Tuesday

Summer comes back for a day today. Sunny, warm -- bring out the shorts and sundresses again!

But our routines are fall routines: early wake up, later sunrise...






And early breakfast. But on the porch once more!






The flowers outside are fall blooms too. The obvious purple asters...






...and this year, the shy and tardy gaura, which held off blooming all summer long. Until now.





Never mind, I'll take her whenever she presents herself!


No time for yard work today. I hop on Rosie and go to the young family's home, where Snowdrop is just waking up. Bath time!

...and drying out time in the warm sun.






And then we play.






I have a chance to study her as she moves from one activity to another, crawling this way and that, testing her impish adventurousness on me.






How much does she understand? And if the answer is -- a lot! -- then why can't I recall my own years of babyhood or even toddlerhood? I have some vivid memories of a stroller ride or, at the age of three, a morning arrival at my all-day nursery school in Warsaw. But that's a later period of course. Crawling? First steps? We all have had some version of this and yet it's all wedged into the corners of our information cloud inside our heads and it cannot be recalled.






And that's all the more curious, because we know now that these early years, months even, are such an important age. Formative, foundation-laying. My responses to Snowdrop matter, even if in a few years, she'll have moved on and this period of play will be recalled only through stories parents (and grandparents!) tell her.






In the meantime, downstairs, the two cats (out of the three in the household) are enjoying the sun as well. Lucas and Virgil are incredibly affectionate with each other. Is Snowdrop picking up their sweet vibes? I have to think yes...






It's time for the little one to take in that summer weather. In the afternoon, we take a longer walk. To the zoo!


 



I'm not sure if she likes the animals better than the children who come here to view them. Let's just say she likes both. A lot!






Such a day it is!

When I return to the farmette, Ed displays the finished patio door project (well, finished but for my part - which is to stain the wood trim). Too, most of the grass is mowed. The guy is on a roll!

I look around at the peripheral farmette gardens. Not bad!






Everything moves forward. With pleasant surprises along the way.


We go out to lock up the cheepers. Oh! They're both hiding now. In the garage. We take them to the coop and talk about perhaps moving the whole operation closer to the farmhouse. Will they be more confident closer to us?

It's a warm evening. A glorious evening. I'll remember it later on... say in January.