The many faces of autumn

The October decorations: gourds, pumpkins, halloween candy, are now in place on the stoop and the dining table. Pumpkins will become Jack-o’Lanterns about a week before Halloween. Meanwhile, summer’s hardier flowers continue to bloom despite overnight temperatures close to freezing. The drive to get the candy and pumpkins was a treat, as was watching children select pumpkins for their parents. It’s been a long time since our kids were in grade school. Yesterday was the family and friends birthday party for our 2 year old granddaughter. This is a busy month, more so for farmers.

creative “pumpkin" baling

Photo by J. Harrington

Most of the local soy bean fields are harvested. Some of the corn fields too, but more corn is standing and drying than harvested as of this weekend’s driving around. Based on the traffic, there were lots of folks out taking in the fall colors today. Soon they’ll be gone for another year, the colors, that is. Traffic is sometimes heavier but almost always there.

Only two more weeks of this year’s Community Supported Agriculture [CSA] shares. I appear to have missed listing what was in Friday’s box so we’ll take care of that now.

• APPLES
• CARAFLEX CABBAGE
• DELICATA SQUASH
• KALE
• POTATOES
• TOMATOES, and
• YELLOW ONION

Last, and far from least today, I just noticed that there are fresh flowers on the lilac bush in front of the house. I suppose that goes along with this being the time of year for ghosts, goblins and what not coming back to life.

Song for Autumn

by Mary Oliver

Don’t you imagine the leaves dream now
how comfortable it will be to touch
the earth instead of the
nothingness of the air and the endless
freshets of wind? And don’t you think
the trees, especially those with
mossy hollows, are beginning to look for

the fires that will come—six, a dozen—to sleep
inside their bodies? And don’t you hear
the goldenrod whispering goodbye,
the everlasting being crowned with the first
tuffets of snow? The pond
stiffens and the white field over which
the fox runs so quickly brings out
its long blue shadows. The wind wags
its many tails. And in the evening
the piled firewood shifts a little,
longing to be on its way.

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