Monday, September 30; Gifts to Me.

September 30, 2013.

YIKES! The last day of September !!!!!  Whoa, Time, please slow up a bit! ( How do you LIKE that? September rushing away like this? Not even a warning! ) Oh, well, I DO like October! I've always liked October; that is, once I 'got the hang' of what October was. That took place in elementary school, for me. I shall never forget ( unless I get really old ) the day we were handed a sheet with a drawing on it, to color. It was a large pumpkin that covered almost all of the 8 1/2 x 11 standard sheet of paper. I don't know if all of my classmates were given an orange crayon or not. I can't remember if we had a box of eight crayons, either. It was my first year in school, and it must have been the beginning of October.

( I was probably all agog during the first month of school, September. I recall being so entranced by the teacher's reading a story to us. I was almost sent to another dimension, concentrating so much. I think her name was Miss Stapleton. )

Oh, do I ever love the color of orange! I always have, and now I wonder if it is because I was so young and we had to color a lovely, large, orange pumpkin to celebrate the advent of October ... 

To me, that pumpkin was the most gorgeous pumpkin I ever saw. I treasured it always, to this day. I always liked school, because of the opportunity of learning. I was forever pleased to learn something. Even now I would like to attend college classes.  

I always enjoyed having poems read by the teachers in higher grades, too. I was so delighted to hear and read poems about fall, October, and plants, weather, colors, in October. Do you remember the first line "October gave a party..."? The poem was October's Party by George Cooper. I just read that one today. 

Another poem I am so fond of is September by Helen Hunt Jackson: "The golden-rod is yellow; The corn is turning brown; The trees in apple orchards With fruit are bending down,"   I do believe that I fell so deeply in love with poetry in elementary school, perhaps in fifth and sixth grades. That is another extraordinary gift to me. 

Another reason I like October is because of the Autumn Change of Color on deciduous trees in certain climate areas. I used to live in northeastern Pennsylvania, one of the places that has an awesome change of color in the fall season. The color change begins in the more northern part of the continent, and slowly makes its way to the southern areas. The South doesn't have much change of color, because there are different trees down there. I wonder if the Mason and Dixon Line might be part of the border line? Perhaps, perhaps not. 

One year about thirty or forty years ago, I visited relatives in the fall for various reasons, and it turned out that I saw the northern leaves, then the leaves somewhat south of where I lived, and then in Maryland, Virginia, and another area where I was visiting other families. When I realized what had happened, it made me doubly happy that I could see the Autumn Change of Color almost everywhere! You might say that I was on a foliage tour three or four times that fall. 

It is said that New England has the best change of color in autumn, and a few times I had the opportunity to be traveling in New England at that time. Aah, the colors are so magnificent! 

One more reason why I love October so much: it is my birthday month, in the first third of those thirty-one days! There was a gift to me one year, when my first grandchild was born on my birthday!  This is an infrequent happening, and I was almost deliriously excited! I was unable to be at her birth, which was quite a disappointment. It didn't break my heart, though, because it already was such a great gift to me.  

Happy fall, everyone! Are you happy that it is here? I am!

 

I shall see you at the Corner Post ...

Finding a coin on my walk; I love birch trees.

September 19, 2013.

Good afternoon! It is always a bit exciting for me to find a coin. I always pick up a penny, even if it is ONLY one cent. As I've said before, if you have 99 cents, you haven't got a dollar, and a single penny can MAKE it a dollar! 

I found a penny on my walk this morning. As I was walking along, the sun was shining, and there was a small bit of reflection ahead of me. I picked it up, of course! In another area, I picked up a kind of maple leaf that was on the sidewalk. It is sort of medium size, with pretty   indentations. 

I also came up on an area of a lawn that needed a little mowing; the weed grass was higher than the lawn grass, and each clump of the long leaves of grass produced a stalk of probably seeds, that looked like a corn dog at the fair. The sunlight was backlighting the whole area with those glowing little 'corn dogs', and oh, how I wished I had taken my camera!!!!!!!!!!!! Such a beautiful sight it was!  

This morning I had taken my longer route, and it was so pleasant. My regular route is upgrade at the beginning, so I must stop to catch my breath. I was eager to make my route a bit longer, so I went on one of the old routes. It is mostly flat at the first part, and I made out quite well. 

On the route that I took this morning, there was a large bushy rose bush that was probably named Seven Sisters; bunches of small roses would grow on it. Well, to my utmost surprise, the whole bush was gone! The ground underneath was grassless, and I am wondering if they are going to put something else there.  

Oh, I wish to tell you that at one little corner of this longer route, there are two tall trees of the birch family. They have a very rough bark that peels into curls all along the length of the tree and all of the limbs. The twig-like parts of the limbs do not curl yet. The color of the trunk and limbs is shades of gray-brown. I always stop to admire those two trees, and ponder about where these might be prevalent. I've been trying to look up birch trees to find this certain kind of bark. 

My "a bit longer" route is quite nice, and it took me about twenty-three minutes this morning.  

I'll see you at the Corner Post ...

My Monday Walk; Quiet on the Street.

September 16, 2013. 

How do you do, my loved ones, on this day, Monday, the beginning of the week? I know for a fact that by Friday, we will all be saying, "Oh, for goodness' sake, is it FRIDAY already?" 

I went for my walk just now, left the house at 8:30, and came back in at 8:45. It was pleasant, being out there in the fresh(?) air. I mean that when I stepped outdoors, it smelled like laundry soap, and petrol, and other chemicals. I didn't know where they were coming from. The breezes hadn't arrived yet, to carry them away from my route. A gorgeous sunny day awaited me, as I walked out to the driveway, and some wispy white brush strokes joyfully painted some parts of the handsome azure sky. The wisps had been made by jet vapor trails in the beginning, and the upper air currents scattered them into brush strokes, nothing wild, just a pretty picture. Almost like going to the museum to look at lovely paintings. 

There were just a few birds that I saw today. Most of those other birds are gone to another area, since summer is just about over, and autumn is soon beginning. Three days ago, on my walk, I could hear a short chirp, and wondered what kind of bird it was, and where it was. I kept walking toward home, and the chirping became clearer and I stopped to look around. I finally found the bird  across the street! It was on a tall, quite round tree, at the very top, on one of the short branches, almost like the star on a Christmas Tree, half hidden by a leaf or two. I could see its head and shoulders, and it would look around and chirp. I couldn't identify what kind of bird it was, in size a bit smaller than a robin. I watched it for a few minutes, and could hardly take my eyes off it.

I did have to stop several times to catch my breath, and my hips weren't too eager to move the way I expected. This problem is quite difficult for me to solve. Is it something I ate yesterday that makes me stop for breath? Is it the way I slept during the night that makes my hips not peppy? To tell the truth, I think 't is a mystery! 

Things were very quiet on my walk, there were no students walking to school, hardly any motor traffic at all, just once or twice I heard someone's car door shut, and there was only one dog barking in the neighborhood today. This little doggie sounds like a small white poodle, and he/she usually barks behind the closed window where the thin curtains are drawn. He/she can see through the curtain, any movement. I wonder if the poor lil doggie doesn't go out much. 

Since I am usually on the opposite side of the street from this doggie's abode, I sometimes stop when I hear the barking, and look at that window, and wave my arm enthusiastically.  The other day, the thin curtain was open, and I could vaguely see the little  pet. I waved my arm vigorously to give my greeting, and he turned his head toward the inner part of the room, and told the master about me, then turned his head back to me. I waved goodbye as I began walking again. It is difficult to make a solid connection with this lil doggie, because I walk at different times for my exercise. I don't even know his/her name! 

I'll see you at the Corner Post ...

 

Friday the 13th; My Walk; and Other Things.

Saturday, September 14, 2013.

Good morning, did you all get through Friday the 13th well and happy? Some people are always frightened and apprehensive when Friday the 13th comes around. 

It was a good day for me, I was working on the computer Album # 2, having fun putting information and a few comments under those precious photos. The ones showing this bridge, or that monument, aren't that precious, but they're in the album. Our Josephine shot a lot of photos, and had many pictures from other relatives. They're in these albums that are going to be available to my family and relatives. I am so grateful that my Mom Josephine shot so many photos during her lifetime. 

Yesterday I also made a tasty (in my opinion, of course) baked concoction of Lazy-Daisy Cabbage and Ground Beef. Of course, it can be a vegetarian or vegan dish if you wish. Just substitute a different protein. I remember during the past year or two, that I would make a vegetarian dish of stuffed cabbage leaves. The first one wasn't so great, but one of the next two was good. (Now, where did I put that recipe?) 

This morning I took a walk just after eight o'clock. I checked the air outside with my hand, and it was quite cool. The computer said it was 62˚ in the local area. So I put my babushka on to keep my hair from being blown-apart from the breeze, and my very handy sweat jacket. By the time I came back, I had built up enough heat from the exercise that made it warm enough for me. 

On a Saturday morning, it was very quiet, not much auto traffic, hardly any birds flitting hither and thither, no one outdoors or getting into their cars in the driveways. AND, there was such a lovely azure sky. The breeze wasn't brisk, just very gentle now and then. As I went on my way, I noticed some small birds having a conference on the telephone lines about four houses up the street. I stopped to look at them from a few houses away, counted about eleven. They were all perched in the same direction, quite close together with a few inches between them. Then another bird came and perched two lines away, facing them. "All right, the meeting begins," I thought I heard him chirp. After another ninety seconds, about four birds suddenly flew away. "Uh, oh, a disagreement has arisen," I said to myself. Then as I walked on, they suddenly flew away. So much for THAT conference! 

It was so very pleasant to be walking in such great weather, with almost no one around. When I got back to my driveway, I decided to sit on the cute little concrete bench (it is so well-loved), and had some relaxation. I spied a group of some kind of sparrow in the second driveway away from mine; they were flittering from the ground to the slanted rooftop and back, then running under the car, hurrying to and fro, some would fly across the street to the trees, then fly back to their friends. Now I wonder if someone sprinkled some crumbs or seeds on that driveway. They were such a happy and busy mini-flock of birds! 

Well, it's time to start preparing my breakfast. I'm looking forward to my regular week-end "PolkA to Z radio program" from Claremont, CA, that I can hear on my computer. Just in case you would like to hear it, it is on the college radio station KSPC ~~  "KSPC.org" 88.7fm. I am so happy that the program is three hours long, on Saturday morning from 8 am to 11 am Pacific time. There is usually a repeat on Sunday morning from 6 am to 9 am, Pacific time. You won't be disappointed if you listen to it. The DJ is so good.  

I'll see you at the Corner Post ...

Another Walk Is Taken; We Need More Rain; A New 'Dish'.

September 13, 2013.

Hello, Everyone: 

I did take another walk this morning, that's three in a row, isn't it? or what is the count right now? I don't quite remember. I went out the door at 8 o'clock, and there were older school kids walking to school. I talked with a couple of them. One young male probably in seventh grade, said when I asked him what his favorite subject this year was ~ "math". That made me feel so good for him. I also met a man from up near the other end of my route; he said he walks just before the sun comes up each morning. He was late this morning, and was a bit surprised at all the students walking to school. The school is around the corner, from my street to Rasco Road. This morning I saw a whole row of vehicles that were moving in a very slow pace in front of the school. Police cars are in evidence, trying to keep the whole area safe. 

I enjoyed my walk, but when I went out the door, it was a bit cool and breezy. I had warmer clothes on today than I did yesterday, so it was all right, especially as I was warming up from walking. I stopped at least four times to catch my breath. The walk was a total of eighteen minutes, because of my stopping to chat for a minute or two with the kids, and then the older gentleman. 

We need more rain. It rained yesterday afternoon, for a short while, but the grass lapped it up and needs more. We really do not want a rain storm like Boulder, Colorado, is suffering with.

For my cooking today, I made a rectangular panful of Lazy-Daisy Cabbage and Ground Beef. It smells quite good, as it is baking in the oven. I should have started it earlier in the day, but was doing other things. It doesn't have any tomato in it at all, but lots of cabbage, a cup of cut green beans, and some of that liquid, and  some sauerkraut juice on it and under it. It tastes good, too. I wrote down all the ingredients that I chose, just in case I would wish to make it again. It is a new concoction with a new name that I thought up, and I think anyone can do this type of cooking.  

I'll see you at the Corner Post ...