Friends and food...

After not doing our weekend away together since before the pandemic, we were eagerly anticipating a weekend with friends at a state park right after our birthdays. But life (and death) throw curve balls! A dear family friend (a loss impacting deeply all of the families who intended to go away together) died after a 2 year journey with cancer and the memorial was that weekend. So instead of heading to the state park together, some of us did a day trip to PA instead on Saturday. My parents and their friends were in PA longer and were deeply involved in the memorial, so they didn't join the times the rest of us still gathered Friday evening and Sunday. After not being in each other's homes for a meal in years, we savored Friday night at our home and Sunday at theirs. Laughter, good conversations, and some music filled our time together. On Saturday our generation shared the long car ride, while all the kids remained at Tangly Woods. 

It was very meaningful for me to be present at the memorial service. And a HUGE silver lining to that whirlwind trip is that I got to meet my grand nephew in person for the first time. Yes, I just about melted, especially once he warmed up and was giving me the most charming smiles. So it was a day of grieving and celebrating, of honoring the preciousness of life as it begins and comes to an end. 

And while on the "sweet babies that melt me" theme, this little guy continues to do it to me on a weekly (or more often) basis! Luca joined Kali and I for a hike recently - his nap didn't happen nearly as quickly as he was quite interested in staying awake to hear everything we were saying. But he was eventually lulled to sleep! The leaves are changing fast now!

He really does smile this much and have his mouth open this much!!

He seems to thoroughly enjoy "wake up time" for Terah or Alida, if he gets to join them in their bunk beds!

Sometimes before they wake, Luca and I take a stroll around the yard. He hardly ever holds still, but he gets mesmerized when watching the chickens!

This past week he learned all about playing with blocks - not the building with them part but the knocking them down!

As a reminder of how fast these little people grow, our baby/eldest chauffeured her grandparents to and from West Virginia this past week, enjoying a few days with them there in the spectacularly colored mountains.

While they were away, things were buzzing at Tangly Woods with the approaching frost! What a whirlwind of harvesting - the last tomatoes, the last peppers, all the squashes, amaranth, all the corns, the basil for seed, and then bringing in the ginger, pineapple, amaryllis and tumeric. We are also enjoying the last of the paw paws and are still enjoying muscadine grapes, raspberries and SO many kiwi.

It was very fun to harvest the flour corn I planted, with the same "helpers" in the patch with me as when I planted. Just like they were ready to eat the seed as fast as I put it in the ground, they were eager for all the rejected cobs as I harvested!

The girls were a great help AND very silly getting in their popcorns.

Saturday night was calling for a frost and all Saturday afternoon Jason and I hosted a class from the Shenandoah Permaculture Institute while our 3 gals took their first outing SOLO to some events at EMU's homecoming!!! It was a delightful afternoon - it's always a helpful perspective to get to experience Tangly Woods for a bit through other people's eyes. And I was grateful that Jason and I both agreed we were going to "keep this visit real" - celebrating the way this little piece of land and the work and play has held us and healed us and overwhelmed us and challenged us... After an indoor and outdoor tour, we had a short work party followed by a happy hour of visiting. It's amazing how 45 minutes with 20 people can get all the PA Dutch squash, the remaining popcorn and paprika peppers harvested and tomato trellises disassembled and carted to the woods where they will be stored until next year. At the end of their visit, as the sun set, we were ready for frost!

And it came!!!! That night - which I documented in a post all to itself. My whole body and spirit welcomed it this year... 

Final notes of significance:

Prince has been spotteed - they are still in the seed cage AND looking quite plump - all stocked up for winter.

And so have we! Our three freezers are officially full!!

I'll end for tonight with a beautiful fall sky picture - I've taken many! My lungs feel like they have a greater capacity as I step outside at this time of year.

But for now I better get to sleep because our birthday girl is going to be raring to go when she wakes tomorrow morning...