The Season I'm In, and Maybe You Are Too?

I would like to know how many of you ever feel like there's no way you are EVER going to find the bottom of the laundry pile again, or you will NEVER have matching socks in the children's drawers, or how about winter clothing? Anyone else out there planned to get it all washed and put away for the summer, only to find that it's nearly winter again and it's still waiting to get put away? Anyone else sort of feeling that the harder you work the more there is to do? I HOPE so, because I'd like to know that I'm not the only one who is feeling this way. On the other hand, I hope not, since I don't like this feeling and hope none of you deal with it.
So, if you don't, wonderful! I'm genuinely thrilled for you, and so glad there are some of us out there who can plan and execute things so well. You just might be the ones holding the world together! :)
To those of you who are feeling a bit like I am right now, I'm sorry to hear that. But, you know what? There are more of us than you might think, and we're a pretty fantastic bunch of people too. I promise if you invite me over, I won't even look at your laundry pile, and I won't lift the couch cushions either. If I see your children wearing mismatched socks or none at all, I'll assume you've got a life like mine. Very full, and very happy, and a bit chaotic. Maybe you also have many many pints and quarts full of your summers work stocked away in the pantry. Maybe your life's rhythm in the summer is ruled by what the garden or animals are producing, or what summer activities the children are involved with, or both. Perhaps we will all finally get to the bottom of that laundry pile when the garden is sleeping under it's winter's mulch and the jars of summer goodness are being slowly opened and savored.
Life is full of seasons. Sometimes I struggle with fully living in the season I'm in. Sometimes I'm not thankful for the blessings I'm receiving because I'm worried about what's coming next. That too bad, because each season has its treasures and blessings.

Tomato Help Needed Again

Hey all! I just helped our Resident Naturalist post about hornets, so please don't miss it even though I'm posting again so quickly.

I have a tomato quandary. It's supposed to freeze tonight, but I have a LOT of tomatoes that look like this:




What would you do? Would you pick them even though they're not quite ripe, or cover them and hope for the best? I'm going to cover them anyway since there are so many green ones. I'd like to give them a chance. But I would hate to loose these beauties when they're so close to ripe! Can I trust covering with sheets to protect them? By the way, that picture is of one of the bush early girls that froze this spring. You can see what it looked like here. See the third photo in the post. Can you believe that? I'm so glad I decided to try letting them grow!
So, please advise me! I await your wisdom... ;)

Guest Post by Resident Naturalist

We went to a place my dad works and saw this hornets nest. It was built on the side of a greenhouse. It was as big as my dad's head. It was like half of a nest. You could see inside of it. The hornets came to feed the larvae. The larvae were wiggling around.
It was really cool because there was another hornets nest inside the greenhouse, but it was abandoned. It was as big as my dad's fist. It was safe to watch the hornets from inside the greenhouse.
Here is a video of the nest that my mom helped me put here.




***Note from Mom***
There are so many fabulous homeschool opportunities in nature! This was a terrific opportunity, being able to safely watch these hornets working inside their nest. Wow!

Counting Blessings #108 - 124

108) camp fires on cool nights, fall hangs in the air while heat glows on the cheeks

109) Good times with little Sis.

110) New babies (1 doula baby this past week and two nieces had babies this week too)!

111) Crisp fall leaves. They smell wonderful, and I love the crunching sound as the goats munch on them.

112) pasta with chopped fresh tomatoes

113) hot tea

114) little girls giggling

115) hugs from half grown son

116) water with fresh lime juice

117) humus (Why are they all food? I must be hungry.) Actually, I am very thankful for healthy food in such abundance.

118) beautiful night sky

119) plenty of wood waiting to keep us warm this winter

120) apples turning red, hanging heavy on branches

121) red kuri squash turning a reddish orange, beautiful splashes of color in the garden

122) moon bathing earth in cool beauty

123) children gathered close

124) barefoot days and quilted nights