FOR AUTUMN

While I acknowledge the beauty in each season and can easily be awed by whatever the weather may hold, my heart beats faster for autumn. With its spectacular fall colors that will soon fade and mute into grayer and grayer landscapes, its beauty remains with me still. October holds such a busy agenda with flourishes of brilliance popping up and disappearing each day, it is difficult to focus. Fall events and celebrations are everywhere on these country roads with happy harvests all around the mountains. Before the deep frost settles in, there are gatherings in the market places, village stores, and farms all displaying and selling their produce, art, crafts, home grown and home made foods. As I travel around this countryside, meeting new people, new landscapes, taking photos, sampling local goodies and writing my next story or poem, I would like to share an excerpt from my book,  

FROM THESE COUNTRY ROADS/A Journal And Selected poems. 

Here is the poem titled: 

MORNING AT ARGYLE LAKE

My eye shifted to the blue canopy

On the house across the lake

Where the trees burned red and gold

In a small corner of the garden

There grew Chrysanthemums

The deepest orange Chrysanthemums

Reflected in the blue lake water

Were geese gliding with no effort at all

And I heard the October air sing

The twinkling sun of autumn’s song

Now sparkled like diamonds

Upon the argyle lake

 MSW

AUTUMN, SIGHT FOR SORE EYES

A couple of weeks ago, a tear in my retina sent me to the ER for emergency laser surgery to prevent a detachment of the retina. But things are beginning to settle down a bit, at least in my left eye. My trips to Albany for eye laser surgery have lessened and my vision is improving.

Earthquake tremors sent my bookshelves shaking the other night around 7:15. I was at the computer when my pens and pencils started to vibrate and jump in their cup. Don came out of the bedroom saying that the bed was shaking. I called a neighbor down the road but they had felt nothing.  I checked the TV channels but there were no reports so, I called the local police to see if there were any other reports of earth tremors in the area. They said that they had not heard anything so far but would call me back after checking further. My imagination sent me wandering through old films like Poltergeist and The Exorcist; well it was close to Halloween.

Fifteen minutes later, the police returned my call and confirmed that there had been a mild quake throughout New England. I later learned that Maine had a 4.0 but I was surprised that there were no other calls nearby.  It makes one wonder about fracking. We’re living here a little over two years and two earthquakes already. What’s up with that? 

I believe that there are still some beautiful autumn views that I would like to share with you as I venture out along the road.  Being so grateful to have my vision restored, I rejoice in the glorious colors of autumn.  

APPLE SONG

 

The apples are seasoned

And ripe and sound

Gently they fall

On the yellow ground

Francis Frost

HAPPY PICKINS!