Get ready for lots of serene pictures of the landscape around our home. With August came the peak of green beauty and I’ve found myself capturing little moments here and there savoring them for when, in a few months, it will be too cold to take the long walks I’ve become accustomed to.
But before that, here’s a frog in my toilet.
Yep, it’s what we came home to this month. How it got there, I do not know. By some miracle the boys had flushed the toilet and left the seat down, so the little guy had fresh water. Our only guess is that he may have come down the vent pipe on the roof. Either way, my husband took him back outside, where he belongs. And thankfully, we’ve had no further visits.
In addition to the frog, we found where a small snake is living under our foundation. We thought it was a squirrel, but no it’s a garden snake. Now we know why we’ve caught less mice as of late. And while the mice are gone, we have a colony of crickets in our basement which makes all hours of our downstairs sound like dusk in the spring.
I found a cricket on my stairway this morning so they will all be gone soon when we bug bomb them away soon. When a cricket is so loud that you think it’s a bird in the house – it’s time for them to go.
But here’s a pretty butterfly – much cuter than a cricket.
Has anyone else noticed how many butterflies are around this year? On my walks, I’ve run into quite a few including this one.
My walks in the evening (because it’s cooler) have reminded me how much I love living out in the country. The landscape is beautiful. Everywhere I look, what may seem like just bean fields and corn fields, truly are beautiful.
Call me crazy, but I’ll take the critters if I can have the views.
In terms of things we did this month, our friends hosted a picnic in the pasture for the kids. I thoroughly enjoyed it myself. Our friends are dairy farmers with around 40 cows and to see the process and the care they have for their animals was truly awesome.
And the big news for the month is the boys started school. As has become our tradition, on open house night we find my mom’s picture from her class. The boys think it’s the best.
Just after school started we decided to again host a “dinner in the barn” with our neighbors. Last year we hosted our first dinner and we enjoyed it so much we decided to turn it into a tradition. They say if you don’t have it on your calendar, it doesn’t happen. So being intentional about the neighbors getting together just seems like a great thing to do.
The first step was clearing out the barn for the dinner. We were all amazed how tight the fit was for my brother’s skid loader. New machinery in an old barn!
I bought gingham material and burlap ribbon to decorate the tables. Using my antique ball jars and new canning jars we added some decoration to the barn that typically holds machinery. Our goal is always to make one long table like the farmers would have done years ago. The neighbors brought a side dish to share and we provided everything else including the dessert…
My mom made the sugar cookies and most of the pies. (If you’re wondering, she made a peach pie, apple pie, cherry pie and my sister-in-law made her pear pie.) The food was gooooooood at the Dinner in the Barn.
All in all, it was a great night as it wasn’t toooo hot. The twinkle lights and the barn clean up were all made worth it to have an evening before the busyness of harvest to visit and enjoy each other’s company.
And then the next morning when we planned on sleeping in, we lost power with a lightning storm. It made me grateful for the lightning rods we installed a month ago! Since it was about 5am when the power went out, it woke us all up. We lit the candles and I couldn’t help loving the way our dining room looked. I thought of all those that have gone before me and would have sat around via candlelight each night.
Next month will bring the beginning of harvest. So far, it’s been a great year for my brother’s field corn. But this picture isn’t to illustrate that. If you follow me on instagram you may have caught my story of how I had to fend off a dog with an ear of corn. While there was not a stick in sight, I was resourceful with what was around me.
The corn worked. And it reminded me of how often we live far away from the modern conveniences yet we have everything we need. With a little creativity everything we need is provided – and that’s just about priceless.
The last few months have been ones that were full of times to enjoy the home. Starting this fall we are planning to start a few more projects. Until then, we’re soaking up the rest of summer, getting ready for harvest time and spending lots of time with this view from our front porch.
Leave A Reply!