A HARD-HAT WOMAN...

On this crisp and classic autumn day, when sunshine and blue skies bring special brightness to the autumn color, I am looking for a mundane bit of clothing generally reserved for working men. A hardhat!
Along my woodland paths grow giants, in the form of vintage English walnuts; mammoth wild cherry trees; oaks and others.
And as my dog and I walk daily in these places, he delights in acorns, nuts, walnuts, cherries... a variety of wild fruits he can ferret out along the woodsy ground.
I, however, have begun to realize I am a frequent target for these soft and hard-shelled fruits. My head is hard, but not that hard...
Oh where are all those hard hats my construction husband and our boys used to keep at ready hand in our garage and barn? Gone! just when a woman could use them!

(You can talk back to Rose About Town at randrmoore@gmail.com).

Commentary comes from Susan Luhta Price of Alabama: "That is funny, Rose. You should be glad, however, that was the biggest thing you have to contend with. My cousin who lives in Key West was hit by a falling coconut. Now that will leave a knot in your head!

AUTUMN: GLORY IN THE GOLD

 

AUTUMNAL BLESSINGS

 

LEFT BEHIND: THE SMELL OF BURNING LEAVES

In the darkness of this autumn night,
as fallen leaves are whispering underfoot,
nostalgia puts a ticklish hand upon my throat,
calling forth a scent that smoulders only
in my memories of youth.

In this autumn of my life,
when eco-laws forbid that precious incense
of the waning of the year,
leafsmoke is foiled before it comes to be;
the golden, dusty piles of leaves are wrapped
in bags and carted off or put in compost piles,
and our world is said to be improved
by our well-intentioned eco-clarity.

The children of today have never known
that tangy autumn fragrance; and yet
on autumn nights I sometimes think
I catch the fine aroma of that smoky perfume
and sense its gentle mist upon the fields.

It might be contraband;
a little fire someone sneaked into the darkness.
Or it might be wishful thinking.

1993... by the Last ROSE of Summer (Rose About Town)

(Address your autumn memories and comments to randrmoore@gmail.com)

OCTOBER IS FOR SCARECROWS...

...AND I HAPPEN TO LIVE WITH THIS PARTICULAR SCARECROW.

"Witch Rose-About-Town" wishes you a happy autumn.