November 2014.

These two seem pretty happy.  Coming home after a hay run for the animals.

Completing an erector set.

The piglets.  

Our house feels like an island of calm and quiet, which encourages changing into pajamas as soon as you get home from school or work on cold winter evenings, 

The girls.

Grab your tea and go wake up your father.  

Alexe had a book signing event in Winona, and somehow we also had an extra child for the afternoon.  While she was busy smiling and making nice, I took the kids around this cool Mississippi town.

Another Mississippi town whose lifeblood was the railroad.  We poked around in a railcar parked by the train depot.

A good chunk of the old depot has been repurposed into a fitness center.  

The extra young man is another BTC child belonging to a past waitress.

An odd town, with small spots of vibrant rebirth, surrounded by empty and/or partly demolished buildings.  It made me thankful for the chain reaction that started in Water Valley.  Event the smallest town is often too big for a small group to resurrect on its own.

This girl.

A little firewood chopping on a sunny fall afternoon.

Family movie night. 

We don't have many pictures of Alexe's work days at the BTC, my days at the Blu-Buck buildings, or the kids' time in school, but that is where we all spent most of these days.

A saturday morning adventure, we went to an auction.  Caspian spent 90% of his time around the refreshment table, (classic auction fare,) and producing endless quarters to buy himself and his sister snacks.  He may be stealing every quarter he can find in the house or at the store, but he's very generous with his sister.

We bought a few things.

I must have had a good night's sleep.

Late night piglet care.

Caspian came to work with me.  He went through this apartment and removed the blue plastic wrap on all the stainless steel appliances.  He's done this in other units, and has the patience and perseverance to get every little piece from around the hinges, handles, etc.  

Thanksgiving.  Alexe's mother and sister joined us, and we had a lovely day on the farm.

Giving the animals a little extra grain to spread the cheer around.

The piglets are small enough to escape the pig paddock, and have been out exploring.

The Blu Buck project has been all consuming, and having a whole day to play with the family, on our lovely farm, was lovely.  We went exploring in the back field.

Burned the first of three brush piles.

I was given free reign to play outside while the ladies took over the kitchen.  I had made pies the previous night, and we had harvested our Thanksgiving chicken the previous night as well.  (Alexe sold our turkey.)

Sisters.

It was sunny, warm, and everyone was in a great mood.

The trailer with a blue tarp in the background, behind the goats that haven't jumped the fence like Penny there, is piled high with Christmas trees.  I won't say more, just putting this here so years from now I can remember those Christmas trees and remind Alexe.

I love this girl.

Talk about things to be thankful for.

The last bonfire of the day was impressive.  The brush from 300 yards of fence line clearing, dried out for 6 months, and pushed (with the handy dandy tractor) into a giant ball at the base of a dead tree.  

a.Eliza coordinated this gingerbread house construction.