Falling Into Fall

59 this morning, mostly clear with heavy dew.

The leaves are changing quickly now. Some of West Virginia's highest elevations are already at peak. Here is what I see outside my kitchen window:

Maple, dogwood, hickory and oak are making a nice display. Larry shocked the cornstalks, putting some at our mailbox, another out by the driveway.

I love that sign. We found it at a local craft shop.

The rest of the shocks Larry just left in the garden. They look very seasonal there too.

I have been listening to interviews with various members of our House of Representatives today, and have to say, they left me feeling disgusted. How often I heard "what the American people want"! I would bet that the majority of us "American people" did not want the kind of chaos and political maneuvering we are seeing today. I truly pity the next person to take the job of Speaker. What an unruly House it is. 

And then there was the segment about the upcoming "Golden Bachelor" show, which will feature an eligible 72 year old bachelor several over-60 women vying for a date with him. Dear me. The program made me feel in a way I am sure the speakers did not intend: as if older people falling in love was amusing and cute. Gah. Am I just in a sour mood, maybe? But I feel blessed not to have TV right now.

Yesterday was hot pepper mustard day, and I ended up with 9 pints, most of it in half-pints for the grandchildren. They love it and look forward to getting a jar at Christmas or when they come visit. 

Today I am back to the pears and made another 10 quarts. I will do another 10 tomorrow, I think, and then give away the rest or make cider with them. Oh, and spiced pears too. I haven't made them in years, but they are so delicious, especially with vanilla ice cream. 

Here's a look at the cellar right now. Please pardon the untidiness; I will get out there soon and straighten it up.

Larry has been brushhogging a few places that we no longer mow for hay as the ground is just too dangerously steep for having equipment. Those fields were developed as meadows back in the days of draft horses, and even then weren't safe. I remember our neighbor, who grew up on this ridge, telling us about how a team of big Belgian draft horses reared up at the sight of a snake, and actually fell over, crushing our neighbor's two younger brothers beneath them and the mowing machine. The boys were badly hurt but survived. 

I also recall driving our 4WD pickup across the field while our sons picked up the baled hay. The truck was at such a steep angle that it literally "walked" downhill as I drove forward. There was a trick to maintaining enough momentum to keep the truck from sliding down the hill. There was also a trick to stacking the bales so they didn't fall off when the truck went back in the other direction. It gives me chills now to recall doing that, but at the time we didn't think much about it. I am just glad we made the decision to left some of that field, the steepest parts, grow up, and to just brushhog the rest to keep it clear. The flattest land we own, outside of the yard, gardens and driveway, is about a 40% slope. 

The hummingbirds have definitely left for good now. Yesterday I saw a Monarch butterfly in my flowers, a straggler? I hope it makes it far enough south before the coming cold snap this weekend.

Isn't this a sweet lamp? It was probably made in the 1930s or 40s. I found the base at our local Goodwill a few weeks ago, then when I stopped in the same store last week, there was the shade. It was missing the piece that fits over the light bulb, but I just happened to have one in my odds & ends. Someone had already rewired it, so now she is all back together. 

Time to check on the canner!

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.