It is a beautiful autumn day here and like all good things, I would be happy if it would never end. Many years ago, I lived in Vermont and the autumns were spectacular. People came from all over the country to enjoy them. As the leaves would fall, we would rake them into large piles and, much to my husband’s dismay, our children would run and tumble into the piles, scattering them everywhere. Laughter and squeals of joy filled the air turning it all into a wonderful game. It was legal to burn leaves then so when the games and the raking ended we would make mini bonfires of our leaf piles. I loved the smell of the smoldering leaves. Later we spread the ashes of our happy day across the garden to feed the soil. Tired and happy, the boys, piled into our gelding pony cart, would ride to McKay’s roadside stand to buy crispy McIntosh apples, cider and apple turnovers. The day would end with a treat of warm, spiced cider and pie. Those days are gone forever, but the memoires are still vivid enough to inspire this digital painting below.
