Wednesday

Every once in a while, I really do love being up early enough to catch the sunrise. Today is certainly such a day. The stunning colors last only a minute or two, but oh, what a minute it is!






Very quickly, the clouds take over. Ed and I eat breakfast in the front room...






... and you could say the cheepers join us, because they make a rare trip to the front yard, sensing our presence, wanting to be close. (Here they are -- just below the windows.)






But after this meal, the day is a blur. I have my last long day with Snowdrop, so this, of course, fills most of the hours. (I'm not traveling until next Monday, but she has a bunch of other grandparent visits before her, so that I'll be retreating for a bit.)

Because I wont have her under my guard again until November, you'll see a lot of her here today. I know that there is such a thing as too many photos of a grandchild. But cut me some slack today!


As I lead her out the school door, she really lets me know that she wants to go for a walk and though I know she is tired, I give in  -- though it does mean that I end up hoisting her on my hip for a good chunk of our time out. Here, she is still happy to be tromping along...






Enjoying the leaves, the still plentiful flowers...






And of course, the pumpkins. She spots them instantly! Papkins! -- she tells me excitedly as I try to think of a reason why we should ignore them and move on.






They're big. Snowdrop has a solution: gaga help pick up!





Time for distraction.

Little one, can I interest you in an oatmeal raisin cookie at the coffee shop? 

We walk on.
 
Inside, she points to the pain au chocolat. That one!
Oh, the croissant?
Okay! Kwason!

We eat it outside, toward the front of the cafe, but she knows that there is a playground in the back.






I don't think she quite has the stamina for it. We walk back to the car and drive to the farmette.


When she first comes into the farmhouse, she almost always goes straight for the bike. She eyes it, touches it, tries to make the wheel turn. But she doesn't want to ride it.  The trikes at school -- she loves those! They don't wobble. This one not only wobbles but falls down. He gut tells her to proceed slowly.






The rest of the day? Well, of course, she wants to go outside.

As I spin around the rural roads and rutted pathways, I notice how quickly we move into the season of the brown tones...






Snowdrop wants to walk, but I wont let her do that until we move away from the road and into the farmer fields.

There, we review the remaining flowers..






And as we reenter the farmette lands, we discover pine cones! Oh, do we have a good few minutes finding them underneath the tall white pines!






The afternoon draws to a close. We go inside, I get her to try on a pair of winter boots... These are wonderful moments, though not particularly photo worthy...






She plays with toy foods (new additions: shrimp! pizza! croissant!)...






She pulls Ed out into a game of ball...






(So happy to catch it!)






And for a long time, she and ah-ah engage in a drawing frenzy.






She's inspired!






One last photo, just to show that both Ed and Snowdrop have that impulse to release their most inner tease:






So this is it for now. I'll surely see Snowdrop in the days ahead, but far less than I see her now.

In the meantime, I have an unusual day tomorrow. I'll be here, though not really here. I'll find a moment to post, I know it! But I don't yet know how that could possibly happen, given that I plan to sleep under the stars...

But I am hopeful! Until tomorrow!