November 1st: Apple Cheeks

In early October, when a spate of cooler wet weather arrived, I put some grass seed down in the front yard.  Portions of the lawn had been trampled down to mud by a certain young man.  The summer drought and heat made the circumstances worse.  So the turf management team (me) declared the lawn off-limits while I worked on getting some new grass to grow and fill in the bare patches in the lawn.

JT loves to play outside and the front yard is his favorite play territory.  My announcement that the front yard was now off-limits was greeted with unhappiness.  He stomped about complaining for two days, at one point sitting sullenly in the living room making an effort to look crushed every time I walked by and happened to glance at him.

I love that he plays outside and didn't want to discourage that impulse.  But neither did I want to live in a house with a mud hole for a front yard.  In the meantime, there was an entire backyard where he could play.  The turf manager was resolute. 

Within two days, he realized that my will was stronger than his whining.  He took up his sticks and set out for the backyard.  He's been playing there ever since.  Twice last week I looked outside to see him running around trying to catch falling leaves.  That's a game with far more value than anything he could find on a computer.  I'm very glad that he's still outside, running around and coming back inside with sweet apple cheeks glowing with the enthusiasm of play and his imaginary games. 

The apple trees are happy to have a backyard companion.  Their leaves have begun to turn, another sign that summer has come to an end.  The final canna bulb has bloomed.  The last of my garden produce has been pulled up (pictures of that later this week), and I've started to plant some bulbs for the spring. 

In the quiet of the cool nights as I lie in bed under my quilts, I can hear the breezes rustle the remaining fall leaves.  It won't be long before I'll be raking up those leaves to mulch my garden for the winter.  And even then I'll be thinking ahead to the next season, and the prospect of some apples from my trees to pack in our lunchboxes.