Looking for changes.

That subtle change I wrote about in a recent post is no longer.

Subtle, that is.

We took a drive to one of the highest points in Fairbanks the other day.

Ester Dome offers a 270 degree vista of the Tanana Valley, the flats beyond

and the Alaska Range and Brooks Range even farther.

Patches of yellows and golds flecked the green land we viewed.

With binoculars in place, Jack spied some lingering smoke curls from

lingering spotty forest fires and details on several of the tallest mountains in the Alaska Range, including Mt. McKinley, otherwise called Denali.

Evidences of early autumn were visible in all directions.

Back in the fields where we are living, the Sandhill Cranes continue to arrive and eat.

The wheat and barely fields are golden.

Their noisy calls fill the fields and skies.

When they take to the air the sound is deafening.

Within days from now the skies will be silent but for the sounds of

some remaining geese stalling around a wee bit longer.

Kathleen's well loved and tended garden continues to thrive.

Pumpkins grow rounder by the day with splashes of orange among the green.

Broccoli, cauliflower, snap peas, beans, zucchini, carrots, potatoes, parsley and lettuce grow with such abandon that it's hard to find spots to walk amidst them all. I've gardened for years but never even thought of trying to grow celery. Kathleen's is tall and sweet and there are dozens of heads getting taller each day.

She dedicates time each day to freezing, canning and drying it all--

trying to cheat out the killing frost soon to come.

And we eat very well!

Abigail especially enjoys a sweet cherry tomato.

She can pierce it with her 2 tiny, but sharp, teeth, then sucks it,

smashes in and gums it.

Fresh and organic, Kathleen generously shares the harvest with her parents.

Except for a random mushroom or two, this whole stir fry meal consists

of yummy vegetables from the Klynstra garden.

Eat up and enjoy, for the days are numbered...

And we do!