This Week (Autumn Kale, Family Time, and a Canoe)

It’s finally AUTUMN! The weather has finally agreed to act like the season it actually is. Cold gray clouds have swept the sky above my house, and the colors of fall are surely not far behind. My kale has responded to this change in the weather by growing even more; the tallest plant stands well over three feet. Yesterday I spent over an hour pruning out dead or caterpillar-eaten leaves, harvesting two baskets of good leaves, chopping half the harvest for salad, smoothies, and pasta sauce, and freezing the rest. My garden now resembles a cluster of palm trees more than anything else!

The past couple weeks have been a whirlwind. Both Mary and Eric, Sarah, and Jackson were in town last weekend, so I spent as much time as I could with them, catching up and cooing over how adorable Jackson is. This of course led to a landslide of fallen-behind work to catch up on over the week, but it was well worth it.

Canoeing with Mary

Another exciting thing that happened last week is that, after a year and a half of thinking about it, Zach and I finally bought a canoe! It’s a 16’ Wenonah, bought from Craigslist, that we named the Mary Anne (after the steam shovel in Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel). We took it out a few times on Creve Coeur Lake when the weather was warm, and are excited to take advantage of the other paddling opportunities in the St. Louis area. If you canoe around here and have some favorite spots, please let me know!

Not much else to report; I’m just catching my breath after a very social few days. Hope you guys have a good week!

~Lisa