakened, but eventually turned the corner back to vigorous health. I was told that this was likely due to dehydration? Perhaps it's beak hadn't been dipped in the water after being placed in the brooder. I gave 5 or 6 away to other families (can't remember, they came home 5/25) and brought home 10 chicks, 2 of which never looked right and I ended up culling. One died. The 7 are doing very well. I believe three are hens and the remainder are cockerels.

It is frustrating when so many fully formed chicks don't hatch. I'm sharing these notes for my future reference but also in case anyone else might find them useful. After doing a little reading I found this interesting blog post which has a great graphic of the chicks developing and this excerpt (see bottom of this post for those who care to read the details) explaining the so called "dry hatch" that I'd like to dry - may prevent so many "perfectly" formed chicks from not hatching. This page also has a ton of Q & A on incubation. I am also remembering one of my cartons of eggs was knocked over in the car, that was quite a jostle and may have injured some eggs. The hard winter probably impacted the health of the hens a bit- starting the eggs a little later or just a milder winter might improve the situation. Some of the eggs were older than the recommended week- but in nature a hen could take up to 12-14 days to lay her clutch.

"Dry hatching" isn't guaranteed either- charts like this show how many reasons things can go wrong- its amazing that so many go right! The teacher's counting down to hatch day seem to have been accurate - if eggs go in the bator in the morning that is counted as DAY #1 of 21.

Another blog post I found has photographic chart of development of the embryo at each day.

According to my reading the leg problem in two of the chicks I took home is called perosis ( or slipped tendon) and likely represents a nutrient deficiency in the hens and so I should be careful to feed them sufficently before/ during collecting hatching eggs.

The hatchlings were handled frequently but the strange thing is that "Pretty Lady", a buff colored pullet, is very aggressive with people and has pecked me and little Donovan. Yesterday I saw her on the roof! I am unsure whether to get a year's worth of eggs from her or to banish her to the soup pot as she corners my little one and makes him scream. I've never had an aggressive hen before.

And the happy ending is that "Eat Sandwich Hen" successfully hatched out two chicks who are now nearly 2 months old and both look to be female. She has always gone loopy every spring. She's funny when she starts to go broody, tossing grass as over her back in a strange sort of nest making dance. This is the first time she has produced live chicks. Another year she hatched one, pecked at it- and it died. So when I saw her pecking at these two, I took them away to a brooder for a day. I felt badly about it and did some research, discovering that this can be a signal to the chicks to go under the hen, to safety. After all they don't have hands! It really is easier when the mama hen raises the peeps. They do a great job of it.

Humidity

Keep the humidity inside in the incubator between 25 – 60% up until the 18th day when humidity needs to be between 70 – 80% for the hatch. However, I’ve recently been made aware of an approach to hatching called the dry hatch when you keep humidity to a level between 30 to 40% for the entire hatch. If humidity is kept too high during incubation, it can lead to chick drowning inside the egg due to a high level of moisture inside the egg that the chick reaches when it begins to pip. By the point of pipping, the air sac needs to be 1/3 of the size of the egg. By this point, the egg white will have completely evaporated. This way, the chick can pip and not have egg white and water clog it’s nostrils and suffocate it. Adding water to the water tray increases the humidity and should be checked daily to make sure it does not fall below 25%, which can lead to defects and deformities in the chicks. Use a hygrometer to assess the relative humidity.

Temperature

The optimal temperature to incubate eggs is 99.5 degrees Fahrenheit according to the experts. The hovabator genesis 1588 is preset to 100 degrees Fahrenheit so we had to make a slight adjustment to our temperature setting. Remember, lower temperatures lengthen the hatching period and higher temperatures shorten it.

electronic baby book - 19 month edition

2014-09-08T14:40:00.001-04:00

I missed the tidy one-and-a-half year benchmark for reflecting on Donovan, but my boy is 19 months now. He loves to have his teeth brushed just like his big sisters do, and he is using the potty like them, too! He's still in diapers, of course.

D. loves to be read to- and anticipates the next letters of the alphabet in Museum ABC by showing me his foot, or pointing to his hair, just before we get to the letters F or H, for instance. He makes many noises including woo-woo for a dog, zzzzzzzzzz for insects, moo for a cow, and a great horse whinny impression. He's frequently heard mentioning "ckkkkk" a guttural sound meaning poop, which frequently coats shoe bottoms around here (thanks, chickens!). He still doesn't have many words (mama, Papa, hi, bye, nummynummy), but makes himself understood, and very clearly knows what we are saying. Listening to him babble reminds me of Curious George, with all the repetitive mystery monkey noises.

Tantrums, oh yes, we have tantrums.

He wants to and fully expects to help. He fills the dog bowls with kibble and brings them to the right dog. He collects eggs and helps me feed the chickens. At the grocery store, he puts light items onto the conveyor belt, then bags back into the cart. Or, if I don't allow him to help, he complains indignantly.

He loves to eat broccoli, and is a great sleeper (yes!). Friends introduced Donnie to light sabers recently, and suddenly what was once but a toy fishing pole or a stick are now clearly a swords or a gun, complete with shooting noises and a big grin. Such a boy!

Donovan insists that we play "this little piggy" by shoving his toes at me until I get it. He climbs everywhere (including the porch roof) , pulls knives out of the knife block, plays in the sink, and escapes out the door if it gets left open. Trucks and cars matter to him. Sample morning events include D requesting banana (by pointing plus noises), then chops up said banana using a pencil. He begs for milk, then pours milk into another cup, mixing it with water and spilling both all over table.

He is adorable and drives me nuts. I love him so!

Fall back (to school)

2014-09-03T11:42:00.000-04:00

On the last day of summer, we ate dinner in the garden and went for a walk up the road. The gnats are so thick you dare not stop more than a minute to admire the horses, or they head straight for your eyes, the jerks. Goldenrod covers entire hillsides in swaths of bright yellow. The Canada geese are already on the move.

Heading back to school went fairly smoothly! (Here are first day of school snaps from this year and last year, for comparison. Didn't that little boy get huge!) Miss second grader went from hating school to excited to go- and our new Kindergartener is doing fabulously well. She had concerns about the full day and the tray lunches, but after a full week, she's happy and so am I.

Last night at bedtime- E: "Mama, I love you infinity! I wouldn't even exist without you!") I want to remember her as she was in preschool, so darling. The first year every single time when I came to pick her up at the end of the day, how she'd run at me with such joy, "Mama!", a big smile and a hug, "Spin me around!". And last year there were piles of painted portaits she'd bring home of her and me, two nearly identical figures. I'd always ask who the people were - and woudn't you know, every time it was the two of us, together. From now on, I'm betting that the other person in her art will be friends from school.

I've been running the log splitter recently (for the first time) and making a nice stack of firewood myself, which feels like an accomplishment. Fall mushrooms are cropping up like these Boletus Edulis from under some Spruce trees. This time of year is lovely, with the warmth and sounds of summer hanging on and crisp fall skies promising more mild days before we need that firewood, fingers crossed.