“There is a time in late September when the leaves are still green, and the days are still warm, but somehow you know that it is all about to end, as if summer was holding its breath, and when it let it out again, it would be autumn.” ― Sharyn McCrumb, King's Mountain

September 1

Round and round Ella goes and where she stops nobody knows

It’s her thing lately in our backyard, and she’s fast

Steak ’n Shake supper with Holly and Elijah

September 2

Ready to help pack 1500 food boxes at Churches of Christ Disaster Relief

Crackers are just one of many many food items going into the boxes

Fall Ball is in full swing as Knox waits his turn at bat

September 3

No such thing as too many hair clips

Runs with sticks

September 5

Shelby came home from college to visit this weekend

Ella was happy to see her cousin

September 6

A Walmart parking lot sunset

September 9

The beautiful view from the high school pick-up line

September 10

As a 4th grader at his elementary school, this is Knox’s last Cougar Run,

the school’s only fundraiser for the year

“Go, Knox, go!”

Her brother’s cheerleader

September 11

20 years

September 14

Ella celebrated her 3rd birthday today

She’s deeply into the Disney movie ’Tangled’ right now (my personal fave)

so of course this was her birthday party theme

That face you make when everyone is singing to you and, let’s face it,

it’s so embarrassing that you don’t know what to do with yourself

(Am I right? Nod your head.) 

That face you make when it’s time to blow out the candle

Through the magic of technology, Shelby was able to be at the party too

She would’ve loved to wish Ella a happy birthday in person,

but Face Time is the next best option when you’re away at college

Best part of the party is ripping off that gift wrapping and

discovering what’s inside

She got a princess Rapunzel dress

a crown and a scepter (or wand as Ella called it)

Ella enjoyed a very happy 3rd birthday

'Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair!'

Her mom and dad gave her this wig, and she had a great time

throwing all that hair over her shoulder

September 17

Heading north off the town square

This sunset was all over the map

September 20

Elijah started his first job working at Sky High Sports, a local trampoline park,

although they have arcade games and laser tag and all sorts of fun stuff to do

(I borrowed Kelly’s Snapchat picture of Kerry visiting Elijah at the counter)

September 21

The floodgates were wide open at J. Percy Priest Dam off I-40

as we passed by on our way to Nashville to pack food boxes

We’ve endured days and days of steady flooding rain the past couple of weeks

Boxes we pack today could ship to recent survivors of flooding in Tennessee, 

Hurricane Ida, or wildfire survivors in California

September 21

Kelly snapped this awesome photo of Ella and Knox checking

out the Harvest Moon

The Harvest Moon means just that, time to harvest the crops before frosts and cold weather set in. This full moon is very bright and even allowed farmers to harvest at night. The full moon closest to the Autumnal Equinox is named the Harvest Moon, according 

to a source on the Web 

September 22

Autumnal Equinox 2021

We could call this the Parking Lot Harvest Sun(set)

September 23

“I want to watch something!”

It’s a mystery why watching Peppa Pig on a tiny iPhone or iPad screen

is way better than watching it on a giant screen TV

Little Bunny Foo Foo came hopping up on our front porch, had a look around,

realized he was blocked in by the railing, made a U turn, and went hopping on his way

He froze long enough for me to snap his pic

September 24

We took Ella to the children’s library, which she loves, and paid a visit to

Norbert, the Iguana in residence

Norbert was in no mood for socializing

Knox at bat in the team’s last game of regular season

Tournament starts next Monday

September 25

Chick fil A shakes always make us smile

I was surprised to find the peach shake was still available

Can’t say no to the peach shake

Neil can. He got a cookies and cream shake. Also worthy of smiles.

September 30

Beautiful night for a baseball tournament game

Sometimes those great practice swings ….

…. don’t translate to the batter’s box

Knox’s team lost 4-2 and ended up in 4th place

The team played hard this season and were rewarded for their efforts

Life is like the baseball season, where even the best team loses at least a third of its games, and even the worst team has its days of brilliance. The goal is not to win every game but to win more than you lose, and if you do that often enough, in the end you may find you have won it all.

~Harold S. Kushner

“Sweet September Blessings!
I am eternally grateful!!!” 
~Charmaine J. Forde

"August of another summer, and once again I am drinking the sun….” ~Mary Oliver, “The Pond"

August 1

When dinosaurs, cows, and giraffes ruled the world

Ella enjoys taming these animals as did all my other grands before her.

Her mom tamed Ella’s wild hair into this sweet bun.

August 3

First day of 4th grade for grandson Knox

Last year of elementary school

First day of sophomore year for grandson Elijah

Don’t know what they were discussing

My guess would be a video game

August 6

Getting ready for our Friday walk

Don’t even try to help her do anything

Her personal mantra is:

’She believed she could, so she did.'

Things we see on our walk:

Kitty cat paw prints in the sidewalk

Modern fossils

Things Ella collects on our walk:

Flowers, leaves, sticks

She finds it all worthy to bring with her along the way

August 7

Knox and a couple of his buddies at the county fair

This was the last fair at the current fairground location 

which the Putnam County fair has called

 home for the past 61 years out of its 95 year history. 

 They watched the demolition derby and then 

ended up getting to ride only two rides because the lines were

so long on the last night.

August 10

Hanging out at the playground

August 11

Neil has worked hard the past several weeks replacing broken

limestone on the path that runs along the north side of the house.

Cutting stones to fit and then getting it all level is

tedious labor in the August heat and humidity.

But it’s going to look great when he’s finished.

August 12

We are not lacking in rainfall this month

August 13

Time for our Friday walk in the neighborhood

We usually stop at our house and she always wants to play upstairs

She discovered my little collection of bent willow chairs

which are perfect for a gathering of huggable friends

August 14

Speaking of huggable friends...

Big friend hugs at VBS

August 15

Love those Oreo McFlurries

Where did the flu go? Just wondering.

August 17

One of the teachers at the elementary school across the street

brings her goats to roam in a fenced in area at the school.

The kids love to watch them and sometimes share

an apple slice or two

August 17

Grandson Elijah celebrated his 15th birthday

He’s looking forward to getting his driver’s permit soon 

August 18

Edge to edge, corner to corner

She colored every inch of this 12x12 sheet of paper

Found a 4-leaf clover and wasn’t even searching for one

Lucky guy

August 20

Autumn is coming

Friday walk

“Here, Gwanny, hold my weaf."

Two more old maples bite the sawdust on our street

They were topped long ago and also starting to decay from the inside out

Last month, one of the larger branches fell, blocking the whole street

They were beautiful in the fall with their orange and yellow leaves

Hated to see them go

August 21

August 22

We never go to Starbucks

But when we do….

The Mocha Cookie Crumble Frappacino is good

and apparently is now on their permanent menu in case you’re interested

August 23

Granddaughter Shelby is a junior in college this year

majoring in biology with emphasis on marine biology

She spent her first two years of college here in town but never really

got to enjoy the college experience of a large campus, and then

the virus forced her into isolation, taking her classes online which was zero fun.

Now, for the first time ever, she’s living far from home (well, a couple of hours drive away)

navigating this new chapter in her life, as she dives into her major studies.

I know she’ll do well, and though we miss her being here, she’s only a Face Time call away.

(Good grief, I got all teary-eyed just typing this)

Love you, Shelby!

August 25

With a church van full of fellow workers, Neil and I traveled to the non-profit 

Churches of Christ Disaster Relief Effort in Nashville 

to help pack boxes filled with food and other necessary supplies

that will be taken to recent flood victims in west Tennessee, North Carolina,

and other places that need assistance in their recovery. 

The assembly line moves along at a rapid pace for two hours non-stop,

but with probably 150-200 helping hands, it’s amazing how quickly

the time passes while packing 1500 boxes.

Disaster Relief also helps rebuild homes and replace furniture and appliances

with brand new items. It’s a cause that’s certainly worthy of your monetary donations.

https://www.disasterreliefeffort.org

August 27

Friday fun at the playground

She was (happy) screaming at the top of her lungs

August 28

Ella is back in swim lessons every day at the local YMCA

although she’s not learning to swim at this point.

She’s being instructed in the life-saving skill of flipping

herself over in the water from facedown to floating

on her back. She’s doing quite well and is starting to move past

the panic I’m sure she’s felt during this, but her mom says 

Ella didn’t cry yesterday or today.

So…progress. Yay, Ella!

August 30

Minding my own business, shopping at Walmart, when this bag of candy corn

flings itself right off the shelf and into my shopping cart.

True story.

Kidding. I know there are people who have already decked their halls

with all things autumn, but I like to live in the season we happen to be in now.

Summer will be gone soon enough. I’m going to enjoy shorts and flip flops while I can.

However….

I won’t stop a bag of candy corn from flinging itself into my shopping cart at Walmart.

August 31

“...August: the summer's last stand.” 
― Sara Baume