Harvest Time and Horses

Nora and I have been staying with my parents the past few days while we hang out with Camella and get ready for the Common Ground Country Fair. As a result, I've had access to wireless internet which has been awesome but definitely eye opening. I think it's a good thing we don't have it at the apartment. I spend too much time on the computer when I can lay in bed at night and cruise to my heart's content! Last weekend we picked a half bushel of apples and in the days before we came up here I made and canned twelve half-pints of apple butter. Of course, when you're in the middle of canning you can't exactly give all your attention to a little one running around. Poor Nora, she was so tired she was stumbling around, knocking on the bedroom door to have a nap. I was right in the middle of pouring hot apple butter into sanitized jars, so I was trying to convince her to wait a few minutes. Being the independent girl she is, she took matters into her own hands, grabbed her pacifier and crawled onto the futon for her nap. (She loves having covers over her head lately. In fact, as I write this she's just fallen asleep beside me with her favorite blanket thrown over her face.)Once we arrived at my parent's house on Tuesday we headed over to the local farm stand (and, not coincidentally, Camella's house.) We trade babysitting for produce and I love 'shopping' at the farm stand. This week we got, from left, yellow onions, spring mix, a couple red peppers (Nora ate the other on the way home), a cucumber, garlic, cherry tomatoes, red potatoes, zucchini, broccoli, squash and soybeans. Yum! That night for dinner Nora ate cucumber, red pepper, steamed broccoli, steamed soybeans and squash. She wouldn't touch my lentil burger though. What a weirdo...
Yesterday we took a trip over to the barn where Nanny keeps her horse, Maggie May. (Or is it Mae? Anyone know?) Nora and I hung out with the pumpkins until Maggie was groomed and ready to go.
I tried to get some shots of Maggie in the barn and then in the indoor arena, but it was getting dark and I wasn't sure how she would like the bright flash. Nora loved patting Maggie but she enjoyed climbing on the mounting block even more. She figured out how to climb to the top and stand up without anyone helping her. I'm preparing myself for the day she decides to jump!
Nora also found something else at the stable she really loved. I wish I could say it was another horse, or at least a barn cat, but no, it was horse poop. She really enjoyed pointing it out wherever she could find it, and in one paddock there were copious amounts of it. She was in heaven. (And yes, she really is getting excited about horse poop in this picture. Obviously, she's related to Hayley. And her Nanny, now that I think about it, who used to roll down the automatic windows and lock them when we drove by the local dairy farm so she could smell the cow poop. I think that constitutes child abuse, don't you?)
We did get Nora on Maggie for approximately nine seconds. I think we'll have to keep trying, though, if we want to project Nanny's hopes and dreams as a child onto Nora and turn her into the Olympiad we know she can be. (Just kidding, Nanny!) This picture was taken right before Nanny lead Maggie away and Grampy grabbed Nora before she fell off. There was a slight lack of communication there; Nanny thinking they were going for a walk, Grampy thinking they were standing still for a picture.
Well, we hope everyone has a great weekend. We will be sure to take plenty of pictures at the fair, as it is one of our favorite events of the year after Christmas. (Although it might be Shane's favorite event of the year.) See you next week!