For some reason last week seemed slow. Looking back on the events of the week, they seem so long ago. On Monday we drove up to Jasper, New York, to our friends’ the Dunn’s farm to pick sweet corn. It was a beautiful day and a beautiful drive. We filled four laundry baskets with ears of corn. We’ve been eating corn on the cob all week and one day I made some chicken corn soup and we’ve blanched and frozen the rest.
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| The Dunn's cornfield. |
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| Hannah in the corn. |
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| Stacey husking corn. |
Tuesday was the first day of school. It’s been a long time since I was a student heading off for a first day of school. The last time would have been back in the 90's sometime when I was still in college. Nevertheless, I remember well the jittery mix of anxiety and excitement. It churns in me like nausea every year as I watch my children head off for their first day of school. We’ve come a long way with sending children off to school. There was a time when there were seven Howe children waiting to be picked up by the school bus. We’re on the last one now. Josiah began his senior year of high school on Tuesday. He was excited and a bit nervous and possibly nauseated. Because I work for the school, I felt it too, but not to the same degree.
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| Josiah waiting for the bus on the first day of school. |
I usually don’t get called in to school for a week or so, but I had my first day back on Friday when I was called in to cover for the art teacher. Not a bad way to start the school year. I like being in the art room. There are big changes at our school this year – a new principal, a new band teacher, and a new arrangement with the junior and senior high grades who now meet in the same building (they always have), but are now separated on different floors.
With the return to school, we’ve returned to our old schedules. Morning bathroom time is more closely regulated. Time for homework has to be squeezed in to the usual routine of chores and other things. Bedtimes are more strictly enforced. It mostly affects Josiah, but all of us must make adjustments.
We made some progress in the Woodchuck War last week. We finally killed a woodchuck. I say a woodchuck, not the woodchuck because I think there is still another one out there. Josiah went out to check the trap on Wednesday morning before school and found it sprung and empty, but the woodchuck was there sitting outside its den. Josiah ran in and grabbed a gun and dispatched it. This woodchuck wasn’t very big and the one I saw a few weeks ago was huge, so I think there is still another one out there and I’m not calling this war over yet.
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| One of the few cabbages that have escaped the woodchucks (so far). |
My garden is pretty much done for this year. Out of twelve broccoli plants, twelve cauliflower plants and twelve cabbage plants, I will harvest no broccoli or cauliflower and only four cabbages thanks to the woodchucks. My potatoes got the blight and had to be harvested early. My tomatoes have the blight now and it looks like the vines will die before any fruit has a chance to ripen. My cucumbers never did anything. Our summer has been too cold for tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers to thrive. And of course we have no apples, pears, berries, or grapes due to the late freeze we had in back May. So except for onions, garlic, and a few potatoes, this year’s garden is a disaster. If we were dependent on our garden for all our food, we’d starve this winter. But there’s always next year. With my planned improvements and a little cooperation from the weather, I think next year will be better.
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| A sunflower in my garden. |
Our nephew Christopher Pister (Stacey’s sister Audrey’s son) and his wife Rebecca were here for a visit during the week. They flew in to Chicago (because they got a great deal on the flight) on Tuesday and drove over to Kirtland, Ohio, where they visited the church history sites there. Rebecca served her mission there and wanted to show it all to Christopher. They left Kirtland and arrived here on Wednesday evening. On Thursday we took them on an Amish run. On Friday they spent a day up in Palmyra visiting the church history sites there. The rest of the time we just visited and played games. It was so nice having them here. We thought we were done with visitors for the year. It was nice having guests again.
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| Scene from Bingham Township on the Amish run. |
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| Playing games with the Pisters. |
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| Saying good-bye to the Pisters. |
On Saturday, after Christopher and Rebecca left, Stacey and I drove up to Palmyra to go to the temple. The temple was beautiful and peaceful, as it always is. The drive across western New York was gorgeous, as it always is. I’m glad we live in such a beautiful part of the world.
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| The temple on Saturday. |
It’s warm and overcast today. Driving home from church we noted that there are trees here and there on the mountains that have begun to change. As much as I love the fall colors, I’m not happy to see them so soon. Today is Kurt’s birthday. Later this evening we are going next door to celebrate. And then another week looms ahead of us and away we go.
