Frosty Mornings

We've had another lovely sunshiny day, but our nights and early mornings are frosty now. Any tender plants left out last night took a hit, I'm sure. I don't know what the low temperature last nigh was - I really didn't want to know. The ground was white with frost when I first looked out (not the first white frost, but this one seemed heavier), and by the time I got myself pulled together and out in the kitchen, I had other things on my mind and forgot to look at the thermometer. I'll try to do better tomorrow morning.

I had a birthday this past week - no need to tell you which one, we all know that I'm getting up there. This year was a bit different because of my knee injury, but it was very pleasant. I've had lots of cards and messages, and I thank everyone for that - I'll try to reach out by email soon to each of you - and the group of Joe's Pond friends that have shared birthdays for the past couple of years brought lunch for me on Wednesday. It was great fun, and we had cupcakes with candles - which was a problem at first because I couldn't find any matches! Then we found some book matches, but they were so old they would not light! Then I remembered that I had a stash of wooden matches, and although they were probably just as old, they were still good! So we had lighted candles! 

Dotty brought a beautiful bouquet from her garden, and Cynthia brought zucchini bread (that I didn't share!), we had sandwiches from Marty's, Burtt's cider, and BBQ chips. Perfect lunch, good company, and I had a great time. As usual, we took a "selfie" (above), and a merrier group would be hard to find! They shooed me out of the kitchen with my cumbersome walker, and waited on me throughout, so all I had to do was eat and enjoy. It couldn't have been nicer. Such good friends, and good times.

In spite of the frosty start of the day, the divers and their support crew were out harvesting milfoil again today. I think they are going above and beyond - a nice way of saying I think they are nuts. Even with wet suits, hands and faces are exposed, and that water is getting colder every night! They are all very dedicated, but not only is the water pretty darned cold, there was a brisk wind today, and that must have been uncomfortable for the support team on board the pontoon boat, as well. Time to call it a day, perhaps? The milfoil will still be there in the spring, guys, and if I recall, experts say growing season is over about now. As the old saying goes, "you don't want to catch your death or never-get-over." 

I was out on my porch earlier in the week when the afternoon sun was keeping things toasty, like summer. As I sat in my recliner, the pungent smell of damp, decaying leaves wafted over me from the wooded area above my house, and I found myself remembering fall weather when I was a youngster going to school on Cabot Plain. The road was lined with bushes and trees on both sides along the "flat" between the school house and where my house was. There were a few remnants of old stone walls on the end closest to the school, and chokecherry bushes and hazelnut bushes growing there. It was a game to eat chokecherries and see how far we could spit the seeds - the more berries we ate, the more puckered our mouths felt, but kids don't pay attention to that when there is a competition going on. 

Collecting the hazelnuts was a different story. We took those to one of the flat rocks on the old stone wall and peeled back the outer, prickly husk, and then carefully hit the hard nut inside with a smaller stone just hard enough to crack the shell and not crush the meat inside. They were so good! We knew which ones were ripe enough to eat, and often I would pick extras to take home, husk and let dry and age. They are even better with age. 

It's strange what seemingly lost memories return with a whiff of fall! As I half dozed in my chair, a bluejay screamed loudly as he flew from one maple tree to another. Another sound of fall, and again I was transported back in time and remembered how I hated having to get dressed up every day and go to school when we had those beautiful, warm fall days. I much preferred shorts and sandals to dresses, shoes, and socks, but come September, I marched off to school like every other kid in the neighborhood. I don't think any of us wanted to be there, but we definitely made the best of it - especially during recess! 

Enjoy what remains of our fall, wherever you are, and be happy and safe.