A Few Pictures

We were playing outside on a mild fall day when we discovered one of the many wooly caterpillars that were traveling sidewalks, streets & backyards.

"Lost my first tooth, Nana"

Derek was looking over some words that Alana had printed, and a couple days later he was asking Mommy to spell out words for him so he could write them too. He knows the alphabet and does a pretty good job.
Alana's last Fall soccer game. Here she is with her foot on the ball. She enjoys it and is looking forward to Spring when she can resume soccer practice and games.
I had just plugged in this friendly jack-o-lantern and was wondering whether the cats would like it. Koko was the first to pose.

Next time I'll share a bunch of pictures of the baby, April, who was 7 months old yesterday. I'm in a hurry tonight because I've got to get to bed. Going to visit Mark (our son) and Tammy in Topeka tomorrow.

God Bless till next time.

A Walk In the Woods

I love walking in woods, and the best place to do that is at Sandcreek trail. The head of the trail starts on the Bethel College campus in Newton. Having worked in the library on a different college campus for 12 years brings back feelings of nostalgia and the joy of seeing young people doing what they need to prepare for their life's work.

"We love the things we love for what they are."
Robert Frost, from Hyla Brook poem

I follow the sunlit-dappled path,
and it follows my back;
A cocoon of trees, an experience
like no other.
All five senses awaken, and linger
long after the walk is over.
~Jan Eitzen 11/13/09

I can't tell if this cut was a tree-treatment or if someone tried to cut it down and gave up.

Whatever happened it survived and, though not alive, stands as a strong sentinel in the woods.
"Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of His holiness! Tremble before Him, all the earth. Let the field be joyful, and all that is in it. Then all the trees of the woods will rejoice before the Lord." Psalm 96:9, 12

Can you find the spider? Much as I dislike spiders I couldn't resist taking this picture of one sunning on the "front porch" of its well-built lair.

Where I've been

I've been in between here and there. I don't know how I'm going to get caught up to the present.

I'll just start by saying I saw the first snow bird today (Slate-Colored Junco), and snow is forecast to be here in a couple of days. Where did Fall go? Alan would say it's in the 10-12 42 gal. trash bags full of leaves that he has to haul off to the landfill. Most of those leaves are from the Autumn Blaze we planted 3 or 4 years ago. Here's a picture of it to show you how it lived up to its name before it became naked and its beautiful clothes ended up in the bags.

Fall is so glorious, but it's been gloomy more days than not. But the temperatures have been unseasonably warm, although the wind about blows us away. There's plenty to do in the house since I've started my decluttering project for real!

Hubby has been hyjacking my computer to enter pictures and documents of his mother's, a few that go as far back as the late 1800's. Here's a sampling of what he's downloaded to Picassa. We hope to get them on DVD to archive for our son and daughter to have for reference.

Alan's mother was a beautiful young woman in the 1920's.

"You want us to go on our honeymoon in what?"

As long as there have been cameras, there will be those who ham it up.

I like this picture below from long ago of Alan's uncle and aunt