It is 25 degrees this morning. The first hard freeze is here. The flowers on the deck and in the yard have frozen dark and limp and the frost is on the pumpkin. A mysterious migrating bird or an especially hungry skunk has decided to eat the last leaves of the red coleus in the backyard, which no critter cared about all summer. Our "pet" groundhog, Chuckie, who causes so much panic in the spring by eating our tomatoes and anything else he pleases, has moved into his hole under the garage. Next year we will have to do something about him, but...what?
This weekend we will plant the next 300 tulips and daffodils for our enjoyment next spring. Today the sun is bright, the trees are shining golden, copper, yellow and red and the leaves are hanging by a thread, ready to fall to the ground. The grass is already covered with them, and raking is another chore for this weekend. George does a great job of taking care of the lawn and what I would fret and complain about doing, he joyfully does with no problm and in half the time. Daylight savings means that we are up earlier than usual and come home from work in the dark of night. Today is a good day to wear fluffy slippers, put your feet up in front of the fire, knit some red socks and sip herb tea. Unfortunately, I'm off to work.
Michael is coming for Thanksgiving and I fell asleep last night planning the menu. No to squash soup, yes to apple pie. My new Kitchen Aid professional mixer will make short work of any menu item I might plan and I can't wait. Having him here for 6 days is a real treat, and I plan to make the most of it and make some delicious meals. A little Everquest with the now-famous Loral by my side is going to be great!
Last night I led a book group for the first time in my life. The book was one that I read on vacation at the cabin this summer, Paul Theroux's Dark Star Safari: Overland from Cairo to Capetown. Six of us had a good discussion. The travails of traveling through Africa were interesting to read, and I realized quickly that it is not a trip very many people would even attempt. He hitchhiked by rattletrap car, decrepid ferry, chicken bus, and even rode horseback, traveling across borders that he was warned not to cross. We talked about how cultures have disappeared, and if you live to be 40 you are old, and that young people have no memory of anything other than guns and bloodshed. The folk music of the Sudan is about AK-47s. Add to that the HIV/AIDS epidemic, prostitution, poverty and violence and one of our members last night asked, "is there anything happy in this book?" Not really. The land is still beautiful, but the economy is ruined, people are suffering, and industry is non-existant. The main commerce is selling something you have stollen from someone else. We talked about what happens when a people rely solely on aid from other countries to exist. Paul Theroux thinks that it is ruinous. I tend to agree but there are no easy answers. This is not the Africa of the tourist safaris, when you are whisked from airport by land rover to resort. It is not a pretty picture. We didn't even try to discuss what we could do, but we did wonder if the school items in canvas bags that our church sent to Sierra Leone last year ever got to the students, since theft and graft are not only common but a way of life.
I will think about what else can be done to help, while I enjoy the New England fall and count my blessings long before Thanksgiving actually gets here.
Enjoy the day.
