A Time of Death and Work

The clouds are finally covering today after a week of glorious, golden sunshine and super blue skies.  We finally harvested our prize pumpkin and all the tomatoes.  I didn't have the heart to chop down the plants when they were so strong, and many had new growth.  I'll be curious to see how long they last.  I'm so grateful for the garden this year.  I marvel at the growth happening right before my eyes.  Even though I know most of the plants are done, I'm still pruning; still snipping off the dead in hope that more life could come to fruition.  Such a metaphor...

Donovan was a saucy pill this morning and ended up having to do a lot of chores right beside David and I.  I wonder about his strong sense of independence... I want to encourage it in the best way, but I can't allow him to be so rude and unkind.  I recall my own childhood and my reluctance to do chores... ah, yes.

We're reading Prince Caspian right now and we love it.  "Soup and celery" says Trumpkin.  Or, "Bilge and beanstalks" and "Lobsters and lollipops!" The boys love quoting him.  We go to Lethbridge tomorrow and I hope it becomes a time for us to bond as a family.  It's a long time in the car, but there's a pool at the end of the tunnel.  I hope we keep ourselves in good health and spirits.

Adbusters came today.  There are many things I am not ready to print for others eyes.  I think if I started, I could cry for a while...  The weight of the world is heavy with sorrow.

The Urge to Purge

I pruned the tomatoes quite severely today.  It was terribly warm and beautiful.  A sunny fall day makes for some of the most beautiful colors: the bright blue sky behind all the gold, green and orange leaves -- stunning.  We had a picnic outside with Weston, and then I just laid down and dosed in the sun for a bit.  I can't remember when I did that last...  After a while an ant kept tickling my back and I couldn't stand it.  (Out here sometimes they bite.)  So I got up and went and cleaned out most of the garden.  I wonder... is there an innate urge to work --to harvest at this time?  When the weather is fair and I have a speck of time, I find this hunger to work with my hands --to get outside and provide somehow or create, before something changes.  Maybe before the cold settles in for good.

We're risking keeping the tomatoes on the vine right now.  The days are promised to be warm and clear, but the nights may drop near freezing.  We almost pulled in the "prize" pumpkin as well, but Dave wants to see if it will get any bigger first.  --Here's hoping everything makes it through the night.  (Or we could go blanket again, even with all our tiredness and just-wanting-to-vegness.)

I also went through all of Weston's crayons today.  I sorted out the Crayolas from the want-to-be Crayolas and then I separated the pens from the glue sticks and the colored pencils.  Later I went on to sort through the boys' pajama/longjohn drawers.  Of course Weston vetoed almost everything I put in the give-away pile insisting that he wasn't ready to let go of that yet, and promised he would still wear it, even if it didn't cover his belly button anymore!  Ugh.  My boys are growing.  Donovan just pulled out another tooth tonight.  What is that #6? Sheesh.