Apple Fest

Nothing shouts Autumn is Here! like apples and this past weekend I took the minions to Living History Farms for their Apple Festival. It's been quite a while since my last visit to LHF and it was the minions' first trek out there and I will admit, it was fun to go again and revisit an old haunt through new eyes. Some things had definitely changed though - the stores used to be a lot more interactive and busy but I suppose that went away when they built their big welcome center/gift shop. And I don't think they let you eat any freshly-made samples anymore; everything is out of a container which is a bit disappointing though understandable I suppose.

In case you haven't been to Living History Farms, here are some photos that I took during our outing.

There is a main town section that houses oodles of fun buildings with little treasures inside.

The minions got to try their hands at the apple press/cider maker machine. Sorry, I'm not up on my technical terms there... You put apples in, turn the crank which chops the apples up and the pieces land in a bucket which is then pressed for the juice.

Man those apple fritters were tasty!

My favorite part though, was wondering around and seeing all the handmade lovelies - the women that were in the houses were all knitting or crocheting something and their handiwork was displayed all around. Perhaps I was born in the wrong era - making things at home while tending to the kids, handwritten letters instead of emails, farm-fresh food...

The minions had a good time there and I foresee us going again. There's a Prairie Christmas something-or-other in December that I am curious about.

Summer's End

With Fall around the corner, the Dreams in Fiber Household headed South for a little R&R over Labor Day weekend. This provided the hubby with a chance to impart some of his grasshopper catching knowledge to little man.

There was a bit of rain now and again but that didn't stop little miss. Fortunately things cleared up for a fire one evening.

Critters were caught and we even found a new-to-us species of spider. Evidently this is a "crab spider" and they come in different colors (and some change color). Truth be told though, I don't care what color they are, they creep me out.

More proof that spider season is upon us. I don't even want to know what this one is. I'm pretty sure it's no longer with us....

Over the course of the weekend I met several new grasshopper friends and even invited a toad for tea. One does want to be polite :)

It was nice to see the hummingbirds out and about as well.

A little bit of minion for you. You don't really get many opportunities to take a picture of little man without something in front of his face these days...

Hope the rest of your Summer is nice and relaxing.

And if you happen to be out mowing, don't try to mow over one of these! Just ask my FIL...