Today, Gary and I went out to look at the last vestiges of autumn 2013 in our part of the world. Fall is heading south too fast. I think about following it down to Illinois for a stay in the Dixon farmhouse, but it looks like that is not to be. There is too much to do here with two novels to edit and publish before the end of the year. The weather is cooperating in that way, with freezing temperatures at night and rain during the day. It keeps me glued to the computer.
But today we went to a farmhouse near Manawa to visit a young couple who just moved in. They talk about raising chickens, having a garden, maybe do some craft work. They now have a barn, a chicken house, and a granary. They talk about turning the granary into a guest house, too. I see decades of work ahead of them. I envy them for their dreams, but am so glad that we are planning to move to a house that will require little upkeep. We are too old for anything else.
From there we went to the Little Wolf Market in Manawa. I was there on Wednesday before my book talk at the library but didn't have time to explore the offerings. This time we came away with more crystallized ginger, corn and flax seed chips (yummy), dark chocolate covered almonds (even more yummy), and jasmine rice. We will return there whenever we are in the area.
We meandered home on back roads, flushing out big flocks of turkeys. They disappeared from this area around the time I was born but they are back in big numbers. There are still some flocks of geese, but most have left already. We checked out the Wolf River. Because of the late spring, we never got to canoe down the Wolf, the first time in decades we didn't get our water journey. The canoes are in storage now.
I felt we were saying a final farewell to summer and fall. By the end of this week, we can accept snow. It won't stick, but there will be no turning back.
But today we went to a farmhouse near Manawa to visit a young couple who just moved in. They talk about raising chickens, having a garden, maybe do some craft work. They now have a barn, a chicken house, and a granary. They talk about turning the granary into a guest house, too. I see decades of work ahead of them. I envy them for their dreams, but am so glad that we are planning to move to a house that will require little upkeep. We are too old for anything else.
From there we went to the Little Wolf Market in Manawa. I was there on Wednesday before my book talk at the library but didn't have time to explore the offerings. This time we came away with more crystallized ginger, corn and flax seed chips (yummy), dark chocolate covered almonds (even more yummy), and jasmine rice. We will return there whenever we are in the area.
We meandered home on back roads, flushing out big flocks of turkeys. They disappeared from this area around the time I was born but they are back in big numbers. There are still some flocks of geese, but most have left already. We checked out the Wolf River. Because of the late spring, we never got to canoe down the Wolf, the first time in decades we didn't get our water journey. The canoes are in storage now.
I felt we were saying a final farewell to summer and fall. By the end of this week, we can accept snow. It won't stick, but there will be no turning back.
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