Awwww-tumn

Autumn is full of amazing things. There's nothing I enjoy more than watching the landscape out my back window turn from full, lush green to a mottled mixture of gold, reds, and auburns. The treeline seems to transform into a shimmering range of colors you can't even find in the big box of crayons.

I think most of y'all know that I live on a working goat farm and this is when we start our second round of kidding for the year. Just the other day we had our first set of twins - an adorable buck and a doe. Here's a picture of the FFA and 4H stockman that will be helping take care of our farm while we vacation in Vegas for the big PBR finals this week - holding the twins. Aren't they Awwww-dorable? We still haven't named them so make your suggestions!! With hundred of goats on the farm it gets harder and harder to name them all. The buck is the one on the right with the white blaze down his nose.The little doe has an all red head.

The other Awwww-some thing about October that I love-love-love is pumpkins. Did you carve a pumpkin and roast pumpkin seeds? If not, you've still got time to weave this memorable moment into your week. No matter if you decide to carve a scary, spooky, funny, or goofy face into your pumpkin - it's all about the project. This year instead of carving a face...I scooped just a few seeds out and then tucked flowers into the top. The pulp keeps the stems watered and the flowers have looked fresh all month. Lots of fun and an easy quick centerpiece. I just used what was blooming in my front flowerbeds. Mums, daisies, sweet williams and some herbs to make it smell extra wonderful.

Wishing all you an Awwww-some Awwww-tumn full of amazing moments. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

About Nancy :: I am the author of the Adams Grove series and the co-author of the YA novel, inkBLOT. I write stories from the crossroad of small town and suspense.

Sweet Tea and Secrets is available in print, kindle and audio formats. Out of Focus is also available in print, and all digital formats.

inkBLOT is a suspense novel that you can enjoy and feel comfortable sharing with your tweens. Written under the pen-name Johnson Naigle, Phyllis and I hope you'll share your love of reading with the next generation of readers.

Check out my website NancyNaigle.com and on facebook and twitter @NancyNaigle

Blue Moon Sadness

Hi, all -- I'm back to talk about the crazy things that happen when the moon is full.  

Our most recent full moon fell on the final day of August. It wasn’t just a full moon, it was a special full moon – a “blue moon.” If you’re like me, the phrase “blue moon” makes you think of song lyrics more than lunar calendars, so if you’re like me, you immediately hit the Google search to find out just what makes a moon so blue.

What I discovered is that there are two circumstances which cause a full moon to be declared blue. The first, as in our August 31^st moon, designates a moon “blue” if it’s the second full moon in a month. (In August, we had full moons on the 1^st and the 31^st .) The alternate definition applies when there are four full moons in a three-month season, in which case the third of the four full moons is considered “blue.” Why the third full moon and not the fourth? You got me, and it makes my head fog up to try to figure it out (…much like the whole space-time continuum pickle).

What I still can’t figure out, though, is why “blue,” a color synonymous with sadness or melancholy? Does having an extra full moon appear in a certain period of time alter our moods, make us shift into low gear, like that big rock’s gravitational pull on the seas to low tide?

I thought about that the next day. It was the first day of a nice, long weekend. I should have woken feeling refreshed and energized. Instead, I got up feeling foggy-brained, as if that moon had messed with my head during the night…or maybe it was the aliens. In any event, I rushed about my business, forgetting where I was going half the time and wondering what I was doing there once I arrived. I left my cell phone at home, my coupon clutch at the store, and by the end of the day, felt that I’d accomplished  nothing. One-third of my holiday weekend had vanished, leaving me with little to show for it. That left me feeling, well…blue.

I’m usually a happy person. I don’t like feeling blue, but if I find myself in that state, I try to do something to cheer myself up, like call my sister or a girlfriend who’ll make me laugh and forget about whatever it is making me sad. Sometimes, though, I’m so blue, I just need to indulge the feeling, if only for a little while.

So instead of calling my sister or a girlfriend that night, I zoned out watching videos on YouTube, and pretty soon I felt better, because what did I find but a video of my favorite singer performing one of my favorite ballads. 

If there’s anyone out there having a blue-moon night, give a listen to Toby Keith and this version of "Does That Blue Moon Ever Shine On You?". He understands. You might even laugh and forget about whatever is making you sad.

Leah writes stories of romance and suspense, and the enduring power of love. 

You can visit her at www.leahstjames.com.