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We’ve had a lovely, crisp, fall weekend as we get ready to celebrate Halloween.

On Saturday, Sarah played her first game with the Rhinebeck Soccer League.

And today, we watched as riders in the Landsman Kill Trail Association’s Fall Hunter Pace passed by the pond.

Throughout the weekend, Jen put in long hours working on Sarah’s Halloween costume.  We’ll have more on that later.

Jen has been harvesting the fall crops, as we settle into autumn.

Sarah tried on one of her mother’s dresses, circa 1972.

And here she is enjoying a pre-Halloween party, downtown.

Here’s one for the leaf-peepers.

We climbed Burger Hill this afternoon.  It wasn’t particularly cold, but Sarah  is nevertheless wearing her new earmuffs, which she got at the Sheep & Wool festival at the Dutchess County Fairgrounds.  She and Jen attended both Saturday and today.  Sarah still has a touch of poison ivy from apple-picking last weekend.

Here’s a squirrel enjoying the fall weather.

And, for the foliage fans (and bird-watchers), here is a heron overlooking the pond.

We had beautiful, cool, clear days this weekend.  Here’s the sun rising this morning over the pond.

Later this morning, Sarah and her friend Max went apple picking.   They went all the way into the trees to get them.

Here are a couple of pictures  from last weekend: Sarah, out for a walk …

… and  a heron, flying over the pond.

Here is Sarah with her bug box, which we put together last weekend.   She has been using it mostly to house caterpillars.   Inside are a woolly bear caterpillar, which looks like it is wearing a Princeton sweater, and this fellow below, Lophocampa caryae, who will some day grow up to be a hickory tussock moth.

We had a beautiful and warm Saturday, with the leaves just starting to turn.  We also had a surprise visit from Nana and Grandpa — an especial treat for Sarah, who, at last, found someone willing to play Battleship with her.

On Sunday, we harvested Sarah’s pumpkins.  Let’s  hope they last until Halloween!

Sarah is learning how to knit a scarf.

We gave the old Dazey butter churn a whirl this morning.  Actually, we gave it what seemed like thousands of whirls.  Eventually, the cream started to look butterish.

And then, suddenly, it was butter — quite tasty, but I wouldn’t want to have to do it every morning.

This weekend we attended the 165th Dutchess County Fair. 

It’s not just about sampling local delicacies, such as fried dough, funnel cake and elephant ears.  We met plenty of animals, from the soulful goats…

… to the handsome, prize-winning roosters…

… to the miffed-looking, ribbonless roosters.

There were many, many piglets.

Sarah even learned how to make non-dairy creamer.

For some reason, the 4H community seems willing to overlook the evident science that produces these creatures.  Instead, everything is a miracle.  Not just eggs hatching:

… but also the birth of a calf (at the Miracle of Life Dairy Birthing Center, with stadium seating).

And, if you don’t catch the action live, you can always watch this revolting — yet miraculous — video.

This little girl contemplated the miracle of mint jelly.

I don’t want to say it was a reactionary environment, but these sheep struck me as racist.

Fortunately, there were plenty of rides.  There were traditional favorites, like bumper cars…

… more modern attractions, like this bungee/trampoline thing…

… and something entirely new this year: the Hamster Dance.

Each child was allowed to participate until she depleted her oxygen supply.

Sarah won a bunny — “Puffball” — throwing darts at balloons on the midway.  She was very pleased.

Back at home, we wished we had entered this tomato, which surely would have won a blue ribbon.

And Jen discovered a new crop — wild grapes — which she turned into a dozen jars of jelly.

Here’s Jen fixing up one of the two cast iron beds we picked up at a barn sale last weekend.  The other one is in Sarah’s room — she says it’s like sleeping on a cloud, so we’re not sure refinishing it could improve upon that.

The garden is producing beautiful brandywine tomatoes, and plenty of them.