The Rayfield Rambles: November

Somehow, even though sports wrapped for the season, November flew by in just as much of a blur as September and October had.

I slowly plodded away on this:

It's been spread out on our table since May, and Keenan has been itching to finish it and begin another one. Working on it has required glasses AND a magnifying glass.

The first weekend of the month Kevin headed to the mountains for a backpacking trip along part of the Appalachian Trail with some friends.

They did quite a bit of hiking. Since it was our first cold snap of the season, the boys and I were perfectly content to hold down the fort at home. Especially when Kevin sent pictures like this:

He rolled in Sunday afternoon a bit sore, tired, and headed directly to the shower.

While he had been gone, we kept eyes on a nosy neighbor :

Yes, it's a turkey.

For several days we could hear it, and sometimes see it, waddling around the fields behind our house and our neighbors.

My main concern was if it came in our yard....and it having a run in with a dog.

One evening Keenan took Loch out at sunset.

The bird was in our yard. And Loch was the one to see it, and chase it into a tree near the treehouse. It settled in to roost for the evening, and the boys & I figured it would move along by morning.

Nope.

I looked out back while I waited on my coffee to brew Sunday morning to see this:

And then I got a text from my neighbor who had also seen our guest in the yard. She wanted to know if they could hop the fence to move him into their yard, since they know our dogs like the poultry. Thankfully they moved him along before our dogs realized what was going on.

And Kevin missed the entire thing.

Veteran's Day at our school is an early release day, but the morning is not a typical one. Instead the students dress in their finest, and they put on a program to honor our Veteran's. Due to Covid, the event was another drive-through, reverse parade style, but we were so glad it was able to take place. Keenan's in Choir and they spent the morning singing curbside as the cars rolled through, then they headed to a nearby retirement facility to sing for their residents. Kieran and his fellow seniors handed out goodie bags as the cars moved through campus.

The weekend was pretty quiet.

We had a few empty peanut butter jars laying around, and each pup helped thoroughly clean them.

And the leaves have been amazing in color:

One of our favorite trails has views like this, and that day I was perfectly content to hike the trail and admire the views.

This puzzle finally got completed! (Took a few more days before anyone else noticed. Guess it's been there so long it became a part of the table.)

Thankfully Kieran finished all his college applications at the end of October, and has just been waiting to hear back from them. Of the eight he applied to, he's been accepted to three so far. He is still getting quite a bit of mail from all kinds of schools. Usually he tosses most into the recycling, but this one caught our eye....and gave us a chuckle. His name has been botched before but never quite so bad!

Fall means pie season and so far we've enjoyed a pumpkin and this lovely one. Black bottom pie-delicious.

Football games have been watched.

Some are a bit more stressful than others to get through.

We harvested our sweet potato crop and took the vines to our neighbors. Ham and Bacon enjoyed them, and Kieran enjoyed saying hello to them both.

The week before Thanksgiving was Homecoming week at school.

Each day had a different theme.

Monday was "Don't Sweat it".

The kids love it, and the extra lunchtime activities that go with it.

Tuesday was Salad Dressing Day (the boys pinned signs to their shirts-one was a French flag & the other had word "cheese" written in blue), Wednesday was Country or Country Club, and Thursday was Babies or Grandparents.

Then Friday was Blue and Gold Day and a pep rally. Followed by basketball games in the evening.

Saturday was homecoming dance for the high school, and Kieran cleaned up before heading out to meet friends for a pre-dance dinner. Not before a quick photo bomb by his brother.

He was happy to continue lounging and watching football.

The Tuesday before Thanksgiving Kieran and I flew up to Ohio. We drove around OSU's campus, picked up race swag for a 4 miler he & Kevin were running on Thursday, then checked in to our hotel. I let Kieran pick a spot for dinner, and we landed at a nearby gastropub on the river in Dublin. He was quite happy with his choice.

Wednesday we had another tour while Kevin, & Keenan drove up.

Then Thursday was out at the farm for lunch with a crowd of 38 showing up. It had been two full years since we had been in Ohio and was good to catch up.

True to form, we enjoy relaxing in the hotel after the big meal.

This year we brought our sweet Loch along. The hounds were boarded but with Loch's bladder cancer we all thought bringing him with us would be much less stressful on him.

And bless his heart, he was pretty chill with all of it.

Friday we enjoyed a long awaited lunch at one of our favorite places:

and yes, it was snowing.

That evening we gathered at another cousin's house for the 30th pizza party.

This post Thanksgiving celebration has taken on a life of it's own. Pretty sure my Dad, and an Uncle & cousin had no idea what they were starting a mere three decades ago. Glad they did, and I can see my Dad & Uncle raising a glass with a few chuckles.

This year had 62 in attendance.

It was fantastic.

So was watching my family hang out and catch up with various relatives. And listen to Aunts & cousins offer to take in Kieran if he winds up attending school in the Buckeye state.

Our wee fella enjoyed relaxing at the hotel, and even enjoyed walking in the snow flurries.

Saturday was The Big Game with a noon kickoff.

Shockingly the boys decided we should hit the road by 6 so we could be home in time for most of the game. We pulled out of the hotel at 6:14, and after a bit of driving, enjoyed this lovely sunrise.