ORANGE

A few weeks ago when asked, via Patricks Saturday Six, what my least favorite color is, I answered Orange. When I think of Orange I think of the jails orange jumpsuits. Not that I have ever had to don one of those things......just a couple of "loved ones" have.

   Now fall is here and my visit to the grocery store has made me realize how beautiful orange (and all the shades of) is. The sunflowers dancing in the unkempt weedpatches along the roadside, dance and salute the sun. Sometimes when driving around here, you turn a bend and a whole field of sunflowers can be found greeting you.

   Going into the grocery, I found a haystack with pumpkins piled high. We have a bumper crop around here this year. It was a perfect summer. I know most of the country suffered with heat, bugs, hurricanes, etc., but here in the land of Oz it was cooler with rain once or twice a week. The farmers are so happy and we are lucky to have all of the wonderful fruits and vegetables that have so often suffered from lack of rain and blazing heat. I studied the pumpkins and all of the shapes and sizes and realized how beautiful the color orange is when Mother Nature produces it. It put a smile on my face and flooded me with memories of little children in the pumpkin patch and carving the jack-o-lanterns for Halloween.

   I put my fall tablecloth on the kitchen table and bought candles ranging from bright yellow to carmel brown. The color orange now delights me this October. Time to put the meatloaf on the table and serve the carmel apple salad.  Wish you were here.    Signing off, Anne