Fall and Homecoming

It is finally fall...The early morning temperatures have been in the upper 40's and I have not had the AC on for several days. Oh some people would run it but I just turn on the fans and tell myself it is cool enough. My August electric bill was terrible. We have several water wells that are on electricity and the house and corals. The Rancher has also been watering all of the pine and cedar trees around the homestead as we have worked so hard to get them established. Last year we lost several pines North of the barns as we weren't paying attention.

I love fall, the nights are cooler and the trees are starting to turn a golden color. We really don't have much color in the Panhandle of Oklahoma but the cottonwood trees on the creeks and the sumac and plum thickets put some color in these brown pastures. Brown has been the color this year. If one saw much green, it was a mistake as there just has not been any. A friend in an area southeast of us thought it was dry there until they saw how things looked here. We continue to pray for rain as everyone in this region does.

I have seen several Monarch butterflies in the yard. I read an article in the paper explaining how they were tagging some of them to track their migration route. the tag was a small tab with a number on it, stuck to a wing. Where there is a will there is a way.

Another thing I like about fall is the Friday night football games at the local schools and with them, the gathering of friends. This past Friday night was "Homecoming" in my community. There was a chili supper before the game and I saw a lot of old friends. It is amazing that some of the younger people are getting so old. I also noticed that not so many "old " people were there. Reality hit me in the face when I reallized that most of the old people were my age. When did this happen???? Oh well, I so enjoyed seeing so many people of my past. We are all different but I can tell you this, our home town is the fountain of youth. I know I have said it before but the people that stay close by or come home regularly never change. It is the ones that haven't been back in years that have gotten old. All I can say is they better be showing up more often. Oh, and if you think you haven't changed, get out some pictures and then look in the mirror. We aren't kidding anyone. After 50 years or so, who cares. We all have changed and if we are still around that is a good thing. It was just so good to see everyone. I look forward to seeing you again next year.

The picture is from last fall and I am hoping to see the aspen change again this fall. It is a beautiful sight.