"October gave a party;

The leaves by hundreds came-
The Chestnuts, Oaks and Maples
And leaves of every name.
The sunshine spread a carpet,
And everything was grand
Miss Weather led the dancing
Professor Wind the band."
-George Cooper, October's Party
{flickr photo by jackaloha2}

We live in a town where trick-or-treat night
was tonight...not Halloween.
{don't ask; we know it is crazy}
Here is a portion of our luminaries lighting
the way for the costumed characters.
It is so fun to greet everyone and chat with neighbors.
Love, love, love this holiday and time of year!
Our treats this year?
We gave cans of play-doh to the under 5 age group
and a can of soda pop to everyone else.
I hope you have a fun All Hallows' eve...on October 31st.
Boo!

Not fall nor Halloween related,
I think the art and French Canadian humor
in this take off of Sleeping Beauty is fun.

These past few days have been Mother Nature's
crowning glory.

I do not recall a fall this vibrant...ever.
The intensity of the reds, oranges and yellows-
magnifique!
{photo one by flicker AbhishekTech; photo two by flicker Shoeless Johnny}

"A tangerine and russet cascade of kaleidoscopic leaves

creates a tapestry of autumn magic

upon the emerald carpet of fading summer."
-Judith A. Lindberg, Shades of Autumn
{google image}

Chilly, rainy forecast for the weekend.
Our plan...make caramel apples!
{flickr photo by domesticali}

The sight of a combine harvester in a nearby field as
Mr R and I returned home from working out late last night.
The delicious, fresh, piquant smell of a fall harvest
on a warm autumn evening lingered in the air as
we laid our heads upon our pillows.
A blessed gift of autumn.
Thank you, Mother Earth and farmer.
{flickr photo by tallpomlin}

"October's trees are flaming torches
lighting the way to winter."
-Nova Bair
{flickr photo}

{pumpkin calendar by flickr brookecondolora}

to my beloved...
glad that's behind you!
{post-it by Marc Johns}

Remember these?

{All 267 collected, rinsed, bleached and drip dried?}

little.lovely covered her cartons in pages from a novel

to create a haunted village!

We are thinking of pulling the plug

on our land line.

Does anyone use theirs anymore?
Do you?
Do we?
The answer to question #3: not really.

It seems a waste of $40.00 a month, $480.00 annually,
for something we rarely use.
Except, except, except... I love our old red phone.
It was my Dad's.
My Dad loved talking...to everyone.
{I know, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree--
maybe that is why the telephino is red.}
I learned compassion as my father would call
the widows and the shut-ins;
to visit with them, to let them know someone was thinking of them,
to inquire of their needs.
I learned about the stock market as he
called his broker a zillion times a day
{barely exaggerated}.
I learned a magical combination of digits from this
red phone's number and even had a
sweet, sweet child born on the same month/day
at the exact time, too, as the last four numbers originally
on the phone.
Pull the plug...
yes or no?
{photo 3 by flickr mattybusiness}

A poem to the one I love,
who does these very acts of kindnesses and giving completely
and so much more...so much more.
May I reciprocate, even a portion, is the prayer of my heart.

"Our Union"
by Hafiz

"Our union is like this:

You feel cold,
so I reach for a blanket to cover our shivering feet.
A hunger comes into your body,
so I run to my garden and start digging potatoes.
You asked for a few words of comfort and guidance,

and I quickly kneel by your side
offering you a whole book as a gift.

You ache with loneliness one night so much you weep,
and I say here is a rope, tie it around me,
I will be your companion for life."

{flickr photo by carl derrick}

"A few days ago I walked along the edge of the lake

and was treated to the crunch and rustle of leaves

with each step I made.
The acoustics of this season are different and all sounds,
no matter how hushed, are as crisp as autumn air."
- Eric Sloane
{flickr photo by jsgphoto}

I will be travelling the next few days for
a photo class...

in "The City"-- hooray!
(photo one by flickr .m for matthijs; photo two, google image}

Happy Birthday!

This post is for my girls
whom dwell in the South {and love it}
but whose hearts yearn for a season of fall--
crops of soybeans, cornfields and harvest.
I took my camera and went to see what I would see.

I came around the curve of this country road
by our new high school, about 10 miles from our home,
to see two barns and a silo peeking over the crop of corn.

I stopped at the edge of the field to glimpse the red barn,

then continued to the other side and
beheld the vines sharing their splendor of fall beauty
like a peacock strutting his feathers.

Drove a bit further down the road,
turned the corner

to discover this farmer harvesting his crops-
the first I have seen this year!

Happy fall, girls.
Love, love, love,
Mom

October!
A glorious month due to the fall season,
but the real reason for its fullness is in
celebrating Emily's birthday!
{flickr photo by pink sherbet photography}