Summer’s End

Goodbye to summer

Summer is my favorite time of year.  I love the warm weather, the sunshine, the long afternoons by the pool.  As soon as the weather gets to be above 70 degrees, I am outside in it.  But, inevitably, the summers pass by way too quickly, and every year the summer’s end stares me in the face before I’m ready.  This summer was no different.

Labor Day is unofficially summer’s end, even though according to the calendar we still have a couple of weeks left.  Our family ends our summer with two weeks of camping.  The first week is spent at a tractor Jamboree where we are able to see horse threshing, tractor pulls, and the biggest flea market that I have ever attended.  My favorite part of the Jamboree is the background noise of idling tractors. 

The Jamboree features a different brand of tractor each year.   This year they featured the Minneapolis Moline tractor, and Super Stuffy and Bear Bear actually went through the park and counted all of the MM tractors that were there.  Most of the time when I see one tractor I have seen them all.  But I love to see the old tractors with the steel wheels, and the traditional old steam engine tractors that actually look like trains. 

 

 

State Fair – the unofficial end of summer

Our second week of camping is at our state fair.  We camp there for a week because my husband is the FFA Livestock Superintendent.  How proud I am of him, watching as he does his job.  But because he is working, we don’t get to spend much time with him, unless we watch the livestock shows.  The kids have no interest in the shows, so this year we spent most of our time split between two areas, the midway and our 4H activities. 

Both Bear Bear and Super Stuffy brought several static exhibits for our county and received many purple state fair ribbons.  My mama pride said, “Oh, yeah, those are MY kids.”  🙂  Bear Bear was also involved in the Fashion Revue contest for two outfits that she had sewn in this past year. 

I am so proud of the work that both of them have done.  Super Stuffy has expressed an interest in showing a heifer calf next year, so I know that I will have my job cut out for me in learning how to fit and show a calf.  🙂

The other half of our time was spent on the midway.  For the kids, it is their favorite part.  They love the rides, and they both are old enough to go on them all.  I used to love rides, but I am finding now that as I get older I cannot tolerate many of them.  This will be my last year of riding, I think.  Bear Bear was most impressed with the Ring of Fire ride, and she went on that one over and over again.  I don’t know how she can stand that ride.  On the last day Super Stuffy was done, and he and I spent that day just watching Bear Bear. 

I was so glad to get home to my comfortable bed and my quiet farm with its wide open spaces.  The fair is fun, but the noise of the midway gets into my  bones and  makes my ears ring.  I also find it difficult to be in the middle of all those people.  

So now, we are fully into the school year and our busy routine.  I regret the summer’s end, but there is a certain comfort in the routine of fall.  We have hockey, tae kwon do, ballet, gymnastics.   For this last week, the weather is still warm, and I am content in who I am.  I praise the Lord for my wonderful life!