That’s a very good question – we’ve been involved in so much that I’m not even sure what we’ve been up to. August flew by so fast and was such a blur that I can’t confidently say that August happened. Yet as it is Labor Day weekend I have to come to the conclusion that it must have. I feel like we’ve accomplished nothing, yet I know that is not true – we have done a TON! We’ve had one heck of a canning, cream separating, goat wrangling, kid wrangling August. Here are the details:

Peter has had two frenectomies to release his tongue and lip ties. Maybe I’ll see if Rachel can post more about ties later, but in short, a lip or tongue tie is when the tissue that attaches the part to the mouth is too long and it leaves the child with limited mobility of the tongue or lip. This affects nursing as an infant, but it can also long term affect speech, breathing, reflux and more. So, both procedures needed doing. And with that behind us, he has been a much happier and settled baby.

In the last two weeks we put up 27 jars of canned peaches. Staying true to our quest to avoid sugar, we’ve used white grape juice in lieu of syrup to can them in. We did that last year and they turned out really well. As we use so little sugar now anything canned with too much of it has become distasteful to us… it really just goes to show that you crave what you eat. Granted, I still really like things like fudge and ice cream, but I’ve found more than ever I want sour things to be sour, savory things to be savory and bitter things to be bitter. I had no idea how much flavor there was in the world until I realized that everything was more or less some sort of sweet. Ergo, white grape juice over sugar.

The pumpkins have started becoming orange, and the sunflowers are now some eight or nine feet tall. I haven’t seen whether or not there are any buds on them, but then again they’re so far over my head I do not know if I’d see them developing or not. Our garden is small this year, but at least we have one!

We’re getting ready for school to start. Gabe will be in third grade and Luke is starting first. Gabe will be quick to clarify “Welllll, I’m in fourth grade in reading.” To him everything is a race. This year will be a little different in that it’s really time to hit the books a bit harder. Gabe is ready to be challenged a bit and needs more detailed learning rather than just getting a cursory understanding of concepts. I anticipate that we’ll both be much busier this year!

It’s New York State Fair time, and we’ve been twice so far. While we’re not into the midway or the concerts, but we do like the agriculture, horticulture and handmade crafting. I enter to win a yearling draft horse and a Guernsey calf every year. I don’t play the lottery, but I do try to win livestock! Not that I expect to win, but it only sets me back $2 and at least it’s a donation towards the Future Farmers of America. Maybe one of these years…

Lastly, we got a new barn cat. With Thomas Jefferson’s untimely death last month, the mice wasted no time in recolonizing the barn. It had been months since I’d even seen evidence of a mouse, and now they practically prance around in front of me while I’m out there. Now we have Tiger, a young kitten that someone abandoned with her siblings in a cardboard box. Rachel and I had been thinking Professor McGonagall for a name (as she is a tabby cat), but the boys wanted Tiger. It’s just as well; she was so young when we got her that her sex could not be determined with 100% accuracy. Tiger could go both ways, so it works. Indeed, she (now that she’s grown a bit it is clear that she is in fact female) was so small that she had to be formula fed when we brought her home. She’s been in the house while she matures a bit, but gets brought out every morning and evening at milking time. I’m not worried that she’ll wind up in the house like Thomas did; Thomas was so attached to us that we couldn’t help but indulge. Tiger, though friendly, is far more independent.

So, that’s been our month in a nutshell. I’m actually looking forward to it being winter – there is a season for everything, and it will sure be nice to be in the season of rest again!