Autumn leaves have gone from crimson to a burnt red.  No longer can you press them in the pages of a book.  All that is left to do is rake them into big piles and crunch them under our boots because soon they will be covered with a thick blanket of snow.  Outside time is a must for as many hours of the day as possible.  Daylight savings has occurred (we now wake at 5:30 AM is all that means for me….) and we have seen the first hard frost along with the first magical flakes of snow.  It is time to face it.  Those bins of summer clothes need to be exchanged for the winter ones.  Jack frost is knocking on our door.

With these impending thoughts it was decided that we should go on a hike.  Heart’s Content would be our destination bright and early this morning.  A gentle hike, a few squirrels, and a field of milk weed later we felt fulfilled and our lungs were full of cold, crisp air.  Miles so loves playing with his girlfriends.  They are so dear to him as are their mama’s to me.  I have said it before and I will say it again.  My friends are so amazing.  I just love ’em.

We took the pods of milkweed seeds and helped to their final destination for quite sometime.  I believe our three two-year olds would have been content doing this for the duration of the day.  I explained to them that these were little fairies flying around.  That turned the activity from smiles into outright giggles.  They ran through the bushes getting all kinds of briars and burrs stuck to their knitted sweaters and tiny socks laughing and falling and getting up and running all the way.  They were so innocent and sweet to watch.  We had a truly glorious morning.

Never before have I said with such gusto I am so glad to be alive.  And make an echo while saying it too.