Now That's More Like It

The cold soggy weather broke open for a few days, and finally delivered on the crisp, colorful Fall I was looking forward to seeing in Arkansas. Temps climbed back into the 70s this weekend and we made the best of it. I raked leaves in my yard (one of my favorite things to do). And Katie and Travis took Mick on a bike ride along the Arkansas river and across the Big Dam Bridge. I'm not much of a bike rider, so I wound up driving the cars to and fro, but still, it was a beautiful scene, on a lovely afternoon.



This bike trail is about 2 miles from our house. Its part of a 16 mile flat, paved looping trail that goes along both sides of the river and across two bridges. I expect that we'll spend lots more time hiking and biking on this trail.

Katie and Travis have the same birthday. On Sunday, friends with their toddlers and dogs gathered in Perryville for a birthday party. We all enjoyed the sunshine, the food, and the company. They served us a variety of her Farm Girl meats smoked to perfection, some home grown potatoes and Katie's fabulous angel food cake. Yummmmm! Here's a picture of Katie and Travis on their front porch, and Honey riding on the hip of Katie's farming business partner, M.C.

Today, the temps dropped again and the rain is coming back. Its like a curtain closing over me or a scene change in a movie. Brrrr.

I try to keep things cheery in this blog of mine. But sometimes self-consciousness takes over: here I am complaining about the weather when other people have so much more trouble than me. This morning on the radio, for example, I heard that one billion people are 'urgently hungry' all over the world, meaning that they have trouble finding a single cup of food every day. Millions are still unemployed. Kids are graduating from college but can't find jobs because so many experienced adults are competing with them for entry-level jobs, even for internships. If the economy doesn't overwhelm us, maybe we'll get swine flu or cancer or food poisoning. See - I'm gloomy this morning!

My hope is always restored when I spend time with with Katie and her friends - or any of the wonderful people I know in that generation. If the world really does completely fall apart, I think maybe this bunch could put the pieces back together. I just hope they don't have to - that the economic clouds part for them and their beautiful babies - and they get to have a fair chance at creating the world they imagine for themselves. It will certainly be a beautiful one.