I find myself singing “Rain, rain, go away” all the time these days. In some ways our rainy summer has been nice. Things that normally dry up during the hotter dryer days of summer have stayed lush and green to the end of the season. Usually by August I only have to mow the lawn every ten days or so, but this year I’m still mowing twice a week – that is when it dries out enough to make that possible. I’m ready for the lawn to slow down now. Plants like the wild touch-me-nots that usually fade out by mid summer are still going strong. The creeks haven’t dried up. The wet weather has some drawbacks, however. Fungus, mold, and other plant diseases thrive in the damp. I lost my tomatoes and cucumbers early because of that. Now my pumpkin and squash vines are starting to rot. It hasn’t affected the fruit. Last week Josiah and I brought in eight of the little pumpkins, the ones that we eat. The giant pumpkins are still out there. I won’t try to move them until I have to. I don’t yet know how we will manage it. The biggest ones weigh well over a hundred pounds. I thought my giant pumpkins were huge until I saw a news article about a pumpkin contest in Missouri where the winner weighed almost 2000 pounds. I’m actually glad mine aren’t that big. I don’t know what I’d do with them.
 |
| The first of the small eating pumpkins. |
 |
| The giant pumpkins. |
Our house is full of family right now. Hannah, Josiah, and my parents arrived here on Wednesday. Rachel and her girls and Miriam arrived on Friday. I love having my family around me. My parents are staying next door at the Shillig’s house. The Shilligs have a nice downstairs guest room with its own bathroom that is perfect for my parents. At our house they would have to use an upstairs bedroom and share a bathroom with everyone else. They don’t handle our steep stairs very well. We’re glad the Shilligs are so kind and accommodating.
With my parents here, I find I spend a lot of time sitting and talking with them. It amazes me how, even after knowing each other for as long as we have – 60 years, I still find out amazing things about them and about our family from them when we talk. It is also strange to me to see them so old. My father is 88 and my mother will be 90 in December. Because we live so far apart these days we don’t get together very often and my brain makes them revert to an image of them at a younger age. Then when I see them again, it’s a bit of a shock and I think, My gosh, my parents are old! They move slower and use canes when they walk. And they have gotten smaller. Even so, they are doing great for their age. I hope I’m as spry when I’m that old – if I make it that far. We’re glad they made the trip out to see us.
With Rachel’s girls here, things get very lively. Hazel and June always help me do the barn chores. They love to visit the chickens and they were so excited to see the peafowl chicks. Hazel likes to pull up carrots – I grow them just so she can. We spend time doing important things like popping touch-me-nots and swinging on the Shillig’s swing set. They bring a lot of fun and energy to our house.
 |
| Visiting the peafowl chicks. |
 |
| Helping with the chores. |
 |
| Pulling up carrots. |
 |
| Pinching touch-me-nots. |
 |
| Swinging. |
On Friday we drove up to our friends the Moore’s farm in Greenwood, New York, to attend a play and have dinner. They are friends with a family that has ten children and that family put on a play in the Moore’s barn. It was a Western adaptation of Shakespear’s A Comedy of Errors. It was funny and entertaining. The dinner was great. And Moore’s farm is beautiful. It was a very nice evening.
 |
| A Comedy of Errors. |
 |
| Dinner at the Moore's barn. |
 |
| The Moore's farm. |
On Saturday the sun came out and the rain stopped long enough for us to go swimming. I actually went swimming again – the second time in two weeks and in a decade. I’m pretty sure this was the last time for swimming this summer. The pool, at Stacey’s employer’s house, will be readied for cold weather this week. They also have a putting green on their property and my father spent some time there.
 |
| Swimming. |
 |
| Putting. |
That afternoon we went out to visit our friends Bob and Nancy Jones. We looked at their giant pumpkins (much bigger than mine, but not 2000 pounds) and their beautiful gardens. They cut up one of their watermelons for us – a delicious, sweet yellow-fleshed variety. It’s always fun visiting the Joneses.
 |
| At the Jones' farm. |
Saturday evening some of us (Miriam, Hannah, Rachel, Kurt, Julie, and I) went to the movies and the rest (my parents, Stacey, Josiah, and the little girls) stayed home and had a musical evening. My mother and Josiah played the violin. They played some games.
 |
| Grandma and Hazel. |
 |
| Grandma and Josiah. |
 |
| Playing games. |
Rachel and June both hate spiders. Rachel has a sort of hatred/fascination for them. June is just plain terrified. This time of year is spider time. There are big spiders all over my yard. I love them. There is a big one that has built an enormous web on the front porch between the porch posts. I watch it all the time. I knew when Rachel and June got here they would not like it. But I’ve convinced them to tolerate it. There are several big spiders in the garden too.
 |
| A few of our spiders. |
Today at church Josiah gave his missionary homecoming talk. He did a great job. Our family also sang Love Is Spoken Here. Now we are home from church and waiting for lunch. I think we’ve decided on tacos. I could go check on the progress, but there’s a lot going on in the kitchen right now. Hazel’s sixth birthday is this Thursday, but we are celebrating this evening while everyone is here. Miriam and Josiah are making her a unicorn birthday cake. There will be gifts and cake and ice cream. But that will be later on. With all this energy, I doubt there will be much napping after lunch. That’s okay, who wants to sleep when we can do things together? I’ve heard plans for a game of croquet on the front lawn, a game a Carcassonne, and who knows what else.
 |
| Setting up for Hazel's birthday. |
 |
| Mabel and the pumpkins. |
