Peaches, People, and Passion

Summer is drawing to an end, at least as far as time off from school goes, but we are still pretty busy. Emily starts choir practice on Tuesday, I'm getting lessons ready for when we officially start back to home schooling the week after, and peaches are ready for canning. 

I love the different seasons for fresh fruits and vegetables. In mid June the zucchini abounds and I make quick breads with it. In July we enjoy fresh melons and tomatoes. And in August come the peaches. I always can peaches for my family as Christmas gifts, but I also eat them on my cereal, eat them with my lunch, and make a pie or two. This year I'm feeling extra ambitious, so I might even try my hand at jelly.

The end of summer is also the time when I have gotten to know most of my market vendors by name and personality. It's the time when I start thinking about how we are going to celebrate the final market day. And it's the time when I start planning and arranging my fall speaking and travel schedule. The time where I turn form my baking passion back to my kidlit passion. 

And speaking of passions, one of the books I'm reviewing this week, Mr. McGinty's Monarchs, is all about passion. Mr. McGinty has a passion for caterpillars, especially those which eventually turn into beautiful Monarch Butterflies. He takes his dog on walks and they enjoy the caterpillars making their way ip the milkweed stalks, that is, until one day they show up and all the milkweed has been mowed down. Mr. McGinty thinks fast and works to save the caterpillars from certain death. He even enlists a local school to help him take care of the caterpillars as the metaphorically change. In the end, they all have a glorious butterfly release. This book is a beautiful way to add a little science to the literary mix.

The other book I read this week, You're Here for a Reason, was a wonderfully rhymed story about how each and everyone of us is important and alive for a reason. Now I don't know about you, but that is something I like to believe and it's probably one of the reasons I love It's a Wonderful Life so much. You know the idea that we touch people's lives in ways we might never even know. Who knows how a kindness or a smile can change someone's day!

Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me next week for another exciting episode, same crazy time, same crazy channel. Also be sure to drop by and join the Literacy Musings Monday Blog Hop where you will find other great blogs, or my personal website, Fun With Aileen, where you will find more on reading, writing, and my very own early grade Fern Valley chapter book series and my Quack and Daisy picture book series. And finally, you can find me on twitter @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days.