Fall Time in Iowa

Iowa shines in the fall. 

Day and night, we are lucky to witness the beauty. 

The first and only frost so far came in October, a gentle reminder that these colorful days never last. But then again, neither do the frozen gray ones.

My favorite field was the last to be harvested this year

(you can't really live in Iowa and not have a favorite field).

Falltime in Iowa means a trip to Jester Park! 

Noah may have outgrown the elk binoculars.

I don't know why I'm like this. 

Laney loved Noah's hum-bachi-boo-bah performance.

She was a great sport with all of the hiking and sniffing, until she was done. 

I carried her a whole bunch, and eventually gave her the shepherd treatment. 

Noah and I enjoyed a little cheesecake afterward! Youngest child perks. Emma was with friends and Adam was... somewhere.... maybe studying calculus with friends? 

The humble and graceful barred owl was among the first woodland creatures to greet us when we moved into this house (scared the bejeezus out of us until we figured out what it was). I was so sad to see this beautiful and tragic owl laying in the road on fall day. But we loved seeing him up close. 

Find yourself a partner who will move a dead bird out of the road so that they can rest in peace. 

Falltime looks like tractors resting in the sunrise, getting ready for another day of harvest.

And corn mazes in the sunset!

City fall views are some of my favorite!

Especially the views that lead to music!

Oh, just our backyard. I'm standing near the washed away friendship bridge.

The portal!

The best sunset of the month. What a wonderful world! 

Laney Bear

A few months ago Laney started striking this pose a little too often. She has a torn ligament in her knee! Poor pup is almost 8, so she's not a spring chicken anymore, but she's far too young to be hobbling around like a tripod just yet. A few vet appointments and few pounds lost, and she was ready for surgery. Except she really wasn't because the optional bloodwork that she had done before her surgery showed elevated protein levels, which means she has kidney disease. We now know it's stage 2. She came home from the vet without a repaired ligament, and with a new diet and a really sad diagnosis. Her life expectancy is now half of what we have been planning on, but we are determined to give her the best life possible every day that she's still with us. 

Of course, Laney has a flair for the dramatic, so she started striking obituary-worthy poses as soon as we got the news. 

She is our best pup, and the best reminder that every day is a gift. 

She's been officially upgraded to my side day and night, no more kennel for this sweet and sick pup. 

What would she tell us if she could talk? She's always been such a great listener. 

She definitely approves of the new diet!

And we're going on as many adventures as we can, just like always. 

Just kidding, that's a dog from Leah's mission- I really hope she gets to see her own scrappy pup again. We're doing the best we can to keep Laney with us for as long as she's happy and comfortable!

We love our sweet Laney Bear!