Final leaf raking, chilly outing and thinking putty fun!

The sun is streaming into the front room so gloriously right now! Ivy's over for the day and she, Alida and Terah are hanging out there and offering a steady stream of chatter in the background. Terah is busy making more creations with the thinking putty that has captured her imagination of late. We have many pictures of recent creations, but this is among my favorites of the ones Jason did one evening when he was playing with her. She likes to ask us what she should make and then tries to create that thing. She has spent hours making things during the last week. It's one of the things I like about the kids getting to organize their days. When something just calls for their attention in large quantities, they can follow that urge and see where it takes them. She's been having a lot of fun (and since I started this post both Alida and Ivy have joined her)!

Speaking of fun, wedged between our final leaf raking days, we enjoyed a Sunday outing with Emily and Ivy. Chilly but fun! We visited the Luray Zoo (so Terah and Alida could use a summer reading program coupon and to check on "our" goat). Look who's still there!

Cookie Dough is now the oldest goat in the petting zoo (and sadly one of the meanest). Sigh! We didn't mean to donate a troublemaker. But the owner (maybe to make us feel better?) did say that guests seem to enjoy his antics. He is certainly very skilled at getting as much food out of visitors as possible! Terah was still scared of all but the littlest goat (she worked up the courage for a few pets before we departed). 

From there we went to Storybook Trail for some bike riding/walking, view gazing, rock climbing/exploring, and a picnic. It was much more enjoyable to keep moving to stay warm, so we didn't linger too long picnicking. 

While there and trying to do a family selfie after Ivy and Emily headed home, we discovered a new feature (dual capture) on my phone. So here's us and the view we were enjoying from the one lookout!

Yesterday was slated to finish up the leaf raking next door. We didn't quite get all the leaves/pine needles, but as the sun set we were out of time AND out of leaf pile space or spots for pine needles. So four full days of raking netted us 1 massive leaf pile (17 trailer loads), a new deep layer of pine needles for the swing set and paths to it, many acorns and lots of bedding for the pigs, and 2 loads of leaves that Jason mowed/chopped into the new refurbished place in 1/2 of the carbonaceous shed. 

The leaf pile fun is definitely a big part of why these days are fun family work days - there's a good amount of play inserted here and there. And the younger gals don't like to miss a single opportunity for a trailer ride (Jason got to pick up two very cute hitchhikers!).

We definitely had no time to spare last evening - we unloaded the last batch of leaves as daylight waned. I can't say I was tired of raking leaves as I always look forward to those days in the fresh air. But it was time to bring that project to an end since chicken butchering and hog butchering are coming up. Speaking of which, I hate to confess but I'm going to do so anyway - we had this week nicely planned out until I left the chickens run this morning. Only when I got back to the house did the horrible realization hit me - they were to stay in today for chicken selection and then butchering tomorrow. You CANNOT catch 100-200 chickens that are free ranging. Sigh! Thanks for a compassionate and gracious hubby who worked with me to revise our plan for the week!

Now for an afternoon walk with Kali before the sun goes down. I'm still adjusting to it getting dark shortly after 5 - it sneaks up on me some days, but I do find that I like the longer evenings!