Faith, Folklore, and Friends

 Anne reveled in the world of color about her. "Oh, Marilla," she exclaimed one Saturday morning, coming dancing in with her arms full of gorgeous boughs, "I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers. It would be terrible if we just skipped from September to November, wouldn't it? Look at these maple branches. Don't they give you a thrill--several thrills?”   ―     L.M. Montgomery,    Anne of Green Gables      First of all, it was October, a rare month for boys.   ―     Ray Bradbury,     Something Wicked This Way Comes There is no season when such pleasant and sunny spots may be lighted on, and produce so pleasant an effect on the feelings, as now in October.   ~ Nathaniel Hawthorne After the keen still days of September, the October sun filled the world with mellow warmth...The maple tree in front of the doorstep burned like a gigantic...

Purple escaped when no one was looking, leeching from springtime irises, leaving them faded and spent. Purple vanished, riding the wind until it was captured by lowly ironweed,  waving to us from the side of the road.   Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they  spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ~Luke 12:27

Yellow Dance by Wanda Stricklin Robertson When spring was new,  winter still lingering beneath the budding trees;  the soil cool and full of worms,  we planted the tiny seeds. We wanted the dance. Seed must be sown;  without the sowing, there is no harvest.   There can be no dance. A spoonful of tiny seed,  some sunlight, some water.  Some pulling of weeds  while the sun burned our skin. We waited with patience,  knowing they would come  Home with the equinox,  ready to do their dance. And now we rest, rewarded for our work.  Tender butterflies with wings of sun dance from blossom to blossom,  and the dying is sweet.

The Natchez Trace Parkway is our favorite place to drive.  It is always beautiful, but especially in the fall. Hub and I traveled the Trace to Summertown, Tennessee, late yesterday afternoon,  If you look hard, you can see a hint of the riot of color that will be there in two weeks or so. Happy Fall, Y'all.

Thirty days hath September , April, June, and November; February has twenty-eight alone, All the rest have thirty-one, Excepting leap-year, that's the time When February's days are twenty-nine. Google sites Mother Goose as the author of this poem/jingle. I think it probably predates Mother Goose, but that's just me. We learned it early on in elementary school, and I learned it well, apparently. I quoted it to myself this morning while I was planning some things to do before September ends. Do any of you do this? A big Thank You to the teacher that insisted we memorize this.

Sunday afternoon, we went to Isom Orchards in Athens, Alabama, because the apples are ready. We met Baby Boy there and got to spend some time with him.  We sampled some apples and brought a few home with us. The apples are so good!  I think I'm tasting sunshine. . .

I wrote about persimmons  here  a while back, but here is another perspective, surely more accurate than mine,  on  winter predictions using persimmon seed . Or, if you don't trust persimmons,  the trusty  woolly bear caterpillars  might tell you how high the heating bills will run. An infallible guide could be as simple as  watching your cat. I don't know what winter will bring, but here is a prediction I'm pretty sure about: it won't get here until after we have enjoyed October.

In Him we live, and move, and have our being.  ~Acts 17:28 NIV

The best thing about getting to work early at UNA is you can have your choice of parking places. The second best thing is the light is perfect for capturing fall color when there are just a few people on campus. These images were taken on October 28 using an Iphone 4. It does not, of course, come close to the beauty of the real thing.  I hope you can visit the campus in the next few days while these colors are showing off.