I went with Fred yesterday to Marty's 1st Stop in Danville for gas for the lawn mower. First, we stopped in W. Danville to pick up the Joe's Pond Association mail. As we left the parking area, this old Chevvie was just pulling out. Classy cars, weren't they? I wondered how many miles to the gallon it gets. Seems to me they used to get in the area of 20-22; but when that car was new, gas was about 25 cents a gallon. Of course, anybody who got paid anything over a dollar an hour was pulling in the big bucks.

At Hastings Store we found some fresh blueberries and raspberries that we couldn't resist. There was a yummy looking chocolate cake there Fred had his eye on, but he's trying to cut down on "treats" since he isn't outside bucking up a woodpile these days. We found fresh corn at Marty's - and that made me realize how late in the season it really is. Jane Larrabee had just said to me, "Danville Fair's over with so we may as well get out our snow shovels." What a bummer!! Then, as I was watching the news last night, I glanced out the window towards Davidson Drive above Rt. 15, and the sun was highlighting Matt and Deborah Jacovelli's, Cynthia Donlon's and the Prevost's - a weak, flickering shaft through the billowing dark clouds that were making premature night time. I grabbed the camera. (It looks dark, but click on the picture to make it bigger.)

As if it wasn't enough that Jane had ruined my day by conjuring images of snow and shoveling, and now the day had been drastically shortened by threatening dark clouds, as I swung around on the deck from taking that picture, there it was, right in front of me as it must have been for a week or more - a young maple tree almost completely turned. I walked across the driveway to take the picture, and standing there in the wet grass I realized there was a cool breeze and - yes, there it was - a tinge of fall in the air. Darn. Summer gone? So soon?

Ok. So Mother Nature played a bit of a cruel trick on us this year, but lots of things are still pretty normal - there are the berries, the corn, the garden vegetables, the promise of ripening apples, things that are pretty much on time and normal, a lot better than we might have thought. And there's still autumn to look forward to before the snow comes. We could have a spectacular, if a bit early, display of color this year to make up for Mother N's devilish trickery. We should be thankful that in between the showers we've had some spectacular days - and things are bound to turn around soon, right? She's going to run out of water eventually, isn't she? I just hope the electric company is going to be cutting rates due to all the electricity they've been making from the water running out of Joe's Pond . . .

BRING THE WORLD HOME

Did you know that the world can fit into your home? You could find out by hosting an AFS participant from one of more than 50 AFS countries!

AFS host families are people who care about youth, education and the future. Some have teenagers, others have young children or children who have already left home, or no children at all. Some host parents are married. Some are single.

AFS families live on farms, in small towns, in suburbs and in city apartments. They are of all races and nationalities. They are people who are willing to take time to share with a new son or daughter.

AFS families receive no pay; getting a new son or daughter is the reward! Hosting creates a lifetime friendship with another person – and often – with another family in a different part of the world. Hosts also benefit from friendships with people who have an international perspective and by participating in AFS activities with them.

If your family would like to host or you would like to understand more about this opportunity, please contact Susan Cherry of St. Johnsbury at 274-1681 or cherrysam@kingcon.com.

You can also talk to other Cabot families who have hosted before. For more info, call Lisa North at 563-3086 or email LNorth@afsc.org. See AFS Student biographies above right. Click poster to enlarge.