Summer of Change: Part 2

Labor Day has come and gone, but it is still officially summer.  Late summer/early autumn is my favorite time of year.  It's warm and not gruelingly hot.  The nights are cool, but not turn on the furnace cold.  (Or at least that's how I'd like it to be.)  The kids go back to school and the leaves on the trees start to change color.  (I saw some start to change in August and I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing.)  And, as I said previously (For your reference:  https://bfthsboringblog.blogspot.com/2024/08/summer-of-change.html) this has been a summer of change.  There have been goodbyes to the shore house (and the shore) and goodbyes to my son as he started his sophomore year of college.  However, the one thing I/we have NOT said good-bye to is the house that has been in my (maternal) family for 100 years.  (Yes, you read that right...my grandparents purchased the home that we live in in 1924.  I believe it was built/completely in 1923 and there was an owner for one year before my grandparents moved in.  It hasn't been sold since.)  The house is my family history and will continue to be so probably long after I'm gone, as my son loves it and feels the same way I do about family history. 

With that said (and hopefully clarifies things), we have said hello to a new dwelling in the Pocono Mountains.  This also puts us in the same state and somewhat closer to my in-laws, which is something my husband and I felt we needed to do. 

We have NOT moved, but we have expanded our horizons a bit.   I guess you could say that we closed a door at the Jersey Shore and opened a window to the mountains?  (How's that for philosophical?)  We're keeping one foot firmly planted in the Garden State while also embracing the brisk mountain air of the Keystone.  Maybe we can't be two places at once, but just watch us try.  (Okay, maybe not.)

Another change this summer is that our "family" is expanding.  No, I am NOT pregnant.  (A physical impossibility!)  But we do have and are caring for some new family members, although they are a little camera shy...  

They are:  Tang, Ghost, Cal, East Orange, West Orange, Henrik and Merle.  They are a handful!  Not unlike an infant, they need to (occasionally) be fed (which you can see above) and "changed."  (Meaning that the pond skimmer needs to be cleaned.)  So now I can say that as a mother I've been covered in baby poo and fish poo.  (While I didn't like either, it is easier to clean a baby's bottom.)

So there you have it.  No move.  Some change.  Fish poo.  It has been a summer of change.  Wonder what autumn will bring?

(Oh, and there's also this guy. 

I've decided to name him Pump.  (My fish family came to us pre-named and I'm not going to dishonor that by renaming them...besides it would be too confusing for everyone!)  I'm NOT taking care of him as he has a tendency to sit on the pond float and screw up the water flow.  (Hence the name Pump; the pond pump stops working when he sits on the float.)