My New Art Gallery

Long have I bemoaned the fact that I had no "reasonable" space to display my children's artwork. My fridge front doesn't work for magnets. I've tried string and clothespins, but it always gets so stretched out. The girls love to tape things to the walls, but I don't like my paint getting peeled off too. Frames with clips sounded fun, but too expensive. Finally, I thought of something! Then I had to wait a couple months to go to a town with a dollar store. I purchased six clip boards, brought them home and painted them the color of an adjacent wall. I impressed myself by thinking of using twist ties to keep the clips open while painting so I could paint the whole thing. Karl suggested putting all the boards together and painting random shapes so you could see where they connected when separated, I liked the concept, but couldn't do it. I couldn't get the image of a branch out of my head, so that's what ended up on the boards. Not that it matters much anyway, they're here to display the work of much more important artists:

"Take A Picture For Grandpa Root"

"We made a bench all by ourselves."
"Heidi banged it with a hammer."
"And Hannah held it securely so it wouldn't wiggle"
"It wary strong."
"And very stable, we can even stand on it!"
"We're wood bangers just like Grandpa Root!"

His first real word was "cat"

We're discovering that Levi is an animal guy. He loves the chickens, the cat and he share a mutual adoration (this one is named Suckers, loves to ride on the stroller with him and has lasted three months, a record around here) and he's fascinated by the calves.
His favorite being this poor fellow who got his leg broken in the process of coming into the world. I think it's that he doesn't run when Levi comes near. Heidi calls him Gianni (said Johnny). The others are Tyrell, Zachary, River and Treehouse, and the big boys are Robinhood and Little John. I think the only thing more fun than naming things is allowing my children to do it for me.
I'm hoping this means lots of willing help with the farm chores in the future!

The Turkey Fairy

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving from the Turkey Fairy!
If you look closely,you'll see that there are indeed turkeys behind her.
Wild turkeys.
Wild turkeys who hang with my chickens, eat their food, and join them in making a mess of our front steps.
Wild turkeys that we can't eat unless we buy a license that costs more than buying a turkey all ready to eat in the store.
Humph! But I'll move on.
My turkey fairy loved making her own hat, as did her sister,
and I had to agree, it complimented her wings quite well.

Beach Day... In October?

We found this delightful little sandbar while out walking the other day, the girls were quickly enamored and hopeful for a day of swimming there.
I wasn't too confident that would be happening in Canada in October, but God provided a wonderful bit of Indian summer and we're working on enjoying it to the fullest.
I do believe it was warmer yesterday than it has been all summer in some of the years I've lived here. Warm, and windy.
Perfect weather for wading, digging and discovering treasures.

Levi was thrilled with the outing as well. Just don't tell him he's wearing a pink hat. It was the only one I could find on the way out the door and when I tried to remove it for pictures to save him future embarrassment, he cried.
Thank you, Lord, for a beautiful day!

Glorious October Walk