Autumn Colors

 It seems the colors are flooding over us here in the north country. The trees are blooming and the sun has been beautiful for several days. Today was a little cloudy and definitely a bit chilly, but still, that's what fall is all about. The colors run from yellows, copper and bright reds to somber browns and, in some places, deep green. Not all the trees are turning at once and there is a lovely display just about wherever one looks. Friday I went to Hardwick to pick up more of the stain I'm using on the wood for my porch, and there was very nice color along the way, especially along Brickett's Crossing Road. 

Joanne Stewart sent me a link to last night's WCAX newscast showing foliage and beautiful scenery right here at West Danville and Joe's Pond. You can see that in one shot a tour bus stopped by the sign at what used to be Injun Joe's Cabins, across from Point Comfort. The drone shots are very nice.

I didn't see the news last night - I was busy celebrating my birthday. It was a very busy day for me between phone calls, email messages, cards and visits from family and friends. It was very nice, and tomorrow my family will be here to celebrate with me. I'm looking forward to extending my "birthday" into a "birthday weekend." It's all good!

Thank you, everyone, for your birthday wishes - cards, calls, emails and visits. I loved hearing from so many friends and far-away family members. This was, as many mentioned, "a big one" and like I've said before, I'm having a really hard time wrapping my mind around it, but I like to think it really is only a number and so what if I don't feel this old. That's a good thing, and I'm going to hold onto it as long as I can. I'm very fortunate to be in reasonably good health and able to live my life much as I always have, doing the things I most enjoy with people I appreciate and love. I should add - in a place I dearly love and am thankful for every day. Who wouldn't want to live in the beautiful countryside of rural Vermont? and I get to do it close to my childhood home! It doesn't get much better.

Speaking of beautiful places, take a look at this photo of Pearl's Island, taken by Gretchen Farnsworth. It was taken a few mornings ago as the fog was lifting from  the pond. Fall mornings will often produce low fog for a while. Then the sun begins to filter through and it lifts. The water is usually like a mirror - still and reflective, as it shows here. Nice shot, Gretchen, and thank you for sharing it with us.

The book committee is working to get the chapters indexed. I've mentioned before that this is a new process for all of us, our editor included, so we are sort of feeling our way and learning as we go. It is a meticulous process; but also subjective. We know we need to include names of families, individuals and places; but then there are some proper names that are mentioned only in passing, that are not important to the stories, and that nobody is going to be looking for. We have to make individual decisions as we move along. And that is sometimes difficult as in some cases, each of us has a different opinion. We are working it out, though.

I am also trying to reach out to people who have asked me through Facebook to put their name on our "wish list" as being interested in purchasing the book when it is available. I'm doing that, but in some cases, I don't have all their contact information so I am having to reach out to them. Facebook is not a very familiar medium for me. I've had an account for quite a long time, but rarely go there and hadn't posted to it in years until I put information about our book on last week. I immediately got a slew of responses, and now I'm having to deal with them! I'm happy so many people are interested in the book, and I'll make every effort to reach out to those I need more information from, but it is taking a bit of time.

The book will be coming out just before the holidays and we are concerned that the mail these days is already slow and sometimes not very reliable; and with the holiday rush, it will only be worse. We are hoping that by having people already signed up for the book, we will have contact information so we can get their orders off to them very quickly. We don't want delays to occur on our end, and hope that by the holidays the postal service will have ironed out whatever it is that has them boondoggled right now. 

Some days we have no mail delivery where I live. I'm told it's because there isn't always a carrier available. I wouldn't mind so much if I knew that there would be no deliveries on, say, Wednesdays and Saturdays; what I don't like is never knowing if there's mail in the box or not, or if the outgoing mail I've put in the box will be picked up or not. I guess I like structure. And reliability. Whatever happened to "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds"?

Enjoy the lovely fall weather, stay safe, wherever you are, and be kind to one another.