dual personalities

Tag: Autumn

October 7, 2014

The Era of the Wild Apple

by chuckofish

In the Orchard by Winslow Homer

“In the Orchard” by Winslow Homer

“To appreciate the wild and sharp flavors of these October fruits, it is necessary that you be breathing the sharp October or November air. What is sour in the house a bracing walk makes sweet. Some of these apples might be labeled, “To be eaten in the wind.” It takes a savage or wild taste to appreciate a wild fruit. . . The era of the Wild Apple will soon be past. It is a fruit which will probably become extinct in New England. I fear that he who walks over these fields a century hence will not know the pleasure of knocking off wild apples. Ah, poor soul, there are many pleasures which you will not know! . . . the end of it all will be that we shall be compelled to look for our apples in a barrel.”

– Henry David Thoreau

How right you are, Henry!

Claude Monet, 1878 "Apple Trees in Bloom at Vetheuil"

Claude Monet, 1878 “Apple Trees in Bloom at Vetheuil”

Winslow Homer "Green Apples"

Winslow Homer “Green Apples”

Well, it is apple season and, although I can’t pick them wild off a tree, I do buy some pretty good ones at my local Dierberg’s. And you know what they say about an apple a day, right?

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October 14, 2013

Gathering leaves

by chuckofish

leavevs2

It is that time of year when the leaves begin to fall and we begin to think about cleaning them up.

Gone are the days when we had lots of free help.

leaves

Sigh.

The boy did come over on Sunday and he helped me achieve an ant apocalypse by destroying a giant ant hill that had been built over the course of some years in a low wall surrounding a tree in the front yard. He came over for brunch, but somehow he always ends up doing some much-needed man-work around the house/yard, for which I am most appreciative.

Here’s a poem to start off the week. Have a good one!

Spades take up leaves
No better than spoons,
And bags full of leaves
Are light as balloons.
I make a great noise
Of rustling all day
Like rabbit and deer
Running away.
But the mountains I raise
Elude my embrace,
Flowing over my arms
And into my face.
I may load and unload
Again and again
Till I fill the whole shed,
And what have I then?
Next to nothing for weight,
And since they grew duller
From contact with earth,
Next to nothing for color.
Next to nothing for use.
But a crop is a crop,
And who’s to say where
The harvest shall stop?”

― Robert Frost

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September 20, 2012

This and that

by chuckofish

Last night for the first time in a long time it was cool enough to take a walk after dinner. I walked past my favorite magnolia tree.

And I checked out the flora that had weathered our hot, dry summer.

I’m telling you, there were times this summer when we thought it would never cool off and that the rain would never come. But…It’s getting dark earlier. Sunrise comes later. Autumn approaches. Sweaters are necessary–not just a fashion accessory! Can pumpkins be far behind? This is my favorite time of year.

Best of all, I have a whole pile of new (and used) books to read.

A couple of these are replacements that I bought at The Strand because members of my family had borrowed them permanently (Dylan, Banks), but the rest are new reads! How good is that?

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September 5, 2012

In case you haven’t noticed

by chuckofish

It’s September!

The summer, of course, is not officially over, and, yes, it was 93-degrees yesterday and they’re saying it’ll be 96-degrees today. But it is September.

Oh boy. Ol’ John Updike covers a lot about September in this poem:

“The breezes taste
Of apple peel.
The air is full
Of smells to feel-
Ripe fruit, old footballs,
Burning brush,
New books, erasers,
Chalk, and such.
The bee, his hive,
Well-honeyed hum,
And Mother cuts
Chrysanthemums.
Like plates washed clean
With suds, the days
Are polished with
A morning haze.”

Yes indeed. Soon it will be time to get out the sweaters and the black tights. Maybe someday soon we will be able to open a window at home and in the car! I shouldn’t get carried away, but October is just around the corner.

What are you looking forward to?

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