october - there is something so magical about idaho in october. the leaves on some of our maple trees are the deepest red. i even have a little hydrangea bush that's decided to let a single bloom come out. it's like - thank god it's not 29348 degrees anymore.

but seriously...thank god it's not 29348 degrees anymore. i fully agree with the hydrangea plant. it feels good to wear jeans and a sweater again...and flannel...my one true love.

then of course there's all the harvesting going on - final cuttings of hay and corn just a few weeks away. now that all the water is turned off the corn the stalks are turning golden yellow and the gals and i headed out yesterday and chopped some down to flank either side of the porch. farm perk.

another farm perk - our own private pumpkin patch. i mean...it wasn't really our own, but it felt that way. we were literally the only people there. not even the owner / operator was in attendance. amy had called him up and let him know we were going to be stopping by...so really it's amy's private pumpkin patch and i just know people in high farm places...or something like that.

kaye has reached that glorious age (or at least the glorious height and coordination) where she can run and play and climb and i'm not chasing her down every two seconds, scared she's going to fall and break something. so as she reached the very top bale at the pumpkin patch hay stack i was only mildly freaked out.

on one of the lower bales the kids can jump off onto a trampoline? i think it's some sort of trampoline. i choose to believe it's a trampoline covered in straw and not 10 old mattresses.

there were wagons for guests to haul their pumpkins around in...that we didn't use for that purpose. sawyer just really wanted to ride. she's a princess like that.

we headed out to the pumpkin patch and picked out our favorites. we couldn't buy any...you know...because were were the only ones there. but it gives us an excellent excuse to have another visit.


we had the kids pose for no fewer than 50 pictures and only had one minor meltdown...sawyer. it's always sawyer these days.

overall...such a fun way to spend the afternoon. and the fact that we can drive there in 15 minutes made it all the better.