A New Addition

 Yep, we've got a new addition to the family. This lovely Jeep that my husband is so excited about. He gets a big grin whenever he thinks about his "new" jeep. When we went out to get it last weekend, I have to admit I didn't quite have the enthusiasm he did. In fact, I tried really hard to bite my tongue, but perhaps a remark or two slipped out about the quality of this find.

 The doors are on the seats and a few wires are dangling from the control panel. But the roll bar seems to be in pretty good shape.

 The seats might need a little work. And maybe a few other things too.

If my husband can get it running reliably, we are going to paint it. Then we are going to take off to the mountains and have some great adventures! Stay tuned....(maybe for a year or two...)

Biodiversity and Politics: A Great Cartoon

This is something I came across on Facebook, and it really tickled my funny bone. I don't want this blog to be too much about politics (at least in this stage of my life), but I do like biodiversity. A lot. This graphic does a wonderful job of integrating the two:

This is a design by Kira Treibergs and Laurel Hiebert from the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology. They competed in a fall term t-shirt contest. They are selling t-shirts of this design; message either of them if you'd like one. 

And now go appreciate the invertebrates in your life!

Halloween Hayride

 Last night we went on a Halloween hayride around town. It was a hoot.

The cast of characters started assembling about 5 o'clock.

Desert Boy decided to be a skeleton superhero--for awhile. Then he decided he wanted to be a plain skeleton.

Cute Isaac.

We tried to get all the kids to look in the same direction at the same time. I guess it was a bit of a lost cause, but they were all really cute anyway.

Then some more kids arrived and we took more photos. Fun costumes! We kept gaining kids through the evening. At the end I was surprised to see how many were on the hayride. I think most all the kids in town came. There aren't too many places where you can say nearly all the kids went trick-or-treating together. (I guess most people wouldn't want to live in a place like that!)

And here comes the hayride! Fortunately we had a low trailer, which made it really easy to get on and off.

Desert Boy thought it was so cool.

Folks piled on and started chatting. That was one of the best parts of the hayride--having time to talk to each other. Okay, the candy was important, too.

It was an absolutely beautiful night--warm temperatures and no wind. We couldn't have asked for anything better.

The trick-or-treating around town was a little hit-or-miss. Here are the kids retreating from the upstairs apartments, where nobody was home. We had slightly more houses with candy than without candy, so that was good. And all the kids ended up with more candy than they really needed. Or than they and their parents needed. (Come on, everyone knows that parents raid their kids' Halloween candy!)

One of the consequences of trick-or-treating en masse was that the big kids always got to the door first and the little kids last. Here's Emma at the end of the line. She didn't care, though. She was so excited to be mobile and be able to go trick-or-treating. She even managed a few quiet "trick-or-treats" and "thank yous." I was so proud.

The final stop was the community center, where folks who lived outside of the main town gathered to throw a great Halloween party. They had gobs of candy and cookies. They also had craft projects and plenty of good spirit.

It was a super way to end the evening, and nice to see everyone's costumes again in plenty of light.

Thanks to Carol for organizing the Halloween party at the community center. And thanks to everyone who went on the hayride. It sure was fun to be with you!

The Meaning of Halloween

 Here is Desert Girl, dressed up in her ladybug costume. We went into Ely for a kids' Halloween party, which the kids enjoyed quite a bit.

To my parents: I know that you never drove us to go trick-or-treating because you said the candy wasn't worth the gas money. You were right. And if you're wondering why I drove 100+ miles to go get a few bagfuls of candy, here's the answer: it was a good excuse to get groceries. And the van tires changed. And go to the bank. And take books back to the library. And the candy made the kids behave the whole time, even though they each only got to have three pieces all afternoon. And mom got to have some candy too!

 Desert Boy decided to go as a skeleton, despite the costume being a little too tight, and Ava went as a cat. Oops, sorry, she was a leopard. And if anyone called her a cat, she was sure to correct them.

Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays as I like to dress up in different costumes and well, let's be honest, there's the whole candy angle. Yum. Who doesn't like to get candy for just saying a quick "Trick or treat?"

I teach religious education classes, and I always like to tie in events to make the classes more meaningful. So I did a Google search and learned all sorts of interesting things, some of which I have likely forgotten over the years, and other that I had never known before.

First off, "Halloween" means "hallow" or "holy" and "een" means "eve." It's Holy Eve, or the night before the holy day. What's the Holy Day? November 1 is All Saints Day and November 2 is All Souls Day. In some cultures, November 1 is Dia de los Inocentes, a day to remember children and infant deaths, and November 2 is Dia de los Muertos, a day to remember adult dead.

Although saints have their own feast day, there were many martyrs in the early Christian church who were unknown, for example those thrown to the lions for the Romans' entertainment. It made sense to pick one day to celebrate all these unknown martyrs, along with all the saints. In addition, the early Christians followed the Jewish tradition of praying for all those who had died. However, mass wasn't said for All Souls until 1048. With the Reformation, most Protestants dropped the doctrine of the communion of saints and praying for the dead.

Halloween is often portrayed with skeletons, ghouls, and other scary things representing death. When thinking about that the day originated with martyrs, perhaps this is appropriate. Of course there is a limit to what children can handle, and, I would say even adults, and it's up to everyone to decide what that limit is.

Trick or treating is a fun custom for many on Halloween. It originated in the Middle Ages, when it was thought that if someone died and hadn't made amends with you, they might turn into a will-o'-the-wisp or a ghost. They would appear suddenly, trying to jolt you into praying for them and forgiving them so they could move on to the next world. You might also try to provide some "treats" in order to avoid the mischief, or "tricks" of the offender. Eventually people started going door to door, masked and unrecognizable, basically wiping the slate clean for the coming year (apparently in case they died, they would already be reconciled and not have to become ghosts). They bargained for treats, hence the now common saying "Trick or treat."

Jack-o-lanterns also have an interesting history. To see details, click here. The short version is that the Irish and Scots carved scary faces into turnips and potatoes to scare away Stingy Jack and other wandering evil spirits. When they carried this tradition to America, the pumpkin was present and easier to carve.

One person suggested that Halloween is akin to Mardi Gras before Lent. It's the time to be wild and party, and then the next couple days are good for reflection about our own mortality.

However you choose to celebrate, Happy Halloween!

A Last Glimpse of Fall Color

 We went with some friends for a hike on Saturday to enjoy some last fall colors. We're supposed to have a twenty-degree dip in the temperature on Tuesday, along with wind and rain/snow. An early October snowstorm turned most of the high elevation aspen leaves brown, so I was feeling like I had missed my opportunity to see the brilliant colors. When we got to the trailhead and saw the vibrant yellows, my soul just felt better. I needed that brilliance before we enter the monochrome winter.

 Rose hips dotted the bushes with little specks of red. At lower elevations, the scarlet skunkbush looked like little flames bursting through the brown grass. It was just a terrific day for color.

 Fortunately Jenny brought her good camera, so I can't wait to see what photos she got. Little Isaac was a patient helper.

 Jenny had suggested this hiking locale, and the loop trail was perfect for the kids. They raced to be the leader, hid in the bushes, ran back and forth from Nomi to the slower little kids.

 Here they are making a train. I was curious to see how this would work.

They chugged along in sync for a few steps.

Eventually the train decoupled and they ran up the trail, ready for the next game.

Then it was time for the inevitable question:

"Can we have a snack?"

We were ready for this, and told them they could have a snack at the bridge, which was the half-way point.

Before we got the snacks out, we asked the kids to sit for a photo. Here we have Isaac, Desert Girl, Charlie, Desert Boy, and Ava. Like how Ava is already barefoot? She had some plans.

It didn't take her long to convince Desert Boy and Charlie that they should join her in shucking their shoes and socks. They tiptoed through the cold mountain stream and commented on just how frigid it was.

Then Desert Boy fell in.

Fortunately Nomi had extra clothes he could wear.

Nomi was also the cuddle place, and the three bigger kids had so much fun cuddling in her lap.

Jenny and I took photos for a bit.

Then we got back to the bridge. Desert Boy had warmed up and wanted to go back into the water. I explained that we didn't have any more dry clothes, so if he wanted to go back into the water, he had to take off his clothes. He thought this was okay. Then Ava thought it was too. I sure hope this is a phase they will outgrow in a few years, and not a precursor to teenage behavior!

The underwear-clad little four-year olds hopped back into the creek and decided they would try to cross the rickety old log across the creek.

Their balance wasn't the best, but at least they didn't get any more clothes wet! The temperature was perfect, and we could warm up quickly, but not get too hot.

Isaac and Emma cooperated and laid in the leaves for a photo.

Then, after a lot of convincing, we got all the kids to lie down in the leaves.

I could have spent a long time looking at the fantastic patterns in the leaves. No two were exactly the same.

When a gust of wind blew, the leaves fluttered down to the ground. Desert Boy tried to catch a leaf, but didn't quite manage it.

Then it was time to start heading back, which meant heading downhill. Desert Girl and Isaac, despite missing naps, were eager to hike.

I followed the older kids, who were still full of excessive energy. They tore down the trail, enjoying the several bridges. Then Charlie tumbled on the trail and came back with a worried expression on his face. I checked out his scrape and told him Desert Boy had a first aid kit.

Desert Boy was eager to get out his first aid kit, which he had packed that morning. He had a handful of bandaids and a few gauze pads. He had wanted to pack more, but I had told him that would be enough. He also really wanted to pack treats for his patients if they were good, but I convinced him that really wouldn't be necessary.

Desert Boy patched up Charlie quickly.

Then they discovered that Ava had an owie. And it wasn't just any owie, it was a blood owie. That definitely required a bandaid.

Ava got patched up too. Then Desert Boy improvised. He didn't have the suckers for his patients, but he did have some chips, so they all ate some chips for being such good patients/first aid providers.

All us moms were trying not to giggle too much as the whole scene unfolded in front of us. It was infinitely adorable how they were solving their own problems with such calm.

Then we went back to hiking.

I found more beautiful leaves.

The leaves were coming down quickly, so we were all happy to have had our outing to commemorate the beautiful fall. The hike was especially fun because we were able to do it with friends. Now it will be a little easier to face the coming of cold weather.