September 21, 1988
After This Summer, Fall Is a Welcome Relief
By ELEANOR S. MARTIN
September is that time of year, the changing of seasons from summer into fall. In case you want something to do this fall, there are a lot of festivals and museums still around filled with fun-filled days.
Saying so long to summer is sometimes tough, but after the hot and dry summer of 1988 most people are looking forward to the coming of fall. Actually the days have been growing shorter since June, the change being so gradual we hardly notice it, but come September it hits us with a bang.
Most of my family from Kentucky and Indiana has returned from their vacations, with stories to tell.
Cheryl Gibbs, Mary Eleanor and Jean Wallace
My daughter, one of the first going to New Hampshire about the time the presidential primaries were in progress, followed the first one in Idaho which took them state by state. They seemed never ending.
New Hampshire, such a beautiful state and so much history too. I heard on TV this morning that the temperature was -25 degrees on Mt. Washington. Fall comes early there.
Her twin sister took a Caribbean Cruise on the MS Caribe, "The Happy Ship". A water pipe broke and flooded her stateroom and she was transferred to a sumptuous appointed stateroom at no extra cost to her. Now she knows what it is like to live like a queen.
June Smith on a Cruise.
My son and his wife set out to tour the big sky country, Colorado, Wyoming and Montana, which kept them on the move each day farther and farther south to escape the smoke from the forest fires.
Schools have not started in Wyoming. They are using the school buses to transport the fire fighters. They called out the Army and the National Guard, and you see signs everywhere "WE LOVE YOU FIRE FIGHTERS".
They found themselves in Salt Lake City, Utah on their way home.
Mary Eleanor and Steve Wallace
My grandson chose the New England states for his vacation, going as far north as Maine, one of his favorite spots. Did he see the lighthouses standing tall sending out beacons to guard the wayward from crashing into the high cliffs along the Main shoreline?
My other two grandsons and their wives went to the Grand Cayman Islands for scuba diving. They are certified divers. This is said to be some of the finest waters in the world for such sports. They enjoy going down to look at the fish sanctuary and rock formations. They tell me each time it is different, changing constantly.
Where did I go? I went down by the garage to pick some tomatoes. I promised to make some ketchup and a promise is a promise. In spite of the hot dry weather the Big Boys have produced abundantly.
If I were an ornithologist I would have a study right here. There is the strangest looking bird that comes into our drive each morning. It's reddish-brown in color, has white pantaloons and white tail feathers that almost drag the ground as it picks for seeds. In the evening it takes off for where it came from. Could it be a pigeon?
Come September the birds seem restless flying in flocks. They never seem to know where they are going. Its almost too early to be flying south. Maybe they will wait until October.
Already we notice a change in the air. Makes you hungry for some of those special cookies like the ones my mother used to bake, while the grandchildren sampled batter from a mixing bowl.
Don't forget the apple orchards with apples ready to pick. They hold a kind of enchantment. As a child I could step off the backporch and walk down the path to an apple tree. Aah! The fragrance of the blossoms! September is apple butter time. My mother made it in an oven, others in an iron pot out side, stirring almost constantly. When finished we would eat it on the finest buttermilk biscuits ever made.
This winter when the winds start blowing on your doorstep, I hope you have memories of a vacation well spent and dreams of another one next year.