Day 14: Leafy Love

I’m pretty sure the tree outside my front porch used to belong to a Disney villain. It isn’t very tall but it likes to assert itself. Every time it gets trimmed it grows back even taller and faster than before, like the pruned limbs were somehow holding it back from its real goal which is to steal the clouds from the sky. It bears little purple berries that someone told me are crab apples, but I’ve read my fairy tales and I am not silly enough to actually try one. The tree had a tag identifying it once upon a time, left over from the previous owner who planted it. I tried to read it once but couldn’t make out what it said, and then the tree bark neatly subsumed it and now all that is left is a bit of yellow plastic poking out of the trunk. If the tree doesn’t want its true name known, who am I to argue?

Any way, if my tree is not plotting ways to grow taller, it likes to act like the Whomping Willow from Harry Potter. It enjoys smacking guests who come up the walkway and especially likes snagging my sweaters. Also like the Whomping Willow, it doesn’t like to lose its leaves gradually; rather it dumps a few here and there and then goes totally bare in the blink of an eye. It still has a few leaves left on it now, it wasn’t totally successful in shedding them this weekend, but it tried.

The deceptively docile trees leaves are the most gorgeous purple/red color and I think I am going to collect a few this year and make some sort of shadow box out of them. They look like crimson fruit leather or even real leather for that matter. Some are buttery golden yellow and I wish they could be that color year round. They looked especially beautiful this weekend when the heavens let loose and poured out some much needed rain. In the aftermath the leaves looked to be bedecked with tiny diamonds sparkling in the sunlight. My bejeweled tree easily outshone anything created by Tiffany and Co.

I love watching the leaves turn. Its nature’s final bow before the brittle fingers of winter steal the warm breath from our lungs and cover the fallen beauty. But as much as I love looking at the leaves, I love playing in them even more. I love the crackling sound they make as they are swept up. I love the sound of their whispers as they float down from on high. Some people like snow angels, I like leaf angels. I love to toss them in the air and blow them around with my leaf blower. My dog likes to bounce in them like a Tigger and pretend to hide so I can’t see him. He growls at them and pounces until a particularly large pile topples over, and then he bravely runs away. Leaves are fun for the whole family.

I used to watch shows where people would jump in piles of leaves and frolic. I read about it, I heard about it and by golly I wanted to do it, but I could never get a large enough pile together to do it, or if I could, they were wet and not conducive to jumping or frolicking in. Wet leaves are gross. But one day, one glorious fall day, I was over at a friend’s house playing and her father and brother had just raked an enormous pile of leaves.  It was right there. RIGHT. THERE off of the front porch, and it was calling my name. Her father and brother went to put their rakes away and I told my friend I was going to go for it. She told me I had better not. I figured she was a killjoy who wanted the leafy goodness all to herself and there was no way I was going to let that happen.  So before she could stop me I climbed up onto the porch railing and jumped. I expected to float gently into the pile just like a leaf on the wind. I expected to land on the crackling mound and bounce like on a trampoline or slightly squishy bed. Instead I went right through the pile to the cold and unforgiving concrete below. I did not land like a leaf on the wind; I landed like a bunch of wet laundry on a linoleum floor. I bruised my ego and my butt. I lay there slightly winded and in pain and wondering what the heck happened. My friend ran to get her dad and brother and I lay in a sad, confused, and achy lump. I didn’t break anything thank goodness, but I sure felt dumb. Those lying leaf jumpers, how come it worked for them and not me?

I lay there stewing until my friend’s father came and checked me over. I was helped to my feet and then I gingerly hobbled back into the house like a geriatric patient who had taken leave of her senses. I was sat down on the sofa and scolded. I didn’t much hear or care because I was still mad about my botched leaf jumping experience and my friend ratting me out. Clearly her family did not know how to make a correct leaf pile. I don’t remember if her parents told my parents (they probably did) I don’t remember if I got scolded some more or not. I do however still recall the feeling of my tailbone hitting the ground. shudder

I never jumped in a pile of leaves again. I didn’t want to be disappointed a second time. I don’t think I could take it. I still make leaf angels and play, but no jumping. I still see it in movies and read about it in stories, friends’ children tell me how they jumped in piles but I tend to be skeptical. Maybe for them it works. Maybe that pile so long ago really was defective. Maybe I wanted it so bad I sucked the magic right out of it, or maybe you just shouldn’t jump off a porch railing? Who knows? Leaves are still magical. They are still beautiful and I can still enjoy them all autumn long.

What do you like best about leaves?

Disclaimer: Please do not jump off of porch railings into piles of leaves. I do the dangerous stuff so you don't have to. 

Credit: These are my friends children playing in leaves. This photo is what inspired today's thought. 

Day 6: Color Me Happy

I think that October has the monopoly on color. The month of October has the richest, most vibrant colors one could ever imagine. I think October is the reason color was thought up in the first place. One could say that October’s defining colors are red, purple, orange, yellow, and black, but that is like saying ice cream is just ice cream. October doesn't just have red, it has scarlet, crimson, fire engine, cherry, vermillion, maroon, brick and candy apple just to name a few. Of the yellows there are mustards, goldenrods, neon, gold, bronze, amber, maize, blonde, and lemon. Purple makes an entrance with plum, eggplant/aubergine, indigo, violet, wine, orchid and lavender. Black has coal, midnight, ink, velvet, obsidian, shadow, onyx and jet. And these are just the names I can come up with off the top of my head. I'm sure the people who think of makeup names, interior decorators and paint swatch people could list dozens more. (man I want that job, Plum Passion Surprise, Manhattan Mauve, Adorable Orange, whoops, sorry, got sidetracked there)

But the color I most associate with October is orange. There is tangerine, peach, burnt sienna (thank you Crayola) flame, carrot, ginger, rust and creamsicle. Funny how there are more descriptive names for the other colors, but for orange, not so much, and it's weird how the ones it does have are food related. I think it is because October is so hard to pin down and explain. Really, the best things are. You just have to experience it to truly understand. I can tell you about the orange of a pumpkin sitting in a patch waiting to be chosen, or a magnificent orange sunset. I can convey the crackle and pop of a bonfire or the crunch of a leaf, but I just can't tell you the color other than…… orange. But somehow, if you truly love October you will still understand.

October has an embarrassment of color, from the tantalizing foods on display in the farmers market, to the vibrancy in the color palette of a costume. There are colors-a-plenty in candy choices and decorations, but the best way to experience October color is in the leaves. To channel my inner SAT prep professor, leaves are to October as snow is to winter.

Every summer, and sometimes sooner, I find myself looking to the trees trying to find that first tinge of something other than green. Don't get me wrong, I love green. It is tied for my favorite color with blue, but there is something about autumn that makes me want to wish that green away in a hurry.

Leaves are sneaky things. One moment they are green and bright and swaying on the tree. The next they are almost every color of the rainbow and floating gently to the ground on a cool breeze. When October leaves are really in their glory the trees seem like they are on fire. The closest I can come to explaining how I see a fall tree is if you watch the movie Pleasantville. Most of the movie is in black and white, but as the characters have awakenings, color starts to enter into their world. One character walks by a tree that has been in black and white for the whole show, when suddenly it bursts into flame. The tree is burning brightly but it is night time and it is on fire against a black and white world. The flame is shocking in contrast and so beautiful that you can't take your eyes off of it. That is how I see October trees.

 In October plants put on their best dresses before they head off to sleep through the winter. If I were any kind of seamstressly inclined, I would attempt to make myself a dress out of fall leaves. Really, it would be better than any Oscar gown. How could it not? Of course I would have to shellac the leaves cuz sitting might be a problem or bending, and the crunchy leaves would be all crackly and break, but who cares. Then they would be brightly colored and shiny shellacked leaves. I would make the best dressed list for sure.

It is my fervent wish that one day I will get to drive along the roads of New England in the fall and look at the beautiful leaves. What a wonderful thing for an area to be known for.  Yes, we have gorgeous leaves, bow before our greatness. I am so jealous. Just imagine cruising along a deserted back road highway that is nothing but a riot of color as far as the eye can see. Maybe along the way there will be a cider stand and they will be offering cider donuts or candied apples to go with it. Perhaps there will be salted caramels and popcorn balls. Man, I think I should just move to New England and start my own leaf tour business. Imagine having that job. Would you ever get tired of it, introducing new people to the wonder of the fall beauty around you? I don't think so. I haven't gotten tired of sharing my love of fall leaves with anyone yet and I am almost four decades old.

October really is breathtaking if you just stop a minute and look. My challenge for today is to go out and find something that represents fall beauty to you. Take a picture. Share it or don't, but just take the time to stop and appreciate.

Day 1: Its' the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Everyone, EVERYONE!!!!! It’s finally October. It’s HERE!!!!! The fun begins today. (steps away from the computer and runs around in circles screaming with joy) Usually I would wax lyrical about something amazing and fallish. I would talk about my decorations or my plans for the month or regale you with how I am pretty positive there is a werewolf that lives in the abandoned house on the other side of my backyard fence, but for now I will put a pin in those things and share with you something kinda Christmassy (GASP) that I appropriated for October.

For the past 4 months or so, thoughts of October would keep popping into my head, and then this song would play. The closer October got, the more this ear worm would wiggle and jiggle and boogie in my brain until it’s all that I could hear. Mostly I would just hum the first part of the song and then get lost in an October reverie, but as I was putting my October bedding on last night I thought up some new lyrics and the song got that much better.

So without further ado, I bring you the newest fall song, “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” October style. Just try getting it out of your head. I dare you. No disrespect to Andy Williams, but to be fair, the song was mostly October related anyway. I mean, who tells ghost stories at Christmas……other than me. ;)

It’s the most wonderful time of the year. With the kids trick or treating and everyone meeting to drink pumpkin beer, it’s the most wonderful time of the year.

It’s the hap-happiest season of all with those cider press parties and caramel hot toddy’s when friends come to call it’s the hap-happiest season of all.

There’ll be parties for hosting Marshmallows for roasting and apple bobbing out in the cold There’ll be scary ghost stories and tales of the glories of Halloweens long long ago. It’s the most wonderful time of the year There’ll be much corn maze going and pumpkins’ll be glowing when loved ones are near Yes it’s the most wonderful time of the year!

October Thought Day 19: Feelin' a Bit Colorful

I think that October has the monopoly on color. What's that, you don't believe me. Then let me prove it to you. November has brown. December has red and green. January is all about the silver. February is pink and red. March is green, April is blue. One could say that May has a large color palette with all the new flowers, but mostly I don't associate May with a specific color. It is the Switzerland of the months. June is white. July is red, white and blue. August is a blazing yellow and September is yellow and red.

But October. October has the richest, most vibrant colors one could ever imagine. October is the reason color was thought up in the first place. One could say that Octobers colors are red, purple, orange, yellow and black. But that is like saying ice cream is just ice cream. October doesn't just have red, it has scarlet, crimson, fire engine, cherry, vermillion, maroon, brick and candy apple just to name a few. Of the yellows there are mustards, goldenrods, neon, gold, bronze, amber, maize, blonde, and lemon. Purple makes a grand showing with plum, eggplant/aubergine, indigo, violet, wine, orchid and lavender. Black has coal, midnight, ink, velvet, obsidian, shadow, onyx and jet. And these are just the names I can come up with off the top of my head. I'm sure the people who think of make up names, interior decorators and paint swatch people could list dozens more. (man I want that job, whoops, sorry, got sidetracked there)

But the color I most associate with October is orange. There is tangerine, peach, burnt sienna (thank you Crayola) flame, carrot, ginger, rust and creamsicle. Funny how there are more descriptive names for the other colors, but for orange, not so much. Then it's wierd how the ones it does have are food related. I think it is because October is so hard to pin down and explain. Really, the best things are. You just have to experience it to understand. I can tell you about the orange of a pumpkin sitting in a patch waiting to be chosen. Or a magnificent orange sunset. I can convey the crackle and pop of a bonfire or the crunch of a leaf, but I just can't tell you the color other than orange. But somehow, if you truly love October you will still understand.

October has an embarrassment of color. From the tantalizing foods on display in the farmers market, to the vibrancy in the color palette of a costume. There are colors a plenty in the candy choices and decorations. But the best way to experience October color is in the leaves. To channel my inner SAT prep professor, leaves are to October as snow is to Winter.

Every summer, and sometimes sooner, I find myself looking to the trees trying to find that first tinge of something other than green. Don't get me wrong, I love green. It is tied for my favorite color with blue, but there is something about autumn that makes me want to wish that green away in a hurry.

Leaves are sneaky things. One moment they are green and bright and swaying on the tree. The next they are almost every color of the rainbow and floating gently to the ground on a cool breeze. When October leaves are really in their glory the trees seem like they are on fire. But in a good and beautiful way. The closest I can come to explaining how I see fall trees, is if you watch the movie Pleasantville. Most of the movie is in black and white. But as the characters have awakenings color starts to enter into their world. One character walks by a tree that has been in black and white for the whole show. Suddenly it has burst into flame. The tree is burning brightly but it is night time and it is on fire in a black and white world. The flame is shocking in contrast and beautiful and you can't take your eyes off of it. That is how I see October trees.

In October plants put on their best dresses before they head off to sleep through the winter. If I were any kind of seamstressly inclined, I would attempt to make myself a dress out of fall leaves. Really, it would be better than any Oscar gown. How could it not. Of course I would have to shellac the leaves cuz sitting might be a problem, or bending, cuz they would be all crackly and break. But who cares. Then they would be brightly colored and shiny shellacked leaves. I would make the best dressed list for sure.

It is my fervent wish that one day I will get to drive the roads of New England in the fall and look at the beautiful leaves. What a wonderful thing for an area to be known for. Yes, we have gorgeous leaves. I am so jealous. Just imagine cruising along a deserted back road highway that is nothing but a riot of color as far as the eye can see. Maybe along the way there will be a cider stand and they will be offering cider donuts or candied apples to go with it. Perhaps there will be salted caramels and popcorn balls. Man, I think I should just move to New England and start my own leaf tour business. Imagine having that job. Would you ever get tired of it. Introducing new people to the wonder of the fall beauty around you. I don't think so. I haven't gotten tired of sharing my love of fall leaves with anyone yet and I am at least a quarter of a century old.

October really is breathtaking if you just stop a minute and look. My challenge for today is to go out and find something that represents fall beauty to you. Take a picture. Share it or don't, but just take the time to stop and appreciate.

October Thought Day 10: A Bit Out of Control.....and I Like It, Like It, Yes I Do

There is a meme going around about white girls and pumpkin spice everything, and the sad thing is, I sorta....ok really, relate to it. It isn't so much that I love pumpkin spice as it is the fact that I pretty much love anything pumpkin. I have a real problem when it comes to pumpkin.....everything. If there is a picture of a pumpkin on it, I buy it. If there is wording that has pumpkin in it, I buy it. I really have no control over the matter. I have tried to abstain from pumpkin buying and what do I do instead, buy more pumpkiny stuff. Is there a Pumpkin Buyers Anonymous group that I could join? Cuz it has the word pumpkin in it and I would totally go. See, what I mean.

This mania extends to other facets of October as well. Holiday magazines. For the other eleven months of the year I might buy a magazine here and there but come fall, I'm a goner. This year I have amassed 15 different holiday magazines. Periodicals that I don't even give a second glance to at any other time. But they had fall things on the front so I was greatly compelled to purchase them. It got so bad this year that I bought two of them twice because I thought that I didn't already have them.

I have bought two more pumpkin cookbooks that I really didn't need and a sweatshirt that communicates my love of pumpkin spice. I have made a batch of pumpkin spice cupcakes and am planning on having a pumpkin everything day with a friend later in the month. My mania seems to be reaching abnormal and worrying proportions.
\
But the kicker was today. I went to my second corn maze and this one had a pumpkin patch. I had my two trusty pumpkin sherpas with me and they did an amazing job of finding exactly the pumpkins that I liked. They did too good a job in fact. I came home with 13 pumpkins. It was almost twelve, but then as the hay wagon was leaving the patch I spied one more perfect pumpkin. I actually yelled for the driver to stop (I had to yell, the tractor was loud and I didn't think he would hear me). I jumped off the back, scooted down the row, grabbed my pumpkin and was back on board in a flash. My two sherpas were just shaking their heads at me. As I sat surveying my pumpkiny loot, one of the sherpas said "you have a problem." And when I cast longing looks at the passing patch and turned to tell them I wanted just one more, they both said "NO, you don't need any more." To which I replied, of course I don't need them, I want them. I may have looked a little like Gollum when I said it and called the orange orbs my precious as I sat in the middle of them and tried to hug them all.
Last year I think I had twenty some pumpkins. I am mulling over the idea of getting 31 this year and carving numbers into each of them. I don't know, that may be taking things a bit far, but then when it comes to October, moderation doesn't seem to be my strong suit.

October Thought Day 3: Easy Like October

If you have read my October Thoughts before, then you know that there are many facets of the month that I enjoy. There is the scary, the sublime, the cozy, the beautiful, the creative, the weird and everything in between and then some. Sometimes I could write for days on a particular aspect and never think of stopping. Some days I am content to just let October be. This one of those days. I've been a bit under the weather lately and today I spent all day watching October movies. One after the other after the other. Usually that in and of itself is a prompt for an October Thought, but it was a moment in between that caught my attention.

On my computer I have many seasonal files. Some are pictures, some poems or writings. What caught my eye today was a picture of an autumn lake. The water looks cool and clear and cold. There is a ripple off to the side where a fish may or may not have jumped and disturbed the water. Perhaps someone just out of frame has just tossed a pebble and we are seeing the remnants of a skip. Either way, it is a picture of calmness and the beauty of fall. The lake is ringed on three sides by autumnal trees moving up a hillside. But it is what lies in the middle of the frame that grabs me.

In the front middle is a little floating dock that is disconnected from the shore.  On that dock are two Adirondack chairs arranged to face each other. One has a blanket tossed over it. Both are empty and there are no people in the picture. No signs of life at all other than those chairs. They just sit out in the middle of the water, ready for someone or someone's to come and occupy them. I can see myself in that picture. I can see me sitting crosswise with my legs hanging off the sides of one of the arms. I would have a cup of tea with the steam rising off the top next to me on the other chair and a book in my hand as well as a pile yet to read down on the dock.

Today more than anything I wanted to be in that picture. I wanted to close my eyes and listen to the gentle breeze rustle the leaves on the trees. I wanted to hear the plinks and plunks of tiny disturbances in the water. To smell the earth and water on the wind and just be.

It was a nice world to inhabit for a little while. Instead of a lake I settled for a sea of blankets in my room. I did drape my legs over the side of the chair and I did have a cup of tea and many books by my side. So all in all, if i couldn't be in the picture, I had a pretty good substitute. I might not have had the serene natural setting, but I did have the comfort of familiar holiday cinema.

October is like that. There is beauty in stolen moments. There is magic in imagination. I've said it before and I'll say it again, in October anything is possible.

Day 3: The Life of Leaf

You know that song that goes "listen to the rhythm of the falling rain," today, that song made me think of fall leaves. The crunch of them underfoot. The rustle of their dry bodies in a breeze. The way they hypnotize as they float and swirl in the air. By now I usually have picked out my favorite fall tree and buried myself in a leaf pile. But the trees are reluctant to give up their leafy bits this year. So far I have seen hardly any color other than green and there has been nothing to crunch. I am a bit disappointed.

But it got me thinking, do leaves spend as much time thinking about us as we do them? Yes, yes, I know, leaves don't throw tea parties and they aren't sentient, but just go with me here. This is what watching years of Disney films does to ones imaginations. What must it be like to be a leaf? Do they have a silent commentary on our fashion choices as the Spring and Summer progress? Do they wait with bated leafy breath to see us in our Easter finery or to see just how much skin we will bare in the summer? Do they laugh when the skin of summer suddenly disappears with the mufflers, jeans, coats and galoshes of fall? Which season is their favorite?

Imagine. You spend all winter curled up for a nice nap inside your tree. You hear the wind howl and feel the beat of the rain on the trunk, but you are nice and warm. You dream of emerging out into the world and seeing your shape for the first time, seeing the world for the first time. Then one day the warmth of spring begins to thaw your woody host and suddenly you feel jittery in a way that you haven't ever felt before. You wake up from  your long winter nap and push your way out into the light. You unfurl and drink in that warm golden sunshine. You turn your face up to the heavens and work on establishing your green leafy tan. You feel rain for the first time and twist and turn your veins to watch the water run off. You rustle and laugh when a summer breeze tickles you. You watch with rapt attention as a parade of insects use you as either a superhighway or buffet. You sing lullabies into the wind.

All too soon your days start to get colder and you plan your last hurrah. What color will you be? Where will you fly off too to spend your final days? When the time comes you burst forth into a beautiful riot of color. You tell the story of your life in deep ochre's and vermillion. Bright goldenrod or scarlet. Each of your leafy compatriots is different and chooses its own color pallet. You ooh and ahh over the new sights and together you make your tree host look like it is on fire. The last celebration of your leafy life.

Then one day a breeze detaches you from your tree and you float. You are carried past the corner shops that you waved at all year and down the road. You always wondered where it went. You twist and twirl in the eddies and fly higher than you have ever known. If you are a very lucky leaf, you settle down in a yard where someone is collecting a leaf bouquet. You land on a soft carpet of lawn and are scooped up again and brought into a house. You meet other leaves from distant areas. You talk of your experiences and comment on each others colors. You are placed in a jar with a ribbon and get to experience life indoors for a while. You watch morning routines and after dinner relaxation. You are warm again and lazily dream about what it felt like to be outside.

Before you start to get overly brittle and crack, a woman selects you and puts you in-between some sheets of plastic and seals you into them. You are kept in a book and taken out every now and then as a reminder of that special fall. You are not as active as you used to be and sometimes you miss the feel of wind and the smell of autumn spices, but you are happy. You are an eternal October leaf and life couldn't get much better.

This is my next challenge to you. When the leaves finally change, go and find a beautiful tree to sit under. Talk to the leaves or at least listen to what they have to say. Lay under the tree and watch as the leaves fall all around you. Close your eyes and listen to them rustle above you and crunch below you. Play in a leaf pile. Make a leaf bouquet. Press some into a book as a reminder. Above all, take time to stop and enjoy the vibrant display that is going on just for you. You won't be disappointed.

Feelin' a Bit Colorful: OT Day 11

I think that October has the monopoly on color. What's that, you don't believe me. Then let me prove it to you. November has brown. December has red and green. January is all about the silver. February is pink and red. March is green, April is blue. One could say that May has a large color palette with all the new flowers, but mostly I don't associate May with a specific color. It is the Switzerland of the months. June is white. July is red, white and blue. August is a blazing yellow and September is yellow and red.

But October. October has the richest, most vibrant colors one could ever imagine. October is the reason color was thought up in the first place. One could say that Octobers colors are red, purple, orange, yellow and black. But that is like saying ice cream is just ice cream. October doesn't just have red, it has scarlet, crimson, fire engine, cherry, vermillion, maroon, brick and candy apple just to name a few. Of the yellows there are mustards, goldenrods, neon, gold, bronze, amber, maize, blonde, and lemon. Purple makes a grand showing with plum, eggplant/aubergine, indigo, violet, wine, orchid and lavender. Black has coal, midnight, ink, velvet, obsidian, shadow, onyx and jet. And these are just the names I can come up with off the top of my head. I'm sure the people who think of make up names, interior decorators and paint swatch people could list dozens more. (man I want that job, whoops, sorry, got sidetracked there)

But the color I most associate with October is orange. There is tangerine, peach, burnt sienna (thank you Crayola) flame, carrot, ginger, rust and creamsicle. Funny how there are more descriptive names for the other colors, but for orange, not so much. Then it's wierd how the ones it does have are food related. I think it is because October is so hard to pin down and explain. Really, the best things are. You just have to experience it to understand. I can tell you about the orange of a pumpkin sitting in a patch waiting to be chosen. Or a magnificent orange sunset. I can convey the crackle and pop of a bonfire or the crunch of a leaf, but I just can't tell you the color other than orange. But somehow, if you truly love October you will still understand.

October has an embarrassment of color. From the tantalizing foods on display in the farmers market, to the vibrancy in the color palette of a costume. There are colors a plenty in the candy choices and decorations. But the best way to experience October color is in the leaves. To channel my inner SAT prep professor, leaves are to October as snow is to Winter.

Every summer, and sometimes sooner, I find myself looking to the trees trying to find that first tinge of something other than green. Don't get me wrong, I love green. It is tied for my favorite color with blue, but there is something about autumn that makes me want to wish that green away in a hurry.

Leaves are sneaky things. One moment they are green and bright and swaying on the tree. The next they are almost every color of the rainbow and floating gently to the ground on a cool breeze. When October leaves are really in their glory the trees seem like they are on fire. But in a good and beautiful way. The closest I can come to explaining how I see fall trees, is if you watch the movie Pleasantville. Most of the movie is in black and white. But as the characters have awakenings color starts to enter into their world. One character walks by a tree that has been in black and white for the whole show. Suddenly it has burst into flame. The tree is burning brightly but it is night time and it is on fire in a black and white world. The flame is shocking in contrast and beautiful and you can't take your eyes off of it. That is how I see October trees.

In October plants put on their best dresses before they head off to sleep through the winter. If I were any kind of seamstressly inclined, I would attempt to make myself a dress out of fall leaves. Really, it would be better than any Oscar gown. How could it not. Of course I would have to shellac the leaves cuz sitting might be a problem, or bending, cuz they would be all crackly and break. But who cares. Then they would be brightly colored and shiny shellacked leaves. I would make the best dressed list for sure.

It is my fervent wish that one day I will get to drive the roads of New England in the fall and look at the beautiful leaves. What a wonderful thing for an area to be known for. Yes, we have gorgeous leaves. I am so jealous. Just imagine cruising along a deserted back road highway that is nothing but a riot of color as far as the eye can see. Maybe along the way there will be a cider stand and they will be offering cider donuts or candied apples to go with it. Perhaps there will be salted caramels and popcorn balls. Man, I think I should just move to New England and start my own leaf tour business. Imagine having that job. Would you ever get tired of it. Introducing new people to the wonder of the fall beauty around you. I don't think so. I haven't gotten tired of sharing my love of fall leaves with anyone yet and I am at least a quarter of a century old.

October really is breathtaking if you just stop a minute and look. My challenge for today is to go out and find something that represents fall beauty to you. Take a picture. Share it or don't, but just take the time to stop and appreciate.

Talkin' About Corn & Architecture: OT Day 2

I have had a fascination with corn fields since I was little. I grew up in a city but lived out in the suburbs, kinda. Well, I lived in the suburbs but really it was more like the forest. It is hard to explain. Anyway, I think that the idea of wide open pastoral settings or farmland appealed to me in a quaint Norman Rockwell type fashion. I didn't want the reality of farmland per say, the smell of pigs, early morning chores or cow pies, but I did want to live near a barnyard like the one in Charlotte's Web and have animals talk to me. If you haven't caught on by now, I tend to take ordinary life and add a dash of me to it. So in my mind of course corn fields possess magical properties. This notion was later proven correct by the movie Field of Dreams. I mean come on. You build a baseball diamond in the middle of a corn field and ex living baseball greats come to play in it. See, corn is magical. And if that doesn't convince you, corn fields also provide people with the very best of foods, corn on the cob. I mean, what isn't to love. You have fields that you can play in that produce ears of corn that you can eat. Perfection if you ask me. Not to mention the fact that anything could be in a corn field. There could be a passage to another world, a dragon, a maze with an incredible treasure, a new friend, a mythical creature, really the possibilities are endless.

Being from the city and not actually seeing corn fields as I grew up, Hollywood kind of ruined my first experience with them. In movies or on TV (yes, I know they aren't real) corn fields are excellent places to escape from all manner of things that are pursuing one. They are also very neatly spaced and uniform. Fast forward to me moving to farm country. My first glimpse of a corn field taught me that there is no such thing as a uniform corn field. Sure, they are all planted in orderly rows and the deeper you go the more uniform they are, but the stalks on the ends tend to be runty and a bit mangey. So either the Hollywood corn is fake (possible), they pick out the runty bits and cover them up (probable) or they digitally enhance the corn (likely). It burst my bubble a bit, but I recovered quickly. Second, there is no possible way one can run in a corn field. Ok, you can run, but you are more likely to trip and break an ankle, rather than evade a pursuer. Corn is planted very close together. Even if you stay in a row and run, it is narrow and deep and you get smacked in the face by very solid corn stalks quite a lot. Or so I've heard (cough cough) So again, Hollywood corn must be planted wider or paved over or something. If those actors really are running through actual corn fields, I feel so sorry for them. But this new knowledge does sort of up the emotional ante when I watch shows now. If a character is being chased by a horrible beastie, law enforcement officer or creepy children and decides to run through a corn field, they must really be desperate indeed.

Now that I have moved to the country, I am blessed to have the opportunity to drive by corn fields all the time. In order to get to town I have to drive by 7 corn fields in one direction and 6 in the other. Poor me. It is the best part of the day. The corn waves at me as I drive by wishing me a good journey. And on the way home, it waves at me again welcoming me back. I know the corn recognizes me. I just know it does. It bends and ripples, beckoning me to pull over and come play inside. And man, the temptation is strong. Basically the only reason that I don't do it is that I don't want to have to explain to a gun totting farmer why exactly I am grinning like an idiot in the middle of his corn field because I think it is magical and there might be a dragon in it or a passage to Narnia. Try explaining that one to the cops and not sounding nuts or drunk or both. Sadly then, I keep my corn field adventures strictly observational (unless I am in a corn maze, but that’s a story for another day). I can literally sit and stare at a corn field for hours. I have done it. It is quite relaxing, at least to me. They can be golden or green fields, it makes not a whit of difference. As long as they are vast and occasionally wave in the breeze. I just sit and stare and day dream. Corn field gazing is right up there with cloud watching in my book. It is quite addictive.

There is this one field, right off of the highway that really has my creative juices flowing. I have decided that I want to build a glass bottomed house right over a corn field. The tops of the stalks could be my carpet. Lower levels of the residence could be sunken down so that the corn itself acted as a wall. What a wonderful idea, sleeping in a corn field. But it might be a bit noisy. All manner of things live in corn fields and move around. Then there is the rustling of the corn itself. It is like butcher paper being rubbed together. But it really is the most delightful sound. I would probably give myself the creeps though with my over active imagination. I would think every crunch and rustle was some sort of hockey mask wearing weirdo coming to get me. But who cares, I would be living in a corn field. It sure beats being the crazy cat lady who sits on her porch with a shotgun. Instead I would be the crazy lady who lives in a corn field. Hey, I am ok with that.

And now I am imagining ordering pizza from my corn field house. "Is this a residence or business?" Well, it is a residence, but I kinda live in a corn field. "Excuse me? Is this some sort of prank call?" No, no. I live in a house in the middle of a corn field. You can't miss it. Well, you might if you get lost in the maze. "Excuse me, did you say maze? I thought you lived in a corn field." Well, I do, but you see, you have to go through the corn maze to get to my front door. It shouldn't be a problem, I will give you directions to the maze. It's really quite simple. At which point they would have hung up on me and I would have to go and get the pizza myself. But how cool would that be. Ok, that's it. I have decided to grow up and become an eccentric millionaire just so I can build a glass house in the middle of a corn field. Not a bad thing for a life ambition. I just won't tell the pizza guy where I live exactly until he or she shows up. ;)

It's Alive. IT'S ALIVE! October finally awakens from it's slumber: October Thought Day 1

It's funny. Most times I only get October fever a few months out. This year, October has snuck around corners and ambushed me the entire year through. It was not content to sit idly by while Easter had its pageantry or July its sizzle. October popped up in my Christmas decorations, summer leisure time and for my birthday. I gleefully broke one of my own cardinal rules and bought October goodies out of season simply because I couldn't take the pressure any more. I ate pumpkiny things in August and September and didn't feel a bit guilty about it. I bought a sparkly skull in July and didn't bat an eyelash. And speaking of bats, I bought some funky lace with bat cut outs in March. Gasp.

For months I have been thinking of what I will say for my first October Thought. I have written and rewritten and written some more. Sometimes in my head, sometimes on bits of napkin, coupons or errant post its. For a moment or two I flirted with the idea of writing all of this years thoughts early and just posting them with a few add ons as the days progressed. But I decided that would be cheating and restrained myself. (See, I do have some will power.) But now, it is here. Oh wonder of wonders, oh rapturous joy it is finally here. The decorations have been unleashed and the song and movie lists readied. The hammock is set up on the back porch and I have a pile of accumulated October magazines to peruse as I swing gently under the watchful gaze of a gangly mummy, a cheerful floppy candy corn and a filmy pumpkin specter. If I could at some point will a decaf pumpkin latte into my hand, things would be near perfect and this is only day one.

If you are new to the October Thoughts or OT as all the cool kids call it, here is a brief instruction guide. For those of you who are old hands, just hum Monster Mash quietly to yourself and then skip the next two paragraphs.

It started back in the early 2000's, I met a kindred soul who loved October as much as myself. I didn't think such a thing was possible or that such a person existed. Surely I was the only one weird enough to love the red headed step child that is the month of October. Yes, people like pretty leaves, and yes some people get a little worked up about Halloween, but love for a whole month? But she did and of course we became friends. AND THEN........I found out that she, wonderful wordsmith that she is, wrote a segment each year about how wonderful October was to her. I read it with great delight for years and one day it hit me, duh, I can write too. So I asked for her permission to write some October Thoughts of my own. Being the wonderful woman that she is, she agreed. She inspires me continually and makes me feel less crazy for devoting whole pages of prose to my love for candy corn and spangly holiday socks. You all enjoy my thoughts (at least I hope so) because this intrepid pioneer first paved the way. So thank you Kristen G. for allowing the world to have two October Thoughts a year. It turns out October is big enough for the both of us.

For the next 31 days you will be treated to my ramblings about why I love the month of October so very much. There will be scary bits, bits about literature, rants about how Christmas decor is trying to invade, and reasons why October should annex the mostly worthless month of November (sorry November babies, I still love you, you were just born in October adjacent). I will most likely talk about breakfast cereals, leaves and Halloween just to name a few. But each year I find something new to say and each idea is written on the day about whatever October wonderment pops into my head. I am a creature of the night, so each posting will most likely be written in the wee hours of the morning. While I slide off to visit dreamland, you will all wake up to a new October Thought. They will each have a title for the day and a number so you can keep things straight. Feel free to comment and write a bit of October love yourself. If you don't like what you read, or if you find excessive October gushing is not for you, you can excuse yourself from the group at any time no questions asked or feelings hurt. I promise. Most of you have expressed an interest in following my ramblings, and a few I have thrown into the group because I think you will like what I have to say. But I know that not everyone is as enthusiastic about October as I am. I also tend to be very wordy, so October Thoughts might run for a few pages rather than a few sentences. So if you are not overly fond of reading, OT's may not be for you. Otherwise, make sure you have a good cup of cider or some pumpkin scones to munch on while you peruse. I wouldn't want anyone to faint from hunger whilst reading.

For the first day I always try to give some sort of summary about why I love the month of October so very much. I fail miserably each year, and invariably what I wrote in my head months ago, but never actually set to paper is a thousand times better that what I will write today, but woulda, coulda, shoulda. What are ya gonna do. Soooooo, here is my encapsulation of the greatness of October for this year.

In October I fully come alive. Not to say that I am a sleepwalking zombie the other eleven months, but there is something about this month that revives me. Perhaps I get a jolt of electricity from Dr. Frankenstein. Or maybe I am Mr. Hyde come out to play, but minus the sloppy murdery bits. I love both the scary aspect and the sublime. I get caught up in the whirl and frenzy of Halloween, but at the same time I am content to sit by the fireside and watch the fog roll in. October is all about imagination. It is like a kaleidoscope of amazingness. It continually shifts and changes and brings forth one wonderful surprise after another. For every scary thing, there is a sweet. For every sinister shiver, there is a beautiful delight. October is like the phoenix both rising from the ashes and at once returning to them. It bursts upon the calendar like a firework and trails off into the dying year like a wisp of sweetly smelling smoke. Change your perspective but a little and October will show you something new.

October is a gateway month. A Janus, but with more than two faces. I like to think of it as my January, February, November and December all in one. It is the best part of summer but without the heat. October is when I feel the call to look back on my life and examine. Why wait until a new year. It is the month where I fall in love with just about every thing around me. Sights, sounds, feelings, smells, I revel in each one. Who needs the yucky love month that is coated in pink. October is also when I am most thankful. There is so much around me. So much good flooding in that I almost can't take it all. But the best part of October is that there is no pressure to perform. No fancy dinners to throw for family, no gifts to get, no hustle or bustle. October just lets you be. You can while away the hours with a spooky book or you can sit contentedly and watch as a leaf floats to earth. You can be as boisterous or creative as you want. Throw a party, or don't. Take a destination vacation or stay at home wrapped in a fluffy blanket. October lets you plan your own adventure. October is comfort food for the soul.

Simply stated, October is magical. I don't know what else to call it. No other month fills me with such a sense of possibility. For 31-derful days I have a star in the palm of my hand. I can use the night like a cloak and the falling leaves for a dazzling multi hewed gown. Fog is my red carpet to stroll and the owl my herald. October runs rampant in my blood, which I think looks a bit like the color of candy corn.

To me, October is full of wonder, mystery and beauty. Thank you all for coming on this journey with me. For 31 days we shall travel this wondrous month together and discover the joys that it has in store. Onward to October!