Bee really enjoyed Halloween this year. As for Flower, well apparently, he was just humoring us, and came along for the ride. Clay has always been a "just go with it" child, but for some reason, he had an ATTACK when it came to putting on his bee outfit. He has had so few screaming fits, and I was really caught off guard by his reaction. I had NO idea what to do. As he stood there screaming, and I stood there staring at him, the whole scene started to strike me as hilariously funny. It took all of my power not to laugh at him while he was freaking out because the more the little bee flailed and ran in sobbing circles, the more the little bee antennae on the hood of the costume would violently bobble around; he honestly looked like a fat little crazed bee ... I had tears in my eyes from holding back the laughter. I finally convinced him that we were just "putting on his Bee coat because it is cold outside", and bang, that was it, he stopped in his tracks and was ready to go. That simple explanation made everything okay. Go figure.It started to get dark while we were out trick-or-treating, and at one point he froze in his tracks looking at the sky. He had such awe in his voice when he looked at me and said "LOOK AT THE STARS! Mamma, Morgie, and Clay out at NIGHT! IN the DARK! Out in the DARK with STARS!!!!". It made my heart leap and melt. He has never been outside walking around at night. He has always seen stars through windows. This simple thing that we adults take for granted is all still so NEW to him. It was like he was completely blown away that something so spectacular and wonderful could happen to HIM. Forget the free candy, forget the bee coat! He was seeing the stars OUTSIDE in the DARK! The way he excitedly gripped my hand as we crunched through leaves as the wagon clattered along behind us was just purely exhilarating. This is the feeling that makes parenthood so rewarding. THIS is what it is all about.
I have been trying to get outside everyday because it will not be too much longer that our days will turn too cold and rainy to enjoy.
It has been clear and cold. In the early frosty morning air, you can feel winter starting to rise. We have been trying to get outside as much as we can. I have been slow to post because I have been kind of lost in the depths of my mind. It is fall, and when the air starts to cool, and the dampness of the night rains stay in the air through the cool mornings, I can smell the change in the air. I so love fall. The impossible colors of the morning and evening sky, the impossible colors of the trees. When these things start happening, and I am trying to take it all in at once, my mind goes internal, and i start thinking, and mulling. I get quiet, my mind grows calm, and rambling. Like a quiet little brook. Taking it's time to gurgle, and mingle amongst the rocks, moss, and leaves -- slowly slipping on, like it is taking it's good old sweet old time tasting every square inch of it's stream bed. 
I don't know what brings this state of mind on. It borders primal instinct. The orange-ing of the pumpkins, and the reddening of the final tomatoes are just precursors to the change that is coming. Those warm, sunny afternoons when everything is warm to the touch, and yet the air is cool. It is like everything is nestling down, and getting ready for the long, cold sleep ahead. The trees had not yet started to turn, but they were *just* on the edge. It is like the trees were holding their breath untill the cold nip came ... then the sudden cold will made them sharply inhale, allowing the sap to start running back down into their roots. So fast, the suffocating leaves wonder what happened...leaving behind a palette that is simply breathtaking.
As I am still sluggish with the knitting news, I have been knitting, just not saying much about it. I will make up for this eventually, though. I have decided that this "intensive" post of fall photos will have to do. I say intensive just because there are a lot of photos, not because they are large files or anything. Until we get something faster than dial-up, I really have to scale down the size of my pics.
