Happy Halloween! It's Only Going to Go Faster!

First up, babies are growing and thriving! Look at my little guy, high up in that tree! He's pretty good at navigating and getting around the large trees. We hold our breath when they get too high, though. Very nerve wracking! He is plush and feels like velvet. I constantly pick him up! He smells wonderful, and, I swear, he has nearly-human eyes.

Baby Higgins has a super mischievous face at times, especially when she cuts her eyes at something to get a closer look (bugs, odd leaves, who knows what else), but this little girl is SO sweet. She loves people, and when she comes to you, she's so ecstatic that her whole body wriggles. It's precious. She's my husband's baby, but she shows everyone love.

Then there's my baby Trudy. Full disclosure: she has been the sickliest and tiniest of the three and, because of that, if I'm honest, she's the one I panic over the most and tend to baby a bit too much. We are finally on a path of filling out and holding our own among the clowder. When I look at her, she represents everything there is about rescue work. Look at her in those leaves! Be still my heart.

Also. Just WOW. Here we are at the end October. Now, Halloween is my jam. Absolutely love this fun holiday. It represents SO much for me - good food, silly fun, the beginning of the holiday season - you get the picture. But, let's face it: part of the fun is the anticipation. Now that it's here, I have all these mixed emotions about how things are going way too fast. It's okay, though. I'll soothe those emotions with pumpkin spice coffee and some sort of autumn inspired food (or Halloween candy, if I'm REALLY being honest). Today is also the last day of my October Blue Sky. I have loved every moment of it, and I'm grateful that I am treated to this brilliant show from nature every tenth month of the year. 

From this point forward, I think we all know that the year is just going to accelerate. No stopping it. My flowers are very nearly done (stood out on the porch the other morning and almost cried over them, that's the hard part of the garden, when you realize that it's truly finished). I reminded myself that in just three months, I'll be ordering my seeds again and re-planning and re-thinking some of the design phase of this past year's gardens. 

The coming months also promise a combo of Covid and flu season, so we've all got that going for us! I refuse to worry. I work to help pay the bills and take care of babies. So I'll gladly put on my mask, go to work and do what needs doing. I mean, my word. If the world survived WWI and WWII not even 30 years apart, then this whole pandemic thing should be do-able. Just be sure to wear your mask, wash your hands and use your brain when it comes to places you should or should not go!

The Halloween menu is sausage biscuits (vegan sausage for us vegetarians), homemade baked beans, potato chips and french onion dip, cheese and pickle tray, a bag of roasting marshmallows, and whatever dessert my parents come up with! We'll be around a pitfire, hopefully, waiting for the full moon to appear. Right now, the weather looks perfect! The high is 61 with sun! That means a clear sky will bring a quick drop in temperatures when the sun starts to go down. No clouds also means a perfect view of that full moon we're supposed to have!

From one Autumn season to the next, I sometimes forget that when you live in an old house with old, huge trees, a billion leaves descend upon you. So, my porch, gutters, etc., are trainwrecks at the moment and need cleaned up. I'll tackle the porch at some point this weekend, but I have to say, I'll leave the gutters for others to deal with; that is NOT my thing. 

On Sunday, I'll transition the house to Thanksgiving, which is going to feel so strange. I feel like I only recently talked about the zinnias finally blooming and that first Cherokee heirloom tomato from the garden. I do not start Christmas in early November. I start Christmas the day after Thanksgiving. For me, starting Christmas too soon only makes it lose its value in the celebration of something sacred. It's no longer special, just bleeds into the daily mundane. Christmas needs to stand out a bit more for me, not in a gaudy way, but in a time-sensitive way, where there is more of a holiness to the celebration of the birth of Christ, rather than a commercialized, canned sense of overkill. So we won't be jingling any bells any time soon!

I plan to thoroughly enjoy today with the teeny-tiny group that makes up our bubble (a grand total of six of us, who will social distance properly as we get together), and I hope that you find a way to enjoy today, too. A special treat or goody from the store? A favorite, silly Halloween movie? Or maybe just some nice music and a really good cup of coffee or other favorite beverage. Remember, if the sky is clear, look up today for your last fix of that October Blue Sky and then peek out again tonight for our full moon. I guess Mother Nature is offering up treats this Halloween.

Happy Halloween to you! May it be all treats, no tricks, and may the best ever Halloween goody find its way to your plate!