• Thursday-What'sUP September 30 - 11:16 am

A sure sign of things to come here UP North with the first two photos today. Donna MacIntosh and Chris Gariepy both got outside in the early morning to snap some pictures of the first frost for the season. Donna may have gotten her knees wet since she was right down there with the frosty grass she grabbed a shot, while Chris looks to have stayed up a bit higher taking his photo. The frost in his yard looks more like a covering of snow and knowing how much Chris likes to snowmobile, I bet that sight got his heart to pumping! :->

I hope all those pumpkins at Somero's farm in the photo taken by Robert C. Wetton made it through that frost OK. I know there's a saying about "frost on the pumpkin", but I'm not sure what it is. I wonder if the teepee structure is where you go to pay for your pumpkins or maybe that's where they move them to at night in case of a frost in the morning. You never know.

Hard to believe we had our first frost before you UP there (2 weeks ago) - have had several more since then. Winter is approaching too quickly!

WHEN the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock,
And you hear the kyouck and gobble of the struttin' turkey-cock,
And the clackin' of the guineys, and the cluckin' of the hens,
And the rooster's hallylooyer as he tiptoes on the fence;
O, it's then the time a feller is a-feelin' at his best, 5
With the risin' sun to greet him from a night of peaceful rest,
As he leaves the house, bareheaded, and goes out to feed the stock,
When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock.

They's something kindo' harty-like about the atmusfere
When the heat of summer's over and the coolin' fall is here— 10
Of course we miss the flowers, and the blossoms on the trees,
And the mumble of the hummin'-birds and buzzin' of the bees;
But the air's so appetizin'; and the landscape through the haze
Of a crisp and sunny morning of the airly autumn days
Is a pictur' that no painter has the colorin' to mock— 15
When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock.

The husky, rusty russel of the tossels of the corn,
And the raspin' of the tangled leaves as golden as the morn;
The stubble in the furries—kindo' lonesome-like, but still
A-preachin' sermuns to us of the barns they growed to fill; 20
The strawstack in the medder, and the reaper in the shed;
The hosses in theyr stalls below—the clover overhead!—
O, it sets my hart a-clickin' like the tickin' of a clock,
When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock.

Then your apples all is gethered, and the ones a feller keeps 25
Is poured around the cellar-floor in red and yaller heaps;
And your cider-makin's over, and your wimmern-folks is through
With theyr mince and apple-butter, and theyr souse and sausage too!...
I don't know how to tell it—but ef such a thing could be
As the angels wantin' boardin', and they'd call around on me— 30
I'd want to 'commodate 'em—all the whole-indurin' flock—
When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock.

OOPS, forgot to delete the numbers.

Frost is so pretty as long as its not on my car window. Nice Shots Robert.

April, come she will
When streams are ripe and swelled with rain
May, she will stay
Resting in my arms again

June, she'll change her tune
In restless walks she'll prowl the night
July, she will fly
And give no warning to her flight

August, die she must
The autumn winds blow chilly and cold
September I'll remember
A love once new has now grown old

(Simon & Garfunkel)

Very pretty. I'm happy to say we haven't had much of a frost around here yet. I hope we keep it that way for quite a few weeks yet.

New desktop this frosty morning for sure. (beautiful picture Donna). My ex Mother in Law always melts a few peppermints in hot water on the morning of the first heavy frost or first snow, and drinks it looking out the picture window and watches the sun melt it. Anyone else heard of this tradition?

We have had a flirting of lite frost, not quite the real thing, but enough that the boat was winterized and the Harleys are going to be put in the basement for winter this weekend, but that only means the snowmobiles will be coming up front from the back of the machine shed. Think Snow!

Nice poem Snowman. You have a lovely way with words.

Love the frost on the pumpkin poem, life was hard on the early farms but everything had its own time and place. I had to look it up but the author was James Whitcomb Riley. He had to have spent a bit of time on farms himself.

Can't take the credit for that one Cindy.

Ah, the snowman knows the Hoosier Poet, James Whitcomb Riley.....and here in southern IN we're still waiting for the old frost on the pumpkin.

My impatiens got knocked out by a hard frost night before last with temps in the twenties. My impatience, however, is still with us.

Hi
If I hadn't put my car in the garage the night before last, I would've had the frost upon the Focus. ;>)

http://www.jameswhitcombriley.com/

Actually he was a city boy from Greenfield in Central Indiana, but very observant of all around him...here is the official website for our Hoosier Poet...his boyhood home is open to the public as is his adult home in Indianapolis, IN.

southern IN Hoosier

The indian told the english judge at the first sign of frost that he better get his wigwam.

I've been in Florida for 15 years and I still miss the beautiful fall colors, the crisp air and the unmistakable scent of autumn. I miss it for about a week ... then for the other 51 weeks of the year I love living in the paradise that is Southwest Florida. But please do not come and visit ... we're closed.

Theresa: I've never heard of that tradition, but I am fond of both
frost and peppermints, so I may just adopt the tradition next
Sept/Oct.

nah they take the money from ya near the barn door...they actually had more pumpkins in the teepee but they were smaller. i made 2 trips to their place to get pumpkins lol

We had frost two mornings last week here in Cornell. Frozen birdbath, too. And again this am. I've been bringing the impatient into the back porch when it's frosty. This is its 2nd winter. It bloomed like crazy last winter in the house. Howsome ever, the tomato got it last night. Had it covered on top and the sides, but the leaves were done for. :o( The tomatoes are in a basket waiting to ripen. The maples and birch are just about bald, but some of the lilacs are still green. ??? Odd.

While the old timey "frost on the pumpkin" poem is nice, . . . I am more partial to Alex's recanting of the Simon & Garfunkel poem/tune.

Now those contemporary lads knew how to write, and sing a song.

Thanks for reminding me of it, Alex. Gonna go pull out my Best Of S&G CD, and play it right now.

GB

You hear about the Indian who put his toupee in a teepee to keep his wigwam?

Did you hear the one about the Lumberjack Indian who while celebrating the end of the logging season with his Lumberjack buddies insisted he would only drink tea, and not the whiskey they offered him.... Well he over indulged and the next morning they found him DEAD......

Apparently he had Drown..... in his own TeaPee

I hope this makes it past the censor :P