October's Party
"October gave a party;
The leaves by hundreds came -
The Chestnuts, Oaks, and Maples,
And leaves of every name.
The Sunshine spread a carpet,
And everything was grand,
Miss Weather led the dancing,
Professor Wind the band.” 
~George Cooper

I love Fall! Everything about it: the arrival of the crisp air, the changing leaves that brighten the sky even on a cloudy day, cozy sweaters, sprinkling cinnamon into coffee and trips to the orchards with my kids. 

So, what better way to document some fall memories than at Outhouse Orchards in North Salem, New York.  Fall always takes me back home.  I grew up just a few minutes from this orchard. 

30 minutes at Outhouse Orchards...

Fun commences with the corn maze...

And a pose at the beginning of the corn maze (just in case I lose one as we make our way through....just kidding!)

And, THEY'RE OFF...

The maze is in the shape of a soldier standing on an apple. To help you on your way through the maze there are little military facts which also marks where you are in the maze (whew, thank God, otherwise we'd still be there!)... 

Fallen Corn...

Walk This Way...

Or That Way...

Almost as tall as the corn stalk...

She thinks she's found a way we haven't been... 

We made it out!

Corn Maze Victory Dance...

Some more fun at the end of the maze...

In the Pumpkin Patch

This could be my last year getting him to do this....

My 'Lil punkin...

Shadow on a pumpkin...just cuz'

A little apple cider refreshment back at the car AND, luckily for my kids, I had some cowboy hats in the trunk of the car...how'd they get there (LOL!)...

Until next year! Thank you Outhouse Orchards for a great time!!

Please head on over to my neighbor, Amanda Voelker, to see how she spent 30 Minutes of her life this month! Knock, here.

"Great things are done by a series of small things brought together." ~Vincent VanGogh

Welcome to the 30 Minutes in the Life blog circle for September.  Be sure to click on through to my neighbor at the bottom of this post.

This is 30 Minutes on a Thursday afternoon with my daughter; a bucket of water; a cow; and a toy motorcycle that gets tossed to the side early on.

I started out this day searching to capture a single moment for my 365 project.  Before I knew it, I was sitting there for 30 Minutes just talking with my daughter and clicking away as we chatted.  

After a short while I decided to give my daughter a break from the camera. I looked around me for something else to capture. In the flower basket behind (containing remnants of flowers that died months ago) I found 3 perfectly pink flowers...blooming. Mind you, I have to watered this basket in over a month...like I said, they died....and I saw no hope of resuscitating life into it again.  The only water it has had is the one day of rain we had last week.  

When I downloaded the images and flipped through them I saw my 30 Minutes int he Life post and the story line : God gives us everything we need to make it through.  We just need to be willing to see.  My daughter is my second child. I often feel so guilty and worry that she gets the short end of the stick.  Maybe the flowers were a sign from God that she's going to be okay..that she will "bloom" just fine. (it's ironic that the color of the flowers matches the color of her skirt).

So, a series of small happenings led me to a great thing; a sigh of relief that God will take care of everything.

Or maybe, the flowers are just resilient flowers and God has nothing to do with and there is no real connection there at all. I don't believe this though. What do you think?

cow on a motorcycle...

kissing cows...

can cows swim?

laughing cow.... 

drips...

drops...

Thank you for visiting my 30 Minutes this month and I hope you enjoyed it! This is a blog circle so be to knock on my neighbor's door, Joni Burtt Photography, to see how she spent her 30 Minutes.  Knock here.

Whenever we are home to Ireland, together as a family, my husband takes my son out to do some farming and for a ride in the tractor;  Grandpa's tractor.  My husband's brothers all did this with their own kids...their kids are older now.  This year was different. This year as I watched it felt like a right of passage as my husband lifted my son up onto his lap in the tractor and let him drive.  

For moment I could see my husband's father doing the same with him.  It was a timeless moment.  I could see the excitement in my son's face and the pride in my husband's face.  My daughter got up into the tractor as well.  But it just wasn't the same pride; happiness but not the same pride. This is a story of fathers and sons. This was an important moment in their relationship; not one they will easily forget.

My husband is not fond of the camera and yet, he's looking right at the camera in these moments.  I was shocked at the time and am still shocked as I look at these images now. 

Before we were married I remember watching my husband's brother do the same with his own boys.  Now they are all grown. They go of to school but when they return home they help take care of the farm.  I'm always amazed by their work ethic and have never once heard them complain, even when they head out to farm in the Irish drizzle.  It's not easy work and not quickly finished.  

When I think of Ireland I think of a love for the land...a love for farming.  No matter the size of the land...there's a pride.  My husband hasn't lived in Ireland if over 20 years and yet when he's home he works the land and the farm along his brother and his son's as if he never left.  The farm is like family.  The farm holds the blood and sweat of the generations of father's and son's who came years and years before.  

Notice how in the next three images Dad's hand gets looser on the steering wheel....

Glowing pride. My husband's Dad is present in this image.  His father died in the days just before meeting our son, his namesake.  This is a monuments moment in my book.