When we first got Anya’s playhouse, she couldn’t swing on her own unless she was on her tummy on the swing. One day, though, she figured out a method and a little chant to get her going. She would say and do, “Step by step, SWING!” Over, and over, and over. Now at the end of the summer, she is a real pro and has worn an impressive spot in the grass. Not only does she swing but she does tricks, “Momma! Look at my trick!” She points her toes on one foot and tucks the other foot back, or she swings at an angle, or she does a little wiggle.

As summer comes to an end, the gardens are also finishing up. I remembered to get a few photos of the sunflower garden before it went kerput. (It’s now rather a mess.) This garden wasn’t quite what I (or the book I read) planned, but most of the seeds didn’t grow or were eaten, and the morning glories didn’t bloom until their weight pulled the taller plants to the ground. Still, it was fun, Anya got a kick out of it, the bees and birds were fed, and we will definitely try again next year.

The cherry tomatoes (volunteers) went nuts, and we have a few gallons in the freezer. The chickens perhaps ate more of these than we have. Anya discovered the birds’ love for the tasty treats, and I had to watch her or she’d have fed them all to the girls. I was a bit concerned about the chickens overeating, but after a while they seemed to have enough and went in search of bugs.

Alas, our bigger tomatoes didn’t do so well. We do have two vigorous plants still plugging along and toting HUGE tomatoes, but who knows if they will ripen in time. I got quite a few cucumbers, too, before the dry weather demolished them. A couple dozen tomatillos and some almost ripe Dragon Peppers round out the harvest for the summer. I wanted to plant fall crops, but I don’t think that is going to happen. We do want to plant garlic at least.

The blueberry wine Andy started at the beginning of the summer found its way into bottles this evening. I asked him if it was good and he said, “Yeah, I think so!” The blackberry wine is in the works. Or, rather, it is in a vat in the kitchen, and the place smells like sour fruit. (Or maybe that is the compost bin.)

I keep thinking of things I want to write down and not forget, but then I forget:

• Like how Anya has recently started matching words. “Grass and Green! They sound together!” Sometimes the words rhyme, sometimes they start with the same sound, and sometimes they have the same or similar meanings. “Radio and CD! They sound together!”
• When we are driving along, she’ll suddenly shout out, “HEY!” And I say, “Hm?” And she says, “HEY!” And I say, “Yes?” And she says, “LOOK! HAY!” I love how hey and hay sound together.
• Babies. Anya is all about the babies. She has half a dozen or more dolls/stuffed animals that she carries around the house, lines up in bed, takes in the car. Yesterday we ran errands, and not only did she bring a baby, but she also needed the baby’s stoller. And her pink poodle handbag (Anya’s, not the baby’s). Anya’s love of babies does not stop with toys; she talks often of her baby cousin. Last week, she got to talk to her cousin on Skype or a Skype-like product, and likes to tell about how “…and then my baby cousin barfed!”
• When you ask her to do something (that she wants to do) she may say, “Of course!” Or perhaps, “My pleasure!”
• Anya is a top class chicken wrangler. Once she learned to pick them up and carry them, they didn’t have a chance. She loves to chase them and pick them up and move them around and herd them into their house at night. She’s even been pooped on once; sort of surprising it hasn’t happened more often.
• She picks out all her clothes and loves to ask, “Who made this?” (See picture below for awesome Anya outfit.)
• And she is a great problem solver. She couldn’t fit all her babies into her stroller, so check out the picture below to see how she worked that one out. (Yes, those are her rain boots.)

Summer is good, but it is almost over.