A September School day...

Yesterday was the first day of school for teachers in Oswego County, New York. It was a fabulous day. With a morning of meetings behind me and an afternoon of working along side my new partner for the year ~ I came home hopeful, inspired and full anticipation for the year ahead. It will be a great year!

This morning it gets even better ~ the children arrive around 8:40 a.m. off the busses. Their smiles, hugs, and hunger to learn are exciting. If you have lost the joy to learn or for life, pay attention to the smiles and bounce in the steps of the children as they get on the bus. We are blessed in the U.S.A. to have the opportunity for every child to have a quality education - most love school and to learn. Watch their smiles - they are Tiggers as they cross to board the bus this morning. The smiles only get bigger when they arrive to school for the first day, I have one of the best jobs in the world. Teacher and writer.

While I was at school preparing for our new students today, my daughter worked along side her Pop in the garden. They restocked the peppers, tomatoes, sweet corn, and chalets on her vegetable stand before taking the buggy to the gourd garden. Oh my goodness did they pick some gourds and there are still more to come. A great way to end the summer and start the school year.

Farming is an American tradition and one that was becoming less common before our current economic situation. A garden is more work than swinging in to the grocery store to pick up a few things yet the reward is far greater than the produce (but my father might disagree - that first tomato sandwich is near perfection, lol). To till the earth, plant the seeds, nurture the seedlings and new plants, more love and nourishment throughout the summer before the crop is ready to harvest is exhilerating. The smell of the fresh soil is one of my favorite smells next to this same freshly tilled soil after a summer rain...priceless.

For my birthday I received a bar of "Wild Peppermint" goat milk soap and saved it for the first week of school. It is fabulous. Elizabeth also has salves and a wonderful blog. I hope you will take some time to check it out. Once I have a couple paychecks under my belt, I plan on placing an order. The soaps and salve
http://dandelionsacre.blogspot.com/p/goats-milk-soaps.html