simple joys

This one is for you, Gail!

Last weekend Mom accompanied my brother and sister-in-law to Middlebury, VT for parents' weekend at Middlebury College, where my nephew is a freshman. In addition to visits with Jesse they took advantage of being in Vermont, making a stop at the Vermont Country Store (where are there are a host of wonderful (and sometimes hard to find) things. Among them was some apple cider that Mom brought with her to Melrose when she arrived earlier this week.

Some things are quintessentially New England to me, and apple cider is one of them. It evokes memories of crisp fall days, a certain kind of light, the sound of fallen leaves kicked up as you walk through them, and the replacement of summer clothing with winter warmth.

Every place has its own markers of seasonal changes, subtle or substantial, but I maintain that New England (and upstate New York) has a distsinct edge over other parts of God's creation when it comes to the sensory sensations of fall.

Here's to the season in all its glory, however it presents itself where you are.