For the Love of Autumn

“Fall has always been my favorite season. The time when everything bursts with its last beauty, as if nature had been saving up all year for the grand finale.”
― Lauren DeStefano, Wither

“I would rather sit on a pumpkin, and have it all to myself, than be crowded on a velvet cushion.”
― Henry David Thoreau

 “Listen! The wind is rising, and the air is wild with leaves,
We have had our summer evenings, now for October eves!”
― Humbert Wolfe

 “I cannot endure to waste anything so precious as autumnal sunshine by staying in the house.”
― Nathaniel Hawthorne, The American Notebooks

 “Two sounds of autumn are unmistakable...the hurrying rustle of crisp leaves blown along the street...by a gusty wind, and the gabble of a flock of migrating geese.”
― Hal Borland

 
“October proved a riot a riot to the senses and climaxed those giddy last weeks before Halloween.”
― Keith Donohue

 “The tints of autumn...a mighty flower garden blossoming under the spell of the enchanter, frost.”
― John Greenleaf Whittier

“I ate breakfast in the kitchen by candle-light, and then drove the five miles to the station through the most glorious October colouring. The sun came up on the way, and the swamp maples and dogwood glowed crimson and orange and the stone walls and cornfields sparkled with hoar frost; the air was keen and clear and full of promise. I knew something was going to happen. ”
― Jean Webster, Daddy-Long-Legs

Intrigued?

Dreeeaammm...dream, dream, dream...Dreeeaaammmm....

A bit of 1755 history in our little town.  Beautiful, isn't it?

Fall Camping

Our fall is never really complete until we spend a bit of time at a coastal campground.  We had a fun trip  to this same campground in July, but were very happy to go back when there were less people to contend with.  Many of the tourists have not yet hit our area in full force and we took the much reduced traffic on the Maine Turnpike as proof of that.  We had fantastic weather the whole weekend and didn't even need the heater at night, temps dipping only into the 50's with highs during the day up in the high 70's.  Not exactly my complete "Autumn" experience as I didn't really need the sweater I begrudgingly removed as the days heated up, but the no rain and beautiful scenery prevailed over my "lack of fall" grinch-y-ness.  I'm feeling the need for one more trip in the chill before the camper is buttoned up for the season.  We did manage to see a bit of the foliage starting it's vibrant fire-like show and relished every moment of it, the ride to and from was beautiful!

Having made reservations fairly late, we had one of the only two sites with power left available.  We never had this site before, and it was part of the destructive micro burst that hit the campground over the summer.  The trees on the back of the site had been leveled and then removed, leaving scars in the landscape and treeline.  The plus side of this was that it was fodder for the boys to have free rein there.  They could bother no one as there wasn't a site behind us for a long distance.  We enjoyed them playing up there, especially when they ventured close enough to hear what they were saying.

Music Man and I laughed together when we heard Little Red talking in a hushed voice about the young marijuana garden they had found.  After that came the hypothisizing about who's it was and how they were going to stake it out and catch the bad guys.  After that came the "catching the poachers" adventure, whereby they would follow a blood trail and catch some poachers poaching deer in the woods.  They have been watching "North Woods Law", one of the few tv shows we allow them to watch once we preview the episodes.  For those unfamiliar with the show, it's about game wardens in Maine and the things they encounter every day.  Some of the content is not appropriate for them at this age, but the overall message is good and they really enjoy watching how the game wardens perform their jobs.  This was the first time we'd heard them putting their own scenerios together and it was good to hear them using their imaginations in this way.  We did get a little concerned over what other people around us might be thinking when they hear the 9 year old talking about marijuana gardens, however!

There are several key places we always want to go when we stay in Freeport.  One of our favorites is the Bow Street Market.  This is a little oasis in the midst of a shopping mecca.  It focuses on fresh, locally made and grown foods and it's atmosphere is soothing and pleasant.  And, they have the best wine selection around as well!  The boys were marveling that anyone would pay $249 for a bottle of wine (truthfully, so was I!), and it led to a discussion on marketing and quality and value of our hard earned money and where we chose to spend it.  This is a discussion we have with the boys often, about where you spend the money you work hard to earn and valuing what are able to purchase and chosing what's most important to spend that money on.

One of the other favorite places is the South Freeport Harbor.  Not only is it the home of the Haraseeket restaurant, but it's also just a neat little wharf to spend some time in.  The boys are able to explore a bit without anyone getting antsy and we feel welcome there. 

Exploring the depth chart

Waiting to go to moorings

Little fish shack

A place for a boy to just BE

Trapped in Freeport Harbor

 

Crab exploration

All in all a wonderful place for us to spend a weekend.  It was very impromptu and that made it a wee bit more fun, I think.  Hope you enjoyed a few moments with us on our first of many fall adventures.  This is my time of year to reflect, prepare and be outside.

Wishing you harbors in your adventures, ~Peacemom