October!

October is here!

Jack O'Lanterns, woodsmoke, corn mazes, haunted

houses, pumpkin spice, rustling leaves, candlelight,

caramel apples, scary movies, bonfires, spooky 
stories, flannel shirts, candy corn, ghosts and

goblins, foliage, festivals, hayrides...

Oh, my!

Easily, this is my most favorite time of year,

and in my personal opinion, the most beautiful

season in New England of all! What do you think?

I'm so looking forward to being in New Hampshire

in a couple of weeks (also, let's not forget the pit-stop

I'm determined on taking to Deerfield, Massachusetts! ♥)
Sigh...

There's nothing I love more than autumn in New England.

I'll never, ever forget the first time I experienced it up-close

in Marblehead, Massachusetts. It literally took my breath away.

See what I mean?!

It's been a couple of years since then,
and I am positively ecstatic to witness this beauty again,
this time in another wonderful New England state!

In other October news,
whoOoOo (in my best owl impersonation) would like to
receive a Halloween card in the mail from me this month?
If you do, please send me an e-mail with your address!
erinxtreme77@aol.com

- - - - - - - - -

That's all for now! I leave all you ghouls with
this charming excerpt written by Gladys Taber:

© Susan Branch

"Today I laid in a good supply of orange-and-black jelly beans and candy corn, together with small boxes of raisins and little bags of peanuts. Before we know it, 
All Hallow's Eve will be here.
When our children were small, Halloween at our house was strictly a family affair. It was a time for funny masks-- nothing very scary-- and homemade costumes. The door-to-door trekking was brief, and a parent always hovered in the background as the small ghosts and pint-sized clowns made their rounds. Connie and Barbara used to argue. 'It's my turn to be the witch this year.' 'No, it's mine. You did it last year.' David quietly stuck to being a tramp. I think they dirty-face part appealed to him. We had plenty of cider, of course, and a bowl of apples to bob for and a big plate of freshly made doughnuts. And in the front window, a cheerful pumpkin face with a rather lopsided grin.
Now I am glad to see that the grandchildren are growing up in the same tradition. My own branch of the family is here this Halloween. The jack-o'-lantern is finished and Connie is drying pumpkin seeds for the bird feeder. Curt sprawls flat on the floor with a borrowed sewing machine. He learned to sew in his bachelor days and now he is stitching some strips of sheeting for Alice, who plans to be the Ghost of Stillmeadow. Small Anne is propped nearby, watching with fascination. The dogs have been shut out temporarily and they whuff curiously where it is quiet. They will all reappear later in the evening, when the children have finally been tucked in and the grown-ups have settled down in front of the fire to watch the last embers and wait for the Halloween candles to burn out softly."

♥