Harvests.  Fairs.  Core aerations.  Visits.  Visitors.  Farmer's markets.  School kids.  Allergies.  Sweaters.  Walks.  Grill outs.  Canning.  Bonfires.  College students.

This is my fall.  One thing falls onto another, pushing yet another back later.  Fun events crowd for importance until I can't remember the last time I cleaned.  Mass vegetable processing is a weekly ritual.  Winter is coming.  I can feel it in my bones.  You can smell the anticipation of rest in the cold wind around our house.  The last services of the season.  Only a few weeks to go. I try to keep my mind in active motion, instead of falling into the fog of suspense.  Here we go.

Music concerts are everywhere.  I was delighted to see a friend, Aaron Spina on his guitar at the farmer's market last month.  Kudos to a town that appreciates local talent.  I've also had many pleasant hellos with long lost acquaintances at the farmer's market.  And the art booths are always worth studying.  Eddy mostly enjoys the free samples and homemade treats.

The Minnesota State Fair is a long time tradition in my family.  I'm very proud of it.  Both my parents grew up in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, and both went to the fair as kids.  My dad, in a large family on a dairy farm, showed cows and projects with his siblings every year, and set aside the whole week and a half for the fair every year.  My mom, a more recreational fairgoer, tells all about what the fair looked like when she was young.  What it was, how it's changed, and those few booths that have stood the test of time.  Dan, Eddy and I took an evening to visit the fair this year.  We can't lose with tradition.  We always make a point to spend as little money as possible, while enjoying the fair to the fullest.  A $1 never-ending glass of milk from the milk barn, a ride with Eddy down the giant slide, and all else is animals, giant pumpkins, tractors, and people.  It does help to bring tasty snacks along to ward off the mouth watering but overpriced fair delicacies all around.  But just the sight of sky and lights and people at dusk is enough to make us happy.

My vegetables keep producing.  When I'm done here I am off to check the ripeness of the cantaloupes and watermelons.  I'll see if there is still more zucchini.  I've done enough blackberry trimming.  Now to see if I have a crop.  I think some potatoes can be dug as well.  There will be more chopping and boiling and freezing and drying today.  Oh, for a commercial grade dehydrator!

The day after the fair, Eddy and I prepared our house for two extra kids, then traveled to Rochester to see Aunty Lindsey's new house and to pick up the beloved cousins, Emma and Elie.  They greeted us with squeals and hugs and toys and tours, and we all ate together.  They rode home with us to arrive already past bedtime.  Personally I think everyone was too excited for their own good, and would've prevented some hurt feelings if they had relaxed a bit, but, what else do kids do?  I still smile when I think of Eddy's reaction to the two extra beds in his room for the 2 nights.  His head popped off his pillow like a spring every 5 seconds.  He didn't want to miss a bit of fun.  All day and the next, we crafted and cooked and gardened and swung and walked and watched movies and tricycled and scootered and bathed until I wore the kids out silly, as they did to me.  The party moved to Eau Claire where we met their mother for another 2-day round.  Then home and to bed for everyone.

There's a cold wind in the air every day.  Sweatshirts and fleeces are required everywhere, in and out, especially in the mornings.  My slippers and I are enjoying our reunion.  Our church is preparing for all the grade-switching and huge swell of attendance during the first week of school for college and grade schools alike.  This is my fall.