Harvest Time

I awoke to a beautiful, bright fall day. The breeze was chilly, but the sun felt nice on my back. I slept a bit later than usual on a Saturday and got a late start to the Farm Market.

The Farm Market was busy when I arrived around 10. Many of the usual food booths had been replaced by local craftspeople selling their wares. Lots of dogs out, too. I saw a little terrier who reminded me of my friends Linda and James Young's dog Willow, an elegant greyhound, and an adorable brown and white dachshund. I ended up buying apples, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, golden beets (thought I'd try them), bananas from the wholesaler, and the first fresh New Jersey cranberries of the season.

I saw no yard sales today, so I ended up going straight home. I put everything away and spent an hour working on editing Bowery Boys stories. Posted two short stories, "Sick Day" and "East Side Story," at the Bowery Boys' Basement Clubhouse.

After I finished with the editing, I went for a pleasant walk. Fat white clouds were scuttling in as I strolled down Goff Avenue to the river, then back down to West Clinton. It was breezy, but not anywhere near as windy as it has been the past few weeks. Leaves crunched underfoot, and the air smelled like dried leaves and logs. A few folks still have their Halloween decorations up (and probably will until Veteran's Day on Thursday), but most have general fall decorations, like scarecrows and uncarved pumpkins.

I had a quick lunch when I got home. Watched most of Bowery Battalion, the first of four Bowery Boys movies set in the Armed Services. The Boys aren't exactly the most popular soldiers in the Army when they get spooked by an air raid drill and enlist. They may get their chances to prove themselves as worthy soldiers, however, when they rescue the owner of their soda shop hangout Louie Dumbrowski from a gang of spies who want the top-secret formula he has memorized.

Went to work after lunch. Work was busy for most of the afternoon, not surprising on a gorgeous Saturday in November. We're starting a new promotion, too. Customers receive a card they can send in to win prizes if they buy fifty dollars worth of groceries.

Came home and had leftovers while watching The Leprechauns' Christmas Gold, one of the lesser-known holiday specials I occasionally take in during November. It's a Rankin-Bass half-hour program from the late 70s, when they started to get really, really strange with their ideas. In this case, a young Irish sailor finds himself up to his hatches in trouble when he lands on an island inhabited by the Wee Folk...and accidentally uproots a tree that imprisoned a banshee who had been after their treasure.