“Sweet is the breath of vernal shower,
The bee's collected treasures sweet,
Sweet music's melting fall,
but sweeter yet
The still small voice of gratitude.” –Thomas Gray

Fall is such a wonderful time of year. It's also my favorite time to cook and bake because there are such wholesome and yummy foods to pick up at the market. I've gotten into butternut squash this year, pumpkin, apples of course, and leeks. Mmmm, I would love to make a different soup every day. Just the other day I saw a recipe for Pumpkin Shallot Soup that you actually bake in the pumpkin--probably not going to make in to our table, but how cool! There is also that subtle air of expectancy because Thanksgiving and Christmas are just a smidge away and there are projects to be dreamed up, started (and maybe finished); parties to plan; lists to make and revise; halls to deck; Christmas movies to watch; food food food; and visits to Wegmans galore--all of which are my favs. Of course none of this is related to the pics I posted below. I'm catching up to make sure that I've shared some Halloween photos and the shots of Charlie at his preschool "farm party"--love those! Heard on Halloween:

• Aaron: "Charlie, you picked fruit snacks? That's not even candy!"
• Charlie the Turtle when asked what (ninja) turtle he was: "I'm not any kind of turtle. (pause) Oh, I'm a snapping turtle!"
• Amelia: Silent because she was too busy eating through the packaging of each candy she received. See last pic below of what we found in her bag, already sampled.