Fall

Sage at 11 months

It’s been a busy, fun summer. Last week we finally started to feel the fall air sweep into our area. We’ve started firing up the woodstove in the evenings. I can’t deny that the smell is great and so comforting, but behind it is the knowledge that winter is quickly coming. We went out to the Blue Hills this weekend for a hike and we also snapped Sage’s 11 month photo. The trip included a rock scramble to get to the overlook. I almost had a heart attack watching Andy scramble to the top with Sage on his shoulders. But surefooted Andrew made it up and down without the least bit of drama…even with Sage in tow. I, on the other hand, looked like quite the spectacle. I should have been fearing for myself, I think. It was a great view, however, and brought up back to the days on the trail in norther PA.

11 months old. Unbelievable. Also the fact that Sage is walking. Unbelievable. Last week, Monday, she started off on her own. At first she couldn’t keep up with the momentum of her feet and was falling directly on her face. By Wednesday she would fall on her tush after 4-5 steps. By Friday she could stop her momentum and drop meaningfully to her knees. Now she is walking across the room and arriving exactly where she intends. It is amazing the difference that a week makes.

Another big hurdle is that she is saying a couple distinguishable words. Mommy, daddy and kitty are all pretty clear at this point. Well, perhaps not clear to the untrained ear, but we can distinguish them pretty well. She chatters to herself pretty much all day, so we know all those stored words are going to start popping out in the next couple of months.

Sage and Hannah at wedding

We’ve recently enjoyed a quick trip to Ohio for my cousin’s wedding. Along the way Andy stopped at a specialty archery shop and got his bow all set up. He has since been practicing and in ready to get out and bring some meat home to fill our freezer. The garden was officially closed this week. It was a great year and we didn’t get frost until October…unheard of. We estimate that we grew about 250-300 pounds of tomatoes this summer. We still have 60 pounds ripening in our kitchen. We were also successful with peppers, beans, cantaloupe. It was a fun season, but we are certainly ready for a break. We picked the pears this evening and they are the last thing we have to do (other than those 60 lb of tomatoes).

We’re looking forward to a slightly less hectic fall and are anxiously anticipating our anniversary, Halloween, Sage’s first tea party, Amy’s 30th, deer hunting, Thanksgiving and Sage’s 1st birthday party. Did I say less hectic? But all these things remind us why fall is our favorite season. We’ve posted some new photos on our shutterfly page. Be sure to check it out. http://noths.shutterfly.com/ or click on any of the photos to get there.