The crop for today, OCTOBER 18! First cosmos flower blooms, zinnias are in their prime, and the biggest pick day of tomatoes this year. I’m trying to figure out what happened–either our backyard is in a microclimate of time delay or I bought the special “patience” blend of compost from the supplier without knowing it. Not complaining though! Just hope the frost stays a way a bit longer so we can continue to enjoy it all! [slideshow]

Great openair circus at the park today

This weekend is so warm in Chicago– it’s in the mid 80s and sunny! Liam spent the day working on a aquaponic project at school, which he has promised to write about soon. Meanwhile back at home we emptied out the composter in preparation for winter. Last fall we left it too full and by February it was full and frozen solid, a big compost popsicle in the back yard. I really like the tumbler (thank you clever Australians for inventing it!) but it is a bit tricky to empty out. I can’t figure out how to do it with…

Last weekend we visited Richardson Farms and had a go at solving the World’s Largest Corn Maze. There were 24 stops inside to find and punch, and we made it to 23 (and bailed on one because it involved so much backtracking and we were getting tired and wanted to get to the donut shack!) [slideshow]

Miles had his first day of band today, and got his drum set. The set contains a snare drum, a small practice drum, and a set of “bells” which I would call a xylophone. Yay Miles!

Our front yard had a couple of tough blows this year. Back in Feb or sometime when it was really cold, the guys pouring the floors in the basement did quite a number on the front yard when they built a conveyor system that ran right through it. After the conveyor system was dismantled they built a ramp for the many wheelbarrows full of gravel that went in through the basement windows. But lots of the plants were underground and dormant, so they were fine. However, in June, the gas company did a lot of digging and really destroyed my…

First day of school! Liam left by himself to take the CTA bus, then I drove Miles to school.

We took a trip to Matthiessen State Park yesterday and went on a different hike than our usual tour of the upper and lower dells. We parked in the Vermilion River end of the park and took the horse trails into the dells area. One turn wasn’t well marked and we ended up taking quite a long circuit, but it was still nice to see more of the park than we usually do. This photo shows the Queen Anne’s Lace flowers in their closed up state. I love how the flower heads curl into little cages for the seeds. There…

Created by Liam

All summer I’ve been taking the Metra to work. It’s been a great commute consisting of a short bike ride, a 20 minute train ride (air conditioning, always an empty seat), then a 3-mile bike ride through a forest to work. Next week is back to the regular commute which has more walking, no bike, and more reading time. I’ll need the more reading time with my classes but I’ll miss the bike and forest!