October Diary :: Saturday 27th

The last of the roses from my garden

Today I realized that my autumn days have taken on a happy and predictable rhythm. Monday through Thursday it's books and lessons, paper, pencils, and crayons. In the afternoons there are walks in the woods, the trails of which have filled up with brown leaves that make a wonderful shushing sound as you walk through them. The evenings are for knitting, reading, and television. Lately we've been watching old horror movies in honor of the shadowy month of October.

We've always kept a four-day school week, reserving Fridays for outings and special projects, but since its  deer season we can't visit our wild places except on Sundays when it is illegal to hunt. Fridays are now for writing--all day long and into the night. I store up my creative energy all week and look forward to having an entire day to release it. Yesterday I was well-pleased to write a whole chapter.  :- )

On Saturdays we do chores around the house. Today we worked mostly outside. There is a big storm coming so we put away all of the outdoor furniture for the season. I cleaned out the garden beds, cut back the perennials, and tidied the chicken coop. Everything's ready for winter weather. Last year a nor'easter brought several inches of snow the day before Halloween. 

 In a few minutes we're going to watch, Army of Darkness (selected by my young adult sons) while I finish the sock I'm knitting for Luke (hopefully I will have time to begin its mate). Before I go to bed I'm going to read another chapter in Illuminations, by Mary Sharratt--I am loving this book and highly recommend it.