Injured Thrush

Georgia found a young Thrush that must have hit the window just before we were headed to soccer.

It was stunned and quiet.  It had bright yellow mouth edges. which means it was a juvenile that still had its bright mouth to lets its parents know where its hungry mouth was in the nest.

As you can see, Georgia enjoyed holding its small delicate body while we looked for our bird cage and got water and soft grass. (We tried letting it go an it just hopped away lopsided, so I hoped we could let it recover in a cage instead of get jumped by a neighbor cat)

When we got home from soccer a few hours later we opened the cage and out she flew, strong and steady up into the silver maple in the yard.  Hooray!

Rob cooking meatballs

and Georgia eating them.

Rob is wearing the bike apron my mother made him for Father's Day, very cute and the hat is just too adorable.
I had to document the scene.

Upingill in Autumn

Upingill farm is such a lovely place to stop and get milk. 
Here's a little line of pumpkins in a sunny row.

Two young kittens seem to have arrived at the farm and Georgia was thrilled when they were the friendly and purring type.  She is still the cat whisperer.

The chickens huddled under an arch of morning glories with a wooden seahorse sculpture in the background. 
What a special place!

Full Moon Rising

What an amazing moon!  It was rising above Poet's Seat when I left work, peaking brightly from the trees.


As I drove into Gill, it rose even higher into the clear sky.

Neighbor Passing

Our sweet neighbor passed away last month. It's been really sad and quiet without her there.  I miss her car coming and going, waving as she came and went.

This weekend there was a memorial service and I was glad to go and spend some time talking about her and seeing some photos from her life.


She was quite a hiker and her hiking boots were there, at the memorial, filled with flowers.

Here's her obituary:

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/recorder/obituary.aspx?n=eileen-marie-scannell&pid=166145495&fhid=20838#sthash.sOELViz1.dpbs

She was a very kind woman.
We'll miss her.

Puppy Baths

We went for a final visit with the whole puppy crowd before they start going off to their new homes.

The Pups were out in the drizzle so we took them in one by one for a warm sudsy bath with Lavender Dr. Bronner's soap.

Lily had a fuzzy puppy she started with in the soapy bucket and Georgia was already onto the rinsing bucket.  As you can see she was having a very good time.

I love these fuzzy damp puppies!  Each one is so different and goofy in their own way.

This one is finished with rinsing and is very wet. Georgia's shirt is soaking!

This one is drying off and playing with a toy.  Look at that expression!  Georgia with a pile of drying puppies.
Oh we will miss them!
One is moving in nearby.
Thank goodness we can still get some puppy love.

Late Summer

jewels on a forest floor

Franklin County Fair

We haven't been to the fair in a few years.  I tend to work that weekend and the last time we went it felt like we just walked around in a billow of everyone's wafting cigarette smoke.

But  we parents pulled it together and went again this year. The kids barely remember all the other years we went when they were babies, which makes you wonder why we did it.  All the cotton candy and petting zoos and pony rides for years with them and they act like they've never seen a fair before.


They enjoyed the animals.

Lily and I went on the Ferris wheel which was quite lovely.  I think I am officially over my fear of hights, now, which was a relief to find out while suspended in the air over the blur of activity below.
We had a very anxious young boy sharing our compartment and he clung to the central pole and kept his eyes closed, so I felt very brave next to him.

The lights came on and it was an exciting place to be. I can see why people get so crazy about the fair.  The kids had a great time and it felt like we were at a big party.

The girls went on the bumper cars together. Twice.
I started to get cold and sleepy like this chicken who was probably so tired of so much attention, she was taking a nap in the bright lights.

On our way out, with caramel apples in hand, we stumbled upon the cow washing station where folks were lined up to wash and dry their cows. The cows were very patient and their handlers were kind as they sudsed them up.

Crab Apples and Jewelweed

Oh I love these sweet rosy crab apples in my neighbor's yard.  They are very abundant this fall, like so many of the apples this year.

Here's a bright red variety. I love how they glow in the bright golden fall light.

Some jewelweed in the swampy yard. See the pickle-like seed pod above the flower?


If you touch the seed pod it POPS open and spreads the seeds flying in every direction.

Below is the pic of the flower after I touched the seed pod.  It's a great trick! And such a bright flower. The hummingbirds have been visiting it alot lately.