Delicious Autumn!

Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.  - George Eliot


Finally, the heat of Summer seems to have ended, and my favorite season of all is here. Autumn. Even the word itself has a lovely, if ephemeral, connotation. Time for harvest, and thanksgiving for the blessings of the summer.

Here at the homestead, the coming of the cooler weather means an opportunity to harvest the garden,  preserving what we can, and enjoying the last fruit of sunny, heat-filled days.

It also means we are able to complete some work put off during the heat: cleaning out and repairing the poultry houses in anticipation of rain, painting the dog house... sending the Nigerian goat ladies off for a romantic rendezvous with the goat of their dreams.

Hubba hubba!!

Finally, in Autumn my thoughts turn to the upcoming gatherings of friends and family. Halloween kookiness and spookiness... Thanksgiving gratitude... and Christmas sanctity. Ah, the deliciousness of Autumn!

Forty One Years on the Planet

I celebrated forty-one years on the planet this month.

Since my birthday, I've pondered where I am in my life - and this is what I've come up with...

Interestingly, I feel younger and more full of life than ever... at least until 9pm, when this Cinderella droops and has to find her bed. But then again - it's a rare day when I sleep past 6:30am.

I exercise more now that I did in my 20s or 30s.

I love and care for more animals that I ever could have imagined.

I set goals - and meet them! - better than ever.

I have relationships that I treasure, a hubby that loves me wholeheartedly, and kids that make me proud (and exasperated, of course).

I am training to run my first half-marathon in November, and my second in February. Until last year, I couldn't run more than a single mile at a time.

I am building a law practice, loving my husband, raising two beautiful healthy kids, and running an urban homestead - and I think I'm doing rather well at each... and loving each facet of my life.

Is it weird to have found such a zest for living and enjoying life at year forty-one?