There are lessons to be learned in the simplest of things. Once you look for God in the mundane, you see extraordinary concepts play out before your very eyes. I’ve been designing autumn themed shirts for my Etsy shop so I’ve been searching through graphics with images of leaves, pumpkins, Pumpkin Spice Lattes…even footballs. While I’m not ready for summer to be over, I do love the change of seasons and autumn is certainly stunning when she gets all dressed up.

"We Were Young and Beautiful...Now We Are Just Beautiful!"

An old woman came to my door today. I’ve known her since I was in my early twenties. I lost track of her in my thirties. Then, she moved in with us when I was in my early forties. She was usually pretty quiet. She struck me as sad though she never told me that. When I turned fifty-three, I moved away and she didn’t come with me.

I got up early yesterday to meet my high school girlfriends for coffee. There were only seven of us. It’s still a busy time so I’m sure more will come in the fall. The first three of us to arrive were widowed…ten years, five years, and one year. Another was supposed to come, but something came up and she had to cancel. I can’t speak for her, but at two months, there were a LOT of things I cancelled because I just wasn’t up for it. In fact, when I was at two months, I was trying my hardest to get lost in the wilderness and backroads of Colorado. 

Looking down the creek, I think the big rains we’ve had the last few years is washing dirt and rocks down from high up and it’s filling the creek. Maybe that’s why it is spreading out.

I fiddled around on the computer and cleaned up the house before I came home yesterday. I moved a floor mat to the inside of the back door into the kitchen because we’re always tracking mud in. The steps off the back porch and that sidewalk grow moss and algae on them, so every step is wet and soggy and that just leaves muddy footprints all over the kitchen. I know it’s not my house anymore, but Grandma would want it kept clean, so I cleaned it.

It was cool and a little drizzly…definitely a little hint of fall in the air. I fiddled around on the computer for a bit. I ate good, healthy food. I visited with the neighbors across the road and they brought me fresh veggies from their garden. And, my cousin’s wife came for a visit. We talked till 11:30 last night! I shared my new bounty of veggies with her. I head home today and can’t wait to see my Mr. FixIt!!!

I took this picture Monday night before another wave of rain hit. If you zoom in, just on the far side of the pollinator garden on the left, you can see my little buck that comes to see me every evening at Marshmallow Ranch. He’s a handsome fellow.

We ran to town yesterday to pick up a prescription and some fresh produce from the farm stand. On the way home, I told Mr. FixIt I was going to fix supper then go back out to the farm since my stay was interrupted on Monday. I got here about 8:00pm and stopped to talk to the neighbors across the road. By the time I got to the house, the power was out again. A huge tree fell across the road at 2:00 yesterday morning and took out the power lines. The electric came back on at 10:00 and was on the rest of the day…till I got here.

This beautiful Ohio Blue Swallowtail stayed with me for well over half an hour. It would flitter away and eventually make its way back and sit on the porch floor at my feet. It’s magical moments like this that keep life interesting and reminds me of just how much beauty there is in the world.

Well, what was supposed to be a three to four day respite at The Farm turned into a quick overnight. A strong but brief thunderstorm blew through just before dawn. The last crack of thunder was a flash/bang that about scared the bejeebers out of me. It settled down and I fell back to sleep. Surprisingly, I didn’t wake up till about 10:00. Mr. FixIt always seems to know when I wake up so he texted me a little after. We chatted a bit then I got up and made my cuppa and went out on the front porch to listen to the birds.

I know how blessed I am to still have time at The Farm. It’s old. The pump on the well isn’t working now. The floor isn’t level and there is evidence of carpenter ants here and there. But no matter what else is going on in my world, when I walk in that back door…it smells exactly as it has since I was brought here the very first time. And that’s been quite a while ago.

Two little mushrooms under the maple tree.

When we got home a week ago, the grass was so long I had to cut it on 5 to keep from popping the belt off the mower deck. I knew I’d be mowing later in the week because 5 isn’t very short. I mowed yesterday on 4 to get caught up and maybe not have to mow for another week. The fall grass is growing now and it’s rough and tough to mow. I didn’t like the way the mower sounded so I came in off the field to grease the fittings in the steering and the wheels. I couldn’t get to the fitting for the steering column because it was too hot. Mr. FixIt use the air compressor and blew off all the extra grass so we can run it up on the truck ramps soon and hit that fitting with some grease. In the meantime, he sprayed a little WD40 on it and it sounds a lot better.

I’m so glad it’s the weekend and we got through this first week back. Remedial mowing was fun. At least it wasn’t blistering hot like it had been. Then there were two days with trips to town…both for appointments for Mr. FixIt. He’s suffered with back pain for years and I think we’re onto something here with the treatment plan. It’s helped one problem, but uncovered another because the pain was masking it. Now that we’ve uncovered what’s going on, we have a plan to work with and I’m sure we’ll having him back to his happy self in a short while. The man NEVER complains, so when he admits he’s in pain, I pay attention.