"Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns." ~ George Eliot

Autumn!  My absolute favorite season.  I have always looked at fall as a time of new beginnings, not the winding down of the year.  One of the great things about teaching is that each fall, you get to start fresh.  New kids, renewed energy, the sense that things will be better this school year than in the past.  All those new school supplies!  Yes, I have always liked that about the fall.  My real love however, is the visceral change of seasons. Autumn hits every sense that is human.  That first crispness to bite the air - the flying V's overhead with their accompanying honks - the paint palette that invades the hillside - the sound of leaves under foot; the scent that autumn owns - crisp, comforting, home.  Just love it!


One cannot escape the annual sites and sounds of autumn in Central New York.  There is the opening of Hollenbeck's Cider Mill (which I hope to bring to you in a later post); the potted hardy mums on doorsteps, the gourds on table-tops and of course, the Lafayette Apple Festival! 


Today's opening could not have been blessed with better weather - just stellar - but definitely not crisp - 80 degrees - almost unheard of in these parts in October!


Below, enjoy a few sights (and imagined sounds) from the Lafayette Apple Festival, which runs through tomorrow.

The traffic behind us.

The traffic before us!

The "Octopus" made me ill as a child (probably would do the same as an adult if I chose to go on it again!)

Ferris wheels are my kind of ride.

Did I mentioned that it was packed?

In every direction and at every turn?

But festive!

And of course - it's all about the food! (Though sadly, something happened to my "apple pictures!)

And the cider!

And the fall colors!

Apple royalty!

More apple royalty!

And so - we begin our return trip up the hill - 

And - up the hill -

To the end of a festive (if frenzied) afternoon!