Farm chores this morning were a chilly affair of cold hands and frozen buckets! It really is time to dig out the gloves (I couldn't find my work gloves!), and the layers, and find our winter groove of a morning rhythm. Each year, it seems, that rhythm changes just a little bit as our lives change. This year finds me out there with Harper as my sidekick. Papa leaves for work so early in the morning now, and the boys have left for school before it's time for chores (and before the sun has risen), and somehow my little farm girl has turned into a tween that really, really needs her morning sleep for all that growing. So she helps out with midday chores instead. And I, this year, am figuring out what I need to make it an enjoyable experience because honestly I do love that quiet early morning with the animals. It's just all about the right shoes, gloves and organizational system. Ha! But oh, it's true.
We had our first hard killing frost two nights ago. For a few nights in a row, I've dreamt about walking into the garden and finding hollyhocks, and cosmos, and even gladiolas still blooming while snow fell all around. But this morning I walked into the garden to find that even the hardy marigolds have sung their last song. It's all okay, it's time. And it was a glorious summer. But now it's time to tuck in....
