Last week I took Wesley and Carissa to the local pumpkin patch.

There was a corn pit and a mini-maze for little kids. Here Wes is standing behind the corn pit and in front of the maze entrance.

He liked the maze.

But he was more interested in finding rocks in the hay than finding his way out.

So he spent a long time in there. He found a bale of hay to stand on, looking out.

Later he took a walk in the pumpkin patch.

He didn’t pick a pumpkin, though–he picked rocks.

Which he took over to the petting zoo and tossed into the animals’ water buckets.

While Carissa watched.

John here. I know Shannon is the one who gets the Post glory in these parts, but I had to comment on the awesome-est flowchart I’ve seen in a while (and yes, awesome-est is absolutely correct—it’s in the dict-tionary, I promise).

So NPR (that’s National Public Radio, I am indeed referencing to it) recently conducted a survey of its listeners to get their take on the top 100 Science Fiction and Fantasy books. Well they released their list of books and that was that. No descriptions or commentary. Just a list. If you wanted to—you know—actually pick one to read you were on your own. Brush off your top hat that you’ve been keeping in the attic for just such an occasion and pick a title at random.

SFSignal, however, has taken those 100 books and created a flowchart to help you navigate to those books you might be interested in. Whether you’re “new to the fantasy genre,” looking for your next Cyberpunk-With-Funny-Hats novel, or want something Science Fictiony / Fantasy-esk without being seen in that section of the bookstore, then they got you covered.

You can start navigating the flowchart here.

If you prefer your flowchart mapped out (i.e., you like to know what kind of trouble your response might get you into) then the whole chart is viewable too.

Our house at bedtime (or maybe a little after).

Autumn is in full swing, but today was as beautiful and warm as if it were mid-June. I met up with my friend Marcy and her son Marshall, and we took our kids to the zoo.

It was a lovely day.

Wes rode the carousel (on the rhino, or “eye-no”, as he says).

Mostly, he liked to look up at the turning mechanism that makes the rhino go up and down.

We enjoyed seeing all the animals…

…like the elephants (see the baby elephant?)…

…and giraffes.

After the giraffes, there is a steep hill to climb, made all the steeper when pushing a double stroller loaded with 50+ lbs of kids and accessories. But it was worth it. This stretch of road was actually my favorite in all the zoo because it was high enough that you felt like you were hiking in the mountains. And, I guess, we practically were.

I also like the expression on the kids’ faces, although I’m not sure what they were thinking when I snapped this.

Us with our friends Marcy and Marshall!

A three-day-a week ritual.

When Wes knows it’s time for school he waits by the window and says, “Bus! Come!” When the bus arrives he runs to the door and hops (literally) down the front steps. I used to walk with him down the steps all the way to the bus, holding his hand. But Wes won’t hold my hand anymore. Instead, I stand on the porch and watch him go.

He is four years old now, after all.

Wes has never been one of those kids who gravitates towards crafts. So the other day when he came up to me and said, “Paint!”, I had ask him to repeat it a few times to make sure I heard right.

We went downstairs to the office and dug up my old (very old) tray of watercolor paints. I set him up at the table with a cup of water, a coloring page, and old newspaper, and then he got to work on his masterpiece.

And here he is showing off his ambidextrous skills. He is left-handed but often uses his right.