l e t t e r s

BETWEEN

f r ie n d s

a st O cto b er, w h e n m y

w h o le fam ily w a s h o m e

fo r a w e e k e n d , I b o u g h t

five fat p u m p k in s fo r

c a rv in g ja c k -o ’-la n te rn s

o n th e d eck . W e s ta rte d

la te in th e a fte rn o o n ,

a n d by th e tim e it g o t d a rk w e h a d five

g lo w in g re m in d e rs o f o u r in d iv id u ality .

S c o tt to o k th e tra d itio n a l ro u te ,

sk e tc h in g a face o n p a p e r a n d c a rv in g

w ith a k itc h e n k n ife a n d a s u re h a n d . I

u se d a n a p p le c o re r to p u n c h o u t c irc le s in

a fre e sty le sw irl th a t m y fam ily u n k in d ly

d u b b e d “S w iss C h e ese.” S arah , Jo e l, an d

E llen d o w n lo a d e d ste n c ils a n d w ie ld e d a

b a tte ry -o p e ra te d ro ta ry to o l to c a rv e th e

d e ta ils, s p a tte rin g p u m p k in sp ra y in all

d ire c tio n s. In th e e n d , o u r Ja c k s w e re as

d iffe re n t as c o u ld b e, y e t w e all g o t th e

sa m e th in g —a sp irite d , fu n a fte rn o o n a n d a

fre sh fam ily m em o ry .

T h e re ’s so m u c h th a t m ak e s O c to b e r th e

p e rfe c t m o n th fo r sim p le c e le b ra tio n s: cool

days, s p e c ta c u la r co lo r, a n d tru c k lo a d s o f

p u m p k in s, sq u a sh , a n d g o u rd s. So th is

issu e d o w n rig h t e n c o u ra g e s yo u to ta k e

a d v a n ta g e o f it. H o lly B o a rd m a n s h a re s h e r

in v e n tiv e fall g a th e rin g

,page 105,

w ith a

c ra z y -fu n g ra n d fin ale I c a n ’t w a it to try.

D e p u ty fo o d e d ito r N an cy H o p k in s

re -c re a te s a p e rso n a l fav o rite e v e n t, a

h u m b le s o u p -a n d -b re a d s u p p e r th a t’s

w a rm in e v e ry p o ssib le w ay

,page 178.

As

u su a l, w e h av e to n s o f w ay s to a d d autum-

nal to u c h e s to y o u r h o m e, y a rd , a n d ta b le

u sin g w h a t n a tu r e —a n d a g o o d fall fa rm e r’s

m a rk e t—p ro v id es.

In m a n y p a rts o f th e c o u n try , O c to b e r is

th e la st o f th e o u td o o r m o n th s. H o w d o you

m ak e th e m o st o f it? L e t u s kn o w , a t th e

a d d re s s below .

Gayle Goodson Butler, Editor in Chief

n

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