The weather prophets were certainly wrong when they predicted it would be a dull autumn with a less than beautiful showing of foliage. It’s been quite nice, in fact, and has lasted a long time, considering we’ve had cold, rainy, warm and windy weather. Many trees are still pretty colorful, and the red of the oak trees is giving its annual fashion show.

I hope the feed stores that provide the food for birds are well stocked. I think we all will be needing extra bags of sunflower and safflower and mixed seeds this winter.

For over 50 years I have faithfully fed “backyard” birds and even have kept track, some years, of the amounts. I have never seen birds so hungry and so regularly emptying the feeders as this October. Laurie, who is a faithful feeder up in Vermont, is amazed at the rate the small birds are emptying her feeders.

My first trip “out and about” alone since early May, was to the Agway Store up in Woodbury last week – walker and all. It’s a bit difficult to shop while hanging on to the walker, but when you want something badly enough, it’s worth the effort. I got a new wire suet feeder – a small one – and filled it Saturday. Wendy was here to take me on the first grocery tour, and filled the feeder and hung it up. She had about ten steps to go to get to the door. As she stepped inside, a chickadee found the new food supply and was busy having part of its lunch. It has been a popular place ever since.

At least once a month I’ve been checking the old Sherman, Conn. diaries to find out what my ancestors were doing as the last century came to an end.

Many pages in several diaries near the end of the century have entries that mention picking apples. The early families depended on apples for cooking, eating as an evening snack, making jelly and cider, apple butter and applesauce. Apples in their diet provided needed vitamins and food value. They dried them, too, and were able to have a supply in the spring while awaiting the next year’s crop.

Some October entries – “Frost was heavy this morning and much fog.”  — October 22; “girl goes off to a dance and gets home at four.” — October 24; “Canal boats loaded with potatoes, and a few rods of lumber.” — October 29.

October was housecleaning time. With great gusto, the rooms of the house were cleaned one by one. In spite of the cleaning sessions, cooking must go on at full speed. One entry says, “Nancy baked three cakes today, and Rebecca cooked corned beef with cabbage and beans and pork.”

When November first brought a cold day, the season suddenly changed. Every day was cold and “there is eighteen above today it is starting to freeze before sundown.” That was November 12. The women are making quince jelly – one of the last harvests of autumn. After work and supper the diary tells of evening callers. “Fred calls here this evening and has a good sing with Lillie. Some good hymns that we join in.”

Life seemed so much simpler in the late 1800’s. Chores were many and were taken for granted. Mention is never made of putting them off until tomorrow. Weather was of great importance and had a place on almost every entry in the diary. The food supply was the responsibility of every family member – planting, pruning, the care of gardens, picking what ripened and the Thanksgiving preparations included, of course, all homegrown foods. “We have dressed a goose that weighs over ten pounds,” is an entry for November 25 – and “Lilly has given us good music on the organ for an hour tonight! In the evening, Mr Hungerford called,” and two other neighbors also “took dinner with us.” Visiting was such a big part of life in the 1800’s. Going to church was also an important part of social life as well as a religious activity.

At the end of a diary of 1874 there is a page devoted to instructions for making “Pickle Lilly.”

It is made from a peck of cucumbers and a peck of green tomatoes. It includes molasses, sugar, mustard, grand cloves, half a pint of horseradish, and vinegar, of course. The writer ends with, “This is excellent.”

Most of the old diaries include lists of the births and deaths of friends during the year. One such entry in 1874 lists Hiram Giddings, age 79, Harriet Giddings, 84, Maria Spooner, 74, and William Spooner, 79. Ages are almost always used in notations about people.

Wendy’s son Ben, a senior in high school this year, has received the good news that he passed his written test and is now a fully qualified Emergency Medical Technician. He studied hard during the past summer and also passed his practical test. We all offered congratulations!

Goblins, ghosts, witches, and dozens of other characters will be out trick-or-treating this weekend. Between children on the highways and falling leaves, motorists need to use great caution as they venture forth.

Eleanor Roosevelt spoke the works that closed last week’s column.

A good quotation for Halloween begins:

“Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary…” – who said it?