Pirate Night

The morning was freshly cold. It was time to drive out to Augusta again. Grandma Combs arrived shortly after Collette and Puck drove onto the premises. Grandma had brought gifts to distribute, as usual, including a clown bean bag and a book entitled Monster Night at Grandma’s House for Puck.
Then everyone (except for Joe, who was at class, then work), entered the green slug for the trip.
Collette had not visited Augusta in a long time. The little Lutheran church on the hill next to the cemetery and the vineyard. The pumpkin patch, where, most of the pumpkins having been already sold, they took Puck through the mazes and haystacks in the adjacent yard, including a pen of turkeys. Puck was fascinated with the gobbling feathered creatures, and stared back at them in baby wonder.
Before leaving, Grandma and Rose purchased apple butter, blackberry, strawberry-rhubarb, peach, and red raspberry preserves, honey-filled lemon drops, and Linnea – apple cider.
This was followed with a drive around the block to the park, where a large sugar maple truffled red into the autumn sky.
After lunch of beef sandwiches and a coffee cake, Puck joined the others on the merry-go-round, the jungle-gym, the spiral purple slide, and the swings. He was very happy to be a part of the activities of the day.
Meanwhile, Rose had been very occupied with the honey bees flying furiously around the lunch spread.
“Get away from me, you bees!” she cried.
In order to attempt a distraction, she set aside a piece of coffee cake on a paper plate. The bees took the bait. One, in particular, was joyously rolling his fuzzy body around in the powdered sugar.
“He’s pretty happy,” said Carrie. “He’s like, ‘Who hoo hoo!’”
“Yeah,” Grandma laughed. “He obviously didn’t expect this was going to happen to him today when he woke up this morning.”
Back on the ranch, after Puck was down for his nap, the three girls ran errands, including picking up three giant pumpkins. Francis was bringing his pumpkin to the carving contest for youth group that night.
Then they hit Target, and ending up selecting part of a new wardrobe for Linnea, who never seemed to have enough clothes to wear. This included a bright red knit dress in time for Christmas.
After Carrie had picked up a box of orange-like hair dye, and Rose a package of English muffins, their shopping excursion was finished.
For the evening, Grandma and Rose were leaving for Webster to see Emma, and half of the family (including OLeif, Collette, and Puck), were heading up to church for various pre-Halloween activities. Puck was a pirate. With the help of a little eye liner mustache, Collette’s orange Egyptian scarf, and his black boots, with the pirate vest and sword that Grandma Combs had given him, he was a smashing pirate.
Francis, too, was a dandy pirate, complete with long black wig, pirate hat, coins and silver jewelry, and running shoes.
“Oh, Johnny Depp,” said Quintus, laughing.
Puck quickly learned how the operation of games functioned at church, where he first met Sinai (a giant carrot), Judah
(a farmer with a stuffed dog), and Sunrise (who was representing a Dr. Suess character). Candy for winning games.
After backing out of The Tunnel of Doom, Puck won the Candy Walk, and began to horde his tiny stash of candy in his felt jack ‘o lantern bag, also from Grandma Combs. He sat on the platform in the sanctuary and gathered the five little boxes and bags together in his chubby arms.
“He’s counting his booty,” said Judah.