Changing Seasons-odds & ends

Fall is my favorite time of the year. The crisp cooler air, the leaves falling off trees, winter on its way. Fall meals of garden veggies, freshly harvested meats, and this year mushrooms!

After I realized this year was the 10th year of the elk hunt, I better appreciate what a great fall ritual it is for our family. The guys gone for a week, returning with meat to process and package. And then enjoying elk meat all winter long. Several of the guys on the hunt have been coming for 8-10 years with Patrick and they've had such an incredible variety of experiences hunting for Elk on Afognak from year to year. Such great stories, pictures and videos they have from their adventures. This year we watched most of the videos from the prior hunts and man--some of the trips were doozies. Horribly cold weather, brutal hiking conditions, lots of elk with only a few guys....It was fun to see all the different groups of people that have hunted over the years for Elk.

This fall has been especially lovely with the kids both enjoying school; Nora is having a good time at kindergarten as well as Stuey as preschool. Our family is into the school rhythm and there aren't any struggles getting kids to school because they are excited to go. This is a big change from years past when there was more crying and resistance to being dropped off at preschool.

STUEY-ISM
The past couple of months, Stuey says, "Mom-you is the best mom in the whole wide world. You are the best mom in the whole Uney-a-verse". Its very endearing. Somedays he'll say it 8-10 times a day. This evening as I headed out the driveway for a walk with the dogs, Stuey screamed from the lawn, "Mom, you is the best mom in the world." I"m glad to document this event here so I can really truly be sure it happened when he is a teenager someday and won't want anything to do to me.

The kids are waiting eagerly for the snow flakes and Nora insisted that we hang up halloween decorations last weekend, so that was fun. I appreciate their excitement for the holidays!

Zoya

Picture was of Nora and I on the morning of everyone leaving on the elk hunt!