What Have I Been Up To?

I counted, and I have five blog posts waiting as drafts.  These posts have pictures loaded in them, to illustrate and remind me of the words I wanted to share with you, but I haven't taken the time to write the words down yet!  What have I been up to?  

For one thing, I've been trimming my trees.  It was just a few years ago when our side yard was an overgrown field, full of flowers and brambles.  Slowly, tiny tree seedlings began to poke their leaves above the tangle.  Now those little trees are starting to hold their own, and Brandon was able to drive the mower between the trees.  Suddenly a small forested park was born!  

Most of the little trees have multiple stems and many branches, giving them a wholly appearance.  I've been using my trusty clippers and saw to trim away some of the extra branches and make them look more like drawings of trees.  Tall thin trunks with branching tops.  It won't be long before we will have a shady canopy in our side yard instead of a sunny brush pile!  

I haven't spent all my time trimming trees though.  I got my car fixed after a bridge troll attack ruined my wheels.  I'm convinced it was a bridge troll because it is inconceivable that I would drive my car into the side of a bridge and cause myself all that trouble and expense.  With my newly repaired car, I drove all the way to the Atlantic ocean for a family beach camping odyssey.  Brandon and I had our twentieth wedding anniversary!  I cooked up a batch of tomato sauce with tomatoes and herbs from the garden.   I've been on several overnight trips for work.  We even bought and dismantled an entire greenhouse!  All these things have happened, but even without these extra adventures, my days are full to the brim - full of all good things!  

The pears are swelling and there is a whiff of fall in the morning air.   I make sure to stop occasionally to listen to the summer sounds as I go about my busy days.  Cicadas and katydids in the trees.  Crickets in the grass.  Baby chickens chirping in the coop.  Field sparrows and bob whites calling from the fields.  Toads singing from the tree lines.  Frogs croaking in the neighbors pond.  Brandon on the lawn mower!  Sounds like summer at home.