Sounds of Fall

The sounds of fall are like music to my ears. The russel of leaves in the trees. The cry of the geese as they pass by. The gentle murmur of deer rifles continuously causing me to startle from dawn until dusk. Ahh. Life in the quiet country.

Seriously. You'd think I'd get used to it.

But nope. Each time someone takes a shot at anything without a bright orange vest I jump three feet in the air and look frantically for my baby. Because I wouldn't know if a bullet broke through the window and came careening into our home? Because the hunter friend staying at our house is tired of the dinner tantrum routine? Because I am a paranoid freak?

Or because I am a Mom.

Yep. That's probably it.

Brrr!

Whoa! Yesterday it was fall and today it is... well, I guess it is still fall,but now its COLD! And windy too. Poor hubby. Weather like this is very bad for working outside. Fixing combines. Hitching up head wagons. Transporting soybeans.

But it is perfect weather for hot chocolate and a chick flick. Watching bits of corn stock fly by. Snuggling with the little guy. Baking pumpkin muffins. There is no where to be, no place to go. I can stare out at the falling leaves and enjoy the scenery from our hilltop house. Its a great day to be a farm wife.

Just maybe not a farmer.

Fall Cleaning

I happen to be a clean person. I like order, dust-free surfaces, and fresh laundry folded in my drawers.

But we can't always have what we want.

Last fall our house was... under construction. I'm still not recovered.

Then there is spring cleaning. Of course last spring I had a one-year old. I did some deep cleaning. But not much. The spring before, well, I had a newborn.

So if you're doing the math you can see that its been like two years since I've really gotten down on my hands and knees and scrubbed the cracks and crevices of my home. Yuck.

But this fall I am inspired. Um, well.. maybe it would be more precise to say "was inspired." At the moment I'm just TIRED! Yesterday I mopped floors and then stood on a chair all day cleaning the light fixtures, ceiling fans, and cobwebs. Today I scrubbed the bathrooms and did the windows. Tomorrow I'll be mopping the floors again. Bad idea to do them first.

But I have not done this by myself. I had help. In the form of my eighteen month old. He dumped Comet all over the bathroom and hallway floors and on his lovey, Lammie. That was useful. Then he took the rags I cleaned the windows with to the trash can. He only dropped about a dozen dead flys and left just a small trail of dust. He had also tried to eat the light bulbs and when I gave him his own lunch he threw beans and rice across the dining room. All across it.

Its a good thing fall comes just once a year.