Country Mill

When the Crockers came to visit over the summer, they repaired and painted the very sad stairway wall.  I went with a solid color, because the two tones were not my favorite.  However, the new wall looked so blank, and instead of just picking out some random art, I decided that I wanted a canvas print of my dear ones to break up the empty expanse.  

I had some pictures of them that I could have used, but thought it would be nice to take a picture for this express purpose.  Country Mill is a yearly fall destination, so we rolled two tasks into one!

We had to stop and collect new height pictures first!

It was quite sunny that day, but there were some clouds moving in, so our next stop was actually donuts and cider, while we waited for the clouds to become natural diffusers.

Grace opted for Hot Chocolate instead of cider.

The clouds moved in, and it was time for pictures!

Or nor, Emily was stung!

They added a pressurized apple launcher!  Everyone took a turn, and I was so incredibly proud of Alice.  When William took his turn, he missed all five times, so Alice dug out her own money to get him a new bucket of apples to shoot.

We skipped over the sunflowers, and opted instead for some pretty yellow flowers instead.

Sadly, by the time we got to the field of flowers, the sun had reappeared, and there were squinty eyes and transitioned sunglasses.  

So, we tried to do the corn maze while waiting for the clouds to return, but they had stopped selling tickets, as it was after five, and they close at six. = (  

Since we had exact change ($21) cash, we were able to take the final trailer ride of the day, in addition to being a fun ride, was also helpful in scouting out photo locations. 

When we got back, we sent Billy, with our lists, to the store, while we returned to the best spots!  The flowers were pretty, but this pose felt really forced.

In the forest, I should have had William and Emily step in a bit, because it was a pretty spot, with lovely lighting, but they look so far away!

The best pictures were definitely on the deck overhanging the river!  Since we were there so late in the day, there were not many people about, and the lighting was just perfect!  This was the chosen picture for the wall!  We took the pictures Saturday, I ordered the print on Sunday, and by Friday the canvas had arrived!

This was the runner up, as I also really like this one!

Emily wanted to pose on the tree limb, which initiated the series of individual pictures. = )

Group shot, but the disparity of light took it out of the running.

 

I love this series of the girls pretending to throw William into the pond.  The final picture could not have come out more perfect! 

If Alice had been looking at the camera, this would have been the shot!

And just like that, it was time to go!  So, we started making our way toward the exit.

Attempting to level out their heights.  It didn't work very well.

I have a picture from years ago in front of this train, or perhaps a similar one, that I wanted to replicate, but apparently Alice was done. = (

Everyone got to pick a pumpkin, but Grace was the only one who wanted to carve hers when we came home.  Our porch looks pretty festive now though!

I am so glad that we have such a lovely place to visit for apples and cider, so close to home!  The leaves have started falling in earnest now, so we went on a good weekend for a green background. The temperatures are also dropping, and it appears autumn is right on time this year.

later days

edit 9-21-25: backdated for continuity.