"When the frost is on the pumpkin and the fodder's in the shock..." and more from James Whitcomb Riley, it surely is Fall, an extra ordinary Fall. Today the temperature is in the 80's, shirt sleeve and short's weather. A glorious day for a walk outside; or as last weekend, a walk in the pumpkin patch, a 50 acre pumpkin patch. You walk and walk, pulling you little red wagon, trying not to notice the "made in china" embedded in its bottom, selecting a perfect, at least to us, pumpkin. Such a prize sits upon our doorstep; upright, face gleaming, and its tall stalk pigtailed and cocked to the side.

A picture out our back lower level door shows the colorful trees mirrored in and two geese silhouetted by our lake. The grass is still a deep emerald green, kept alive and thriving in the moisture of recent rains, the warmth of the daytime and the sunlight that shines regularly upon us.

The witch out our front doorway, spins in the wind, from a distance, appearing as riding upon a broomstick, yet a closer view, shows the stick is really driven through her heart, and she swings on, smile and all.

Of course, Kathy has thought of all this, reflecting the changing seasons and the dynamic state of our lives and environment. 

Jim and Virginia Minninger left this morning for Heston KS, with Virginia saying that it is a beautiful day to travel; and so it is. Tours of the MSU Cyclotron and the Michigan Capital on Friday were followed by a Saturday focused on busy work before watching Michigan State beat Northwester in Evaston, Ill. A good time was had by all.