Signs of fall

I know fall is here when, at the farmer's market, which I've enjoyed going almost every Saturday since summer, there are pumpkins everywhere of all shapes and colors. More pumpkins even than produce.

Today, the morning dawned rainy and cool so my parents skipped the market and I went by myself after dropping off my mom at a nearby hair salon. I decided to buy my first pumpkin of the year and got the third one to the right in the photo below, warts and all, for only $4.

After stocking up at the market (mostly on baked goodies), I went to satisfy my Starbucks craving before returning to the salon to pick up my mom and when I returned to my parked car, there was a horse and buggy "parked" in front. I tried not to alarm the horse but then a grandmother brought her grandchild over to pet it and I wondered whether horses are like dogs, unpredictable, and if the grandmother wasn't being a little too free with someone else's working animal.

I've been told that the Amish don't like having their photographs taken, but hoping that doesn't apply to their horses and buggies, I snapped this picture because it was priceless. Along with the photos of the market, this one tells a good story of what it's like to live in these parts.

Meanwhile, my husband is away this weekend at another family funeral (there have been so many deaths in his family during the past few months that it belies the saying that lightning doesn't strike twice in the same place), and my parents are downstairs watching TV while I take some time to download photographs, check e-mail, and buy my niece (who's turning 15 next week!) a present online.

The fourth week of the semester ended yesterday and so far my classes are going well, I'm managing to keep on top of my work and I still find a little time to watch TV and read a few lines for fun now and then. My parents are now tentatively considering a departure date for mid-October and it'll be odd not having them since we've spent more time now with them here than we spent by ourselves when we moved in back in August. Lizzy, especially, will be heartbroken, because they cosset and spoil her so (especially my dad).

Despite the rain and the cold, I'm looking forward to fall, my favorite season, although it inevitably leads to winter. But I'm just going to take it, as always, one day at a time and hope and pray for the best, always.