Autumn!!!

  I love this time of year. There is nothing like breathing in the fresh, crisp air, watching the leaves change color, hear the geese flying overhead, or reaching down to pick up a woolly bear caterpillar!
 Autumn brings back many happy, childhood memories of  raking leaves and jumping in the huge piles we created, or hauling firewood up to the house in our little wagon, of Dad showing us how to stack neat, sturdy rows of wood, and of going on hay rides. I remember going with friends to pick apples one time. The apple orchard was apart of a cow pasture and every so often we would have to chase the cows away from us! After collecting all the apples we wanted, we took them to the mill where they were pressed into cider.
  Every year at this time, our family would head to the pumpkin farm. Sometimes we would get a pumpkin or two, but that was not the highlight of going. What we most enjoyed was going around the farmyard and seeing all the animals from the miniature goats, ponies, and pigs to the chickens, peacocks, and rabbits (the goats were my favorite).
  Then there is the memory of growing gigantic pumpkins for 4H. Ronnie and Wendy were the ones into that (I was too young at the time to enter), but I still had fun helping where I could and going to the auction at the end of the season. I still remember feeling bad that I couldn't participate in it, so the one year Ronnie  helped me grow a pumpkin. Though the pumpkin was registered under his name, it was considered mine and at the end of the year I received the profit after selling it. I'm sure I wasn't that big of a help, and maybe I was in the way more than anything else, though he never let on that I was. Looking back, I see the sacrifice he made to make his little sister happy and give her a fun memory.
 You know, that is part of what life is about, making memories. So this fall, why not take some time with a little brother or sister and make memories together! It could be jumping in the leaves, going for a walk in the woods, going apple picking, or even baking a pumpkin pie together!
 By the way, what are your favorite things about autumn? Do you have any fond memories of this time of year? I'd love to hear, so please share!