Books Read In October 2022

 Nine books read for the month of October:

Righteous Prey by John Sandford is #32 in his Lucas Davenport series. Lucas teams up with another Sandford series character, Virgil Flowers in order to identify and bring to justice the members of a vigilante group known as "The Five". I read the paperback version so this was my bedtime book the first part of the month.

Long Road To Mercy and A Minute To Midnight are the first two books in David Baldacci's Atlee Pine series.  

The 6:20 Man by David Baldacci is the first book in a new series featuring Travis Devine.

True Blue and Wish You Well by David Baldacci  are both stand alones. True Blue is a national security thriller in his usual style (paperback, so it was my bedtime read the last half of this month). Wish You Well, a departure from the standard fare, is set in Virginia during the early 1940's. I loved this book. It illustrates that Baldacci is not only a great crime writer but can also write wonderful softer stories.

Find Her and Look For Me by Lisa Gardner are the next two titles in her D.D. Warren series. I'm nearly done reading my way through this series (and will be sad when it ends) so I checked for "If you like Lisa Gardner books, you'll like .....

.....Alex Kava. One False Move is the book I decided to try. I learned that Kava is a local author (Omaha) and her novels are set in Nebraska. At first I wasn't sure if I would read any more than this book but I soon decided that, while she isn't as gritty as some authors I read, she is a good writer and I do like reading books set in the Midwest. Our library does have a number of her titles for me to read my way through. 

That is the wrap-up for October.  

 Happy Halloween!! 🎃💀

"When the leaves, by thousands thinned,

A thousand times have whirled in the wind,

And the moon, with hollow cheek,

Staring from her hollow height,

Consolation seems to seek

From the dim, reechoing night;

And the fog-streaks dead and white

Lie like ghosts of lost delight

O'er highest earth and lowest sky;

Then, Autumn, work thy witchery!

(From "Incantation" by George Parsons Lathrop)

Comes The Festival Season

 

Before the cold and snow of Winter

There comes the Festival Season

When Nature is all aglow

Baled Hay  By Robert  Pack

Wheels of baled hay bask in October sun:
Gold circles strewn across the sloping field,
They seem arranged as if each one
Has found its place; together they appeal
To some glimpsed order in my mind
Preceding my chance pausing here --
A randomness that also seems designed.
Gold circles strewn across the sloping field
Evoke a silence deep as my deep fear
Of emptiness; I feel the scene requires
A listener who can respond with words, yet who
Prolongs the silence that I still desire,
Relieved as clacking crows come flashing through,
Whose blackness shows chance radiance of fire.
Yet stillness in the field remains for everyone:
Wheels of baled hay bask in October sun.
  

I Was Made For Autumn Time

Does the season you were born in have anything to do with your favorite time of the year? Your favorite colors? Your general disposition? Making you who you are? 

Three weeks from tonight I will begin my 80th year on this good earth. I am a child of Autumn.

Autumn Child ~

By Flora Turrill

I was made for autumn time,

Her patient dawns and pensive skies,

Thick, woven scarves and poetry,

The rustling sonnets of the leaves.

I was made for misty days,

The intense scent of life's decay,

A touch of frost upon my nose,

The feral winds that howl and blow.

I was made for autumn rain,

Viewed safely from my window pane,

Beloved books and apple pie,

A glowing hearth and candlelight.

I was made for harvest moons,

All Hallows' Eve and pumpkins too,

The embers of a blessed fire

That sweep throughout a sleepy Shire.

I was made for onyx dawns,

Bewitching noons & breathless morns,

The whispers of a thinning veil,

Enchanted eves and timeless tales.

I was made for cloudless skies,

Autumnal walks and warm attire,

The beauty of each matchless day;

O Autumn, bless me with your ways.

From the Ea

Exploring Jones Township and Otterbein Cemetery

Poking around on the internet a couple months ago, I happened across a mention of Otterbein Cemetery, also known as Buzzard's Roost Cemetery, in SE Union County. Intriqued by the name(s), I added it to my list of 'places to see/visit'. Today was the day. I was hoping the leaves of autumn would provide for some colorful snaps, but they were just past prime. So I looked for other photo ops.

I can never resist a dirt road, even one marked "dead end".

I turned onto the first one I saw. It ended in a cornfield which had been harvested and baled.

And crossed a small creek. 

Jones Township is one of many timbers, windy roads, rollercoaster hills, river valleys - i.e., a few of my favorite things.

I assumed Otterbein Cemetery was named for some of the first family members buried there, but I didn't see any graves with that name.

A bit of research shows me that it most likely was named for the Otterbein United Brethren Church once located in the same area.

William Aughterbine (Otterbein) of Germany was the founder of the Society of United Brethren. Settlers in Chesterfield, Indiana organized a United Brethren Church and named it after the society's founder, Otterbein. There is an Otterbein Cemetery in Madison County, Indiana.

Looking into Buzzard's Roost Cemetery from the lane leading to it.

That dead tree was interesting.

I couldn't help thinking, "I would as soon have this tree as a grave marker as one made from granite."

The top is reminiscent of a woodpecker - perhaps one that once made the tree its home?

Looking into the woods on the east side of the cemetery where there were still some pretty colors.

Continuing North on Umbrella Avenue, at the t-intersection with 197th Rd., I planned to go left. Then decided to go right thinking it would take us to Talmage Hill Park.

Instead I was happily surprised to find us at Thayer Lake Park.

I remember going here when I was young. In my memory there were a number of cottages around the lake.

US Hwy 34 went past the lake. There is still a small stretch of old 34 on the north side.

The narrow gravel road on the south side of the lake takes you to the campground area.

It seemed quiet and secluded this morning with only one camper there.

Back on new US 34 we went west to Talmage Road and North to ...

... Mt. Pisgah Road. Still dirt, just as it was sixty years ago when, on a Sunday afternoon drive, Dad showed us the Mt. Pisgah cemetery where so many Mormons were buried after ending their journey on the way to Utah. 

I blogged about a more recent visit to Mt. Pisgah here:  https://rilynam.blogspot.com/2017/11/revisiting-another-old-sunday-drive-spot.html  

Looking downriver from the bridge across the Grand River. The old iron bridge has been replaced with a new concrete one - not nearly as picturesque as the old one, but the river remains the same.

Some Grand River Valley bottom farmland.

With a few red sumacs for color.

This mowed, well kept, pathway was east of the bridge on the north side of the road.

It looked so inviting. What was it for? Where did it lead? Unfortunately it was posted: "No Trespassing". For a change, I obeyed. 

Doesn't this look like the canopy of a forest?

It is actually moss growing on the concrete bridge along the side.

It was so unlike any moss I have ever seen before.

Pretty and amazing.

Now, turn around and head back on Mt. Pisgah Road.

Toward home and the end of a fun, adventuresome morning.

So, so, satisfying. 

I love the colors of fall.

I was made for Autumn Time .....

A Week For Romance

 It has been a week for romance in our family. Last Saturday, the 15th, Ian totally surprised Dominique...

...when he got down on one knee and popped the question. 

Until I saw the video of this I thought my youngest granddaughter knew what was about to happen. But she was totally surprised. 

In the video it is a toss up whether she is laughing unbelievably or about ready to cry.

It was so sweet and such a gorgeous autumn day and setting at Palisades-Kepler State Park.

They met when Dominique went to Cornell College in Mt. Vernon and began volunteering on the Lisbon Ambulance Service. Ian was also a volunteer there. 

Their friendship grew and deepened. We met him when she brought him to meet her parents. Over the years we have gotten to know him better and really like him.

They haven't set a wedding date yet, but I am looking forward to welcoming him as a new grandson.

One week after my youngest granddaughter got engaged, her brother, my youngest grandson, Devin got married.

Yesterday was a gorgeous day for an outdoor wedding. This photo of Devin and Jessica was of them being presented as husband and wife.

Wedding photo of Devin's family members. Back row: Zach, boyfriend of granddaughter Deise, my son, Preston, grandson Ki, Ian and Dominique. Middle row: Daughter-in-law Shalea, grandson Devin, his wife Jessica, Devin's grandfather Pete, Me, my husband Bud and Kathryn's husband Travis. Front row: My greatgrandsons Greyson and Ayden (Ki's boys), Jessica's son Oakley and my granddaughter Kathryn with her son Louis. 

Bride and groom with groom's parents and grandparents and new step-son.

Shalea, Ramona, Devin, Preston, Jessica, Bud and Pete. Oakley next to his mother.

Ian and Dominique at her brother's wedding.

I got to see her engagement ring up close and it is beautiful. Ian has good taste. 

                           Grandpa Bud and Grandma Ramona with the handsome groom.

Grandma Ramona with her beautiful girls - Dominique, Shalea, Deise, Kathryn, Katrina and great-granddaughter Brynley.

Shalea with her grandsons, Ayden, Greyson, Oakley and Louis.

We need some more granddaughters in the family! 

Cousins - my youngest great-grandson Louis and youngest great-granddaughter Brynley. 

She is a little mother hen - always wanting to take care of the babies. 

It is such a joy and privilege to be watching this next generation growing up.

Random grouping - Zach, Deise, Bud, Katrina, Ki and Brynley. 

Katrina is my eldest granddaughter and a cousin of Deise and Ki.

Love this photo of the newly engaged couple running across the lawn. They had wandered off for a little time alone when suddenly summoned back for more photos.

They are so cute together. 💕😍

Travis, Kathryn and their son Louis.

Travis said this is a good representation of Louis' yelling stage. (Twenty months old.)

I love that he carries his great-great-grandfather's name. (My dad, Louis.)

I could go on with a lot more photos but this one seems a good one to end on.

Sweet, precocious, Brynley giving her great-grandma a big smile as we left.

It was a beautiful day made even more special by being with family. 

With A Foot In Each Century

It never occurred to me when I was young that I might live my life in two different centuries. I just missed being a baby boomer, being part of the 'silent generation'. But I always thought of myself as a 'war baby', being born in the middle of WWII. 

So I lived most of my life in the 20th Century and I have to say it was a much better time than this 21st Century is turning out to be. I'll be beginning my 80th year on this good earth in a little over a month, so the aging thing may account for me spending more time with my memories than in present day. And it probably accounts for how much this poem spoke to me:

Catalog With Illustrations by Marvin Bell

The beauty of an old desk blotter where the ink stains grew into the shape of ships in a turbulent ocean,

and the ticking of the clock in the sunlight thickened by dust.

The clacking of the typewriter keys, the big zipper sound of  the carriage return,

and the sound of the struck bell muffled in the drapes.

The air was rich with time, when there still was time.

The letter ripened slowly in the typewriter.

The minute hand took a second to move one digit.

Under the glass that covered the desktop, a map and family photos.

Bell's poem also speaks to me because until computers took their place, it was at a desk with the clacking of the typewriter keys where I always wanted to be as a child and was as an adult. Yes, it is a computer on my desk now, though I still covet a typewriter, and it is at my desk where I spend much of each day where the air is rich with time and there is still a little time.