Autumn Adventures

The boys and I loaded up the van a headed up the road to Berry Patch Farms today. Yes, we were there on Tuesday. What can I say? We like it! It's such a great place to hang out. Pumpkin can run all around and learn so much just by experiencing it all. Even Dumpling is trying to pick berries these days! Plus, there is no admission cost (except for special events) so we only have to pay for what we want to buy.

Today in addition to our lunch I packed up a pot of hot tea, cups, and Pumpkin Pie Spice Scones with Devon cream as well as a jar of the Spice Peach Butter I made in August. The Farm has a wonderful area of picnic tables under giant cottonwood trees so you are able to enjoy a picnic in the shade. There is also a long, covered porch they have filled with rockers where we love to sit and relax.

We were meeting up today with Janna and her friend, C.L., whom I met at Janna's Fall Fest a few weekends ago, and their children. Janna took the lovely picture of the scones above. In fact, she took all three of these pictures. Doesn't she do a lovely job?

We had so much fun talking and picking raspberries! They are simply dripping off the branches in bunches. The kids picked some berries and ate a lot of berries along the way. (It's allowed.) We picked a lot of the red raspberries, then headed out into the fields for the golden raspberry bushes which are a lot shorter. Here is Dumpling along for the ride. Isn't he cute? He calls out, "Berwies, berwies!" whenever he's wanting a snack.

All was well and good for me until I spotted a web in the bushes. Delicately perched on the web was this. It was hauntingly beautiful. I wish you could have seen this in color as the light parts were an amazing yellow and the dark parts black. I felt better about the whole thing after Janna named her Charlotte. Ugh.

Its (her?!) body was at least an inch in diameter. All that yellow and black in the midst of the yellow raspberries has made me decide to look a little closer before I pick from now on. I've never seen a spider like this, or any other kind, out there before. Now, I hope Gramma will still go out there with us and not stress out about the kids picking berries.

On a brighter note, I've been enjoying reading Northanger Abbey for the Go Gothic read-a-long at Austenprose. Let me know if you join in! I read so far ahead that I need to take a break and go back to Pride & Prejudice, which I was already reading before I found out about the Northanger Abbey events. (I have a collection of all of Jane Austen's novels in one book.)

Also, I've printed out a list of all the books you WONDERFUL ladies suggested a few posts down. I'm planning on checking out as many as I can these next few weeks with a trip to the library coming soon. I saw several books listed that I have read before and do think are definitely worth an additional read. Please, feel free to continue to add to the list! Thank you for taking the time to give suggestions! I do so appreciate each one of you dear ladies for stopping by and for taking the time to comment as you can. It means so much to me.