my son Keith, looking for the "Great Pumpkin"
I am very fortunate to live in New York where we can truly enjoy the visions of Fall upon us. As you look up, the vibrant colors of Autumn; reds, oranges, yellows, seem to create a Harvest Festival of their own. As you look down, those leaves that have already fallen upon the warmth of the summer's ground, create a bountiful of memories as I walk through them. I guess it is the child in me, but I still cannot walk through the leaves of Autumn without kicking through the leaves as I stroll along. Every season does bring its' own memories, but there is something about the crispness in the air during the Fall that all the beautiful colors fade to memories shaded in black and white as the pictures when I was small.
One of my favorite, and the first picture that enters into my thoughts is gathering the leaves, using a rake of which I am perhaps only half it's size; and we would rake everything together into a big pile. Don't think that pile of leaves were just to clean the lawn, we (my sister, and friends) would climb up onto the rocks and jump into that pile, something we could do for hours. Unfortunately, with all those noisy leave blowers of today; children cannot experience the joy of being buried under a pile of leaves, hoping not to be the next to be jumped upon.
Another thought that comes to mind is my sister and I would get into my Grandfather's '56 Chevy, and off we would go on another one of his adventures. This is something we would do almost every weekend; but in the Fall we knew what laid ahead. A trip upstate to one of the many apple orchards, where we would buy bushels of freshly picked NY State apples (the best!); then we would sit with our hot apple cider, eating the fresh apple donuts, which were dipped in cinnamon, while fighting off the bees who wished to join us. I cannot think of Fall without even imaging the smells surrounding us as we would gather up our apples and head back home, and await for the aroma of the fresh baked apple pies my Grandmother would bake.
Fortunately for my children, I passed these beautiful memory's onto them. Of course, instead of the 56' Chevy, we would pile into the station wagon, along with their friends, and head off on one of my "Grandfather's Excursions". We would go to the same apple orchard, pick bags of apples, then sit and enjoy the hot cider, and warm donuts, and I swear those same bee's were still there waiting for me to return with my children!
And then what would be Fall without the well awaited trip to the Pumpkin Patch. Of course, my sister and I would always have to find the largest pumpkin in the bunch, and my kids were no different when it was my turn to take them. Thanks for helping to relive these childhood memories of the Falling Leaves, which I in turn have created memories for my own children to be able to share someday with theirs.
A Keeper's Jackpot said...
I'm going apple picking Saturday!
September 23, 2008 3:57 PM
agoodwitchtoo said...
An absolutely beautiful post! I can hear the bees and taste the doughnuts now...
September 23, 2008 7:29 PM
BeadedTail said...
What a wonderful post! Thanks for sharing your memories of fall and it's great that the traditions continue with your kids!
September 26, 2008 11:36 AM
1 comment:
Fun post! I remember going in my grandfather's '62 Chevy at a very slow pace. He was always the "Sunday driver" out to view the world and never in a hurry.
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