Halloween, the last night of October. No spooks or goblins knocked on our door this evening, so I guess we'll have to eat the candy ourselves. :)
No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. 
It was a gorgeously awesome autumn afternoon. Although we were tired and in need of naps, we chose to go out for a drive instead. The farm markets were calling, but, unfortunately, they were calling everyone in western New York. The pumpkin patches and cornstalk teepees were mobbed, not a parking spot in sight, so we drove on past the fall festivities to the fish hatchery at Powder Mills Park.
No small children fell over the edges of the concrete holding tanks today. No dogs ran recklessly through the park. (Now that I think of it, it was a small dog who pushed that little girl in several years ago. He jumped up to say hello and over the edge she went. He daddy hauled her away sopping wet and crying.) 
Out in the fallen leaves, crossing roads and sidewalks, braving dogs, cats, and curious children march the Wooly Bear caterpillars. Wearing fuzzy brown coats trimmed with black, the little creatures scurry along looking for a winter hideout. The Little Man and I found such a fur animal wandering across the driveway on our way in from gathering nuts this week.
N is for nuts, black walnuts in particular.
I had already raked and picked up the nuts that dropped a week or so ago (see here) thinking I would most likely leave the remainder for the local squirrel population. This afternoon I changed my mind. These nuts are a nuisance! I gathered my resolve, along with a wheelbarrow (or two) and a five gallon bucket, and headed out to see what I could do about getting my yard cleaned up.
My adventure to New York City gave me a new per
For the remainder of the trip I found myself looking at the world around me in a new way. "Look, Hannah," I would say as I pointed to an ornate building, "Art!" On our last morning, as I was chasing Hannah through Battery Park, I pointed to a structure and said, "What do you suppose that is?" (I was serious...) She gave me one of those "really Mom?" looks, quipped "Art" and kept on walking. I stopped and snapped a picture.
It is a good thing Leta made pistachio cake and brought ice cream. It is a good thing I saved the pie for the birthday boy instead of serving it up to company. It is probably a good thing I realized before Dave cut into his birthday treat. He's had fair warning. It's too bad one can't salt an already baked pumpkin pie.
M is for monkeys. They live upstairs on my bedroom window sill. They're very quiet so long as I don't disturb them. They're typically well behaved, unless of course I take them out to play.
This neighbor- hood has gone nuts! I've started collecting them. Yesterday I filled a five gallon pail and today I filled the wheelbarrow. (To be fair, I did dump the pail into the wheelbarrow, but only so I didn't have to drag the wheelbarrow around the yard.) I've heard that squirrels love black walnuts. Part of me feels a little bad cleaning them up. I did see a squirrel out there yesterday... but then again, the trees will be dropping those things for weeks to come and they make a terrible mess. If only I liked black walnuts, then maybe they would be worth the trouble. 
It will make the perfect swing! (Kind of like this one-->)I just wish winter wasn't looming so near. I might run out of momentum by spring. I wonder if there is anyplace wonderful to hang it inside...
I have been busy and distracted. The lawn has grown long and I have all but given up on someone cutting it neat and short again. I thought perhaps I would cut the grass closest to the house. Sometimes things get lost in long grass. I rolled the garden hose and dropped it in the garden by the dog house.
A shovel was fetched from the barn, a grocery bag (or sack, if you prefer) from the house, and I proceeded to remove the massive ball from my yard. (Actually, there were two of them. Can you believe I naively thought there were two white balls left to lay in the grass... I am just way too distracted!)
I must admit I thought them poisonous and thus handled them with the utmost care, but curiosity got the better of me and I found a sharp knife in my kitchen drawer with which to cut one in half. It let out a puff of golden "steam." Inside was sponge-like and greenish gold. Scary! Mom insisted they were puffballs and after searching a little further online, I've decided she is right. They are Giant Puffballs. My dad used to eat them, on the rare occasion of finding one at proper maturity. This on was well beyond the eating stage, but not quite to the "kick up a cloud of spores" stage.
L is for lips. What would we do without them? Either we wouldn't be able to open our mouths or we couldn't keep them shut. They're rather useful when it comes to communicating whether it be with a word or a kiss. They're also helpful when it comes to eating. They make a pretty tasty snack if they're made with apple slices. Spread them with peanut butter, add some mini marshmallow teeth, and your food just might just smile back at you. (Scary, isn't it?)
It was a wild wild wood.
