We had another pretty day today.  It was cool, but perfect for working outside.  We got some of the flower gardens cut and mulched ready for winter and bit by bit we're getting tucked in ready for cold weather. 

We went down on our "Lower 40" where we have a couple of hybrid hazel nut trees that have been around for 15 years or so and never did much until this year.  One was loaded with nuts a couple of weeks ago, but they were not ripe.  I knew we'd have to be on the ball to get them before the squirrels did, so that was our mission today to see if they were ready to harvest.  Too late.  Not a single nut on either tree.  It's just like our luck with the grape vine on the arbor out back.  The birds get them the minute they are ripe and even though we have watched closely some years, the birds always get them before we do.  We could throw netting over to protect them, but really it's not worth the bother.  I like feeding the critters, and I have no real need for either grapes or nuts; it's just that it would be nice to be able to get a few before the animals do.  Next year we'll keep closer track on the hazel nuts; I've given up on the grapes.  I remember finding lots of wild hazel nuts when I was a kid.  They grew along the road between our house and school, and I used o fill my pockets with them.  We rolled them on a stone to remove the outer prickly husks and then used a smaller stone to crack open the nut. 

Fred got some pictures of the foliage this morning.  Woody went with him, as you can see.  Click on the images to make them larger.  Finally we have some really nice color.  I was afraid we were going to have one of those all brown falls when the leaves just get drab, but those few nights we had freezing temperatures a little while back, and the rain last week helped, and it's really beautiful.

This is the countdown to the Apple Pie Festival on Saturday.  Bonnie and her team have been working hard to have everything ready - the pies, the corn chowder, crafters and silent auction.   I think the weather forecast is for a fairly cool day and perhaps some rain - and yes, I did hear the word snow" in the forecast, too, but I'm hoping that was a mistake.  It doesn't matter for the Festival, though, as the gym is cozy and warm and there's plenty of hot food for lunch, so make an apple pie to enter in the contest, you could win a really great prize and maybe a blue ribbon; or just go for the wonderful apple pies that will be on sale and the fun of it all.  You can plan to spend however much time you want there and then head for the dime-a-dip supper the Kingdom Animal Shelter folks are having in St. Johnsbury.  The Apple Pie Festival is our one big fund-raising event for the Cabot Historical Society, and the Dime-A-Dip Pot-Luck Supper is for the benefit of the kitties at the Kingdom Animal Shelter.  Both worthy causes.