The Reindeer Keeper

  EARLIER THIS HALLOWEEN MORNING I was out taking some pictures of the moon over the field when suddenly I could not believe my eyes. A Witch-a real Witch on a broom went flying by. I could hear her heckling and the broom whizzing and the wind drifting through the branches now bare. It's Halloween! Glorious and spooky Halloween with candy corn and lollipops and miniature candy bars and popcorn balls and candy apples and pumpkins carved, and wide-eyed kids full of anticipation out trick or treating. It's Halloween! Beautifully Glorious and So Very Spooky.

 Well here we are again. It's that time of year when three major holidays come at us one right after another. And the decorating has begun. With Halloween behind us we are heading toward Thanksgiving. We can put away the witches and ghosts but keep the pumpkins and gourds on display. The cornstalks too. And then after Thanksgiving, put the pumpkins and gourds away. Throw out the cornstalks and get on with decorating for Christmas. Some people keep their outside lights in place all year long. Some use Thanksgiving as their marker to put their outside lights back up. We all do it differently.  Some decorate for Halloween. Leave those decorations in place and add their Thanksgiving decorations to the mix. Then top all of those decorations off with Christmas decorations. It's fun to drive around and see what others have done. I've come to enjoy seeing witches next to Pilgrims and Santa Claus with his reindeer. But I'm one who needs space between the three holidays. I need t...

I've always loved Autumn. September and October amaze me. Every thing about them The colors. The briskness. The breathtaking leaves. The way the clouds clump together over the fields. The cider and donuts and wearing sweaters and having hot cereal for supper. Candy corn. Those orange pumpkin shaped candies that make your teeth ache. More coffee. More homemade soups. More French goulash with corn muffins. More squash. Casseroles. Apples. Homemade applesauce and apple pies and apple pan dowdy. Cinnamon. Candles. Marvelous moons. Even rainbows.   Once September slides into October, my thoughts turn toward Halloween. I've always loved Halloween. Probably when I was a kid, candy was the reason. But as I grew older I realized my love of Halloween was all about Anticipation. Anticipation of getting out Halloween decorations, some homemade and some from dollar stores. Some, hand me downs. Anticipation of going trick or treating. That never grows old. I love trick or treating. And if ...

FAMILY TREES AND TREES: Still to this day the rustling of leaves on poplar trees takes me back to my grandparents' farmhouse where stately poplars lined the cinder driveway. When Halloween came around, those trees and their skinny branches way up high became witches and black cats-goblins or monsters especially when an orange moon lit up the night, casting spooky shadows over the fields. With four houses of relatives all in a row, it became a summer tradition of joining suppe rs in a particular backyard full of scotch pines. The shade was welcomed as was the scent of those trees as salads and hotdogs-hamburgers and all the trimmings were enjoyed. Later, while adults sat around enjoying a cup of coffee, the kids would play baseball-running from one tree to another. From a big old tree sitting on the banks of sucker creek, holding our rope swing in its grasp so we could run real fast, take a leap, grab hold of the rope with our hands and situate our feet on the knot at the ...