Glory Days

Sumacs by the barn.

October is the month of painted leaves. Their rich glow now flashes round the world. As fruits and leaves and the day itself acquire a bright tint just before they fall, so the year near its setting. October is its sunset sky; November the later twilight.

Henry David Thoreau

A sunset last week.

We finally relented and lit the furnace on the first of October. That’s a little earlier than usual, but the house was getting chilly, especially in the mornings. I like the sound of the furnace coming on in the coldest hours of the night, the quiet whoosh, the clicks as the metal grate heats up. They are comfortable sounds. We also lit the heater in the upstairs hall. These are major milestones on the road to winter.

Our trusty floor furnace.

Bright October morning.

We had frost again on Monday morning and that finished off any straggling annuals in the garden. I wasn’t in school on Tuesday and planned to make it the first big Post-Frost Cleanup Day. I made a list of things I wanted to accomplish. While I waited for the day to warm up a little, I canned more applesauce. The three bushels of apples I bought are almost gone now. I also put one of the Hubbard squashed in the oven to bake. I waited for the day to clear, but it began to rain instead, which was a great disappointment. The rain went on all day.

Getting ready to bake a Hubbard squash.

Wednesday Miriam and I were both in school and so the day was sunny, of course. When we got home that afternoon, I began ripping out dead plants and hauling them to the compost, a satisfying yet sad job. The memory of them in their glory was still too fresh.

Cleaning out frost killed annuals.

Post-frost carnage.

That afternoon after Stacey and Hannah got home, we took a drive with Kurt and Julie up to the overlook. The leaves were much brighter than they were when Hannah and I drove up last Saturday. Their color has continued to intensify over the last week. I keep thinking they’ve reached their peak, but every day they surprise me by being more beautiful.

View from the overlook.

On the road to the overlook.

Thursday Miriam and I were not in school. The morning was pretty chilly so my morning walk was short, but lovely. It grew warmer after the sun climbed a little higher. I could see it was going to be a good day to do some work outdoors. Miriam joined me and we borrowed Kurt’s chainsaw and began cutting down dead trees on our two properties. There are two maples and a wild cherry tree in the chicken yard, two maples in the Shillig’s yard, an apple tree that had fallen over in the orchard, and my linden tree. We took down the apple and the linden tree before we ran out of time. I was sorry to cut down the linden tree. It used to be such a lovely tree, but two years ago it started to decline. This year its leaves turned brown in July and I could tell it was dying. I’ll miss its fragrant flowers in the early summer. I’ll plant another linden out in the woodland garden in the spring, but it will be years before it will flower. We cut the wood into firewood and stacked it at the side of the house. It will be fuel to keep us warm this winter. We’ll keep working on the other trees in the days ahead. The day turned out to be about as perfect as an October day can be weather-wise. It warmed into the 70's, it was sunny, perfect.

The remains of the linden tree.

On Friday, after school, Miriam and I drove out to North Bingham and bought two boxes of grapes from the Amish fruit man. We planned to can grape juice, but we didn’t have time to do it that night. Later that night, our niece Kailie and her husband Ian arrived to spend the weekend with us.

On the drive to North Bingham.

On Saturday we left early in the morning and drove up to Palmyra, New York. It was a beautiful morning and the autumn scenery as we drove through western New York was amazing. Stacey, Miriam, Hannah, Kailie and I went to the temple while Ian walked around the Smith Farm Church History site. After the temple, we ate a picnic lunch then we all walked through the Sacred Grove and around the Smith Farm. Autumn is a wonderful time to see the sites. Then we drove into Palmyra and took a tour at the Grandin Press where the first edition of The Book of Mormon was printed in 1829. From there we went to the Hill Cumorah. They are restoring the hill to be as it was back in the time of Joseph Smith. They’ve planted a beautiful wildflower meadow at the base of the hill and planted young trees on the unforested part of the slope. We took a shuttle to the top of the hill and then walked back down on a path. It was lovely. After that, we drove home along Canandaigua Lake. We stopped at a farmers market in Naples, New York, and bought more grapes, then continued on with the autumn colors glowing on the hills as evening came on. When we arrived home, Hannah and I spent the rest of the evening and on into the night steaming grapes and canning juice. We got three gallons of the delicious stuff and are only halfway through the process. We had a long, but pleasant day.

At the Palmyra Temple.

Our picnic lunch.

Kailie and Ian at the Sacred Grove.

The Smith House.

The printing press at the Grandin Press.

The Hill Cumorah.

Walking down from the Hill Cumorah.

Canned grape juice - so far.

Today in church I was set apart as branch president of the Wellsville Branch, a calling I’ve never aspired to (do we ever aspire to callings?). But the Stake President assured me they were inspired to call me. I feel very humbled. When we lived in California I served as a counselor in two bishoprics and didn’t enjoy it very much. We’ve lived in our branch for over twenty-two years now. For the first seventeen of those years I served as a counselor to two branch presidents, and as a Sunday School teacher simultaneously. For the past several years, I’ve been the branch clerk. I don’t really like administrative callings – too many meetings and decisions. I prefer to keep a lower profile. But I will serve the branch as best I can. Our branch is very small. Our average attendance on Sunday is around twenty-eight people. Our branch covers a large area – most of Allegany County, New York, and, unofficially, part of Potter County, Pennsylvania. With this new calling, the leadership in the branch lies mostly with our family – I am the Branch President, Kurt is the Elders Quorum President, Stacey is the Relief Society President, Miriam is her first counselor, and Hannah is the Technology Specialist. It will be interesting to see how this goes.

So, we are home from church. The drive to and from Wellsville was absolutely beautiful with the sun shining from a bright blue sky on the color saturated hills. We have been fasting, so I am hungry. Lunch is almost ready – sloppy joes, home fried potatoes, and fresh grape juice. This evening we are going over to the Shillig’s. Tomorrow is Columbus Day and the schools are closed for in-service, so I have the day to do with what I will. There’s a slight chance for rain, but I’m going to take my chances and plan a full day of outdoor work. I plan to enjoy these glorious October days while they are glorious and mine to enjoy. Good Sabbath.