The last full week of October brought a vivid reminder that the seasons are changing. Midweek was sunny and fairly warm, but a cold front moved in on Thursday and temperatures began to drop.

Jim made a big pot of potato soup and it really hit the spot on such a chilly evening. I picked over two bowls full of green tomatoes before we went to the football game Friday night. As the weather got increasingly colder, we decided to go home after the half-time show and warm up by the fire. The field was white with frost the next morning and a thin layer of ice covered the birdbath.

I’ve been picking up walnuts the last couple of weeks. I didn’t plan to gather any this year because the crop is a short one and our tree didn’thave enough to make it worthwhile. I changed my mind when I found a couple of folks who were wanting to have the nuts removed from their property. With all the recent windy days, I think most of the nuts have fallen and we may have hauled them to the huller by the time you read this.

October has ended with a flurry of activity. At midmonth several members of our monthly quilt class traveled to Gentry. We enjoyed a delicious Mexican meal and attended the annual quilt show there. We saw lots of beautiful creations, and I picked one made by a member of our group as my favorite. I displayed two quilts at our class that weekend. One was pieced by my greatgrandmother and quilted by my twin aunts. The other was a flower garden quilt top my youngest sister gave me.

Fall is a good time to plant most shrubs, bushes and small trees. The day after our Gentry outing, I took a friend to Bentonville where she purchased a few spreading junipers to plant in her front flowerbed. I bought a bumpy pumpkin and a bright orange gourd to decorate our front steps. Jim went over to put the junipers in the ground Thursday afternoon and gave them a good watering.

Our football team has been doing better in recent weeks. The Lions have won the last two games. I enjoyed watching the homecoming parade on the 19th and seeing grandson A.J. marching with the band and sister Nancy’s grandson riding on one of the peewee football floats. I went to the game that night with friends from Sulphur Springs and was pleased and proud when A.J. performed his trumpet solo in the half-time show. The band really looks sharp in their new uniforms and brought home highmarks from recent regional marching competition.

Last weekend was especially busy. Friday around noon I went to the police station to bid farewell to our police chief who is retiring. I picked up a few walnuts, then baked four dozen cookies when I got home. We visited the kids and grandkids before going to the game.

Saturday morning I visited the last “official” farmers’ market of the season and spent the last of my senior produce tokens for green onions and crisp radishes. Although the city withdrew its affiliation from the farmers’ market at the end of October, a few area vendors have planted fall gardens and are still harvesting lots of excellent quality vegetables and fruits. They plan to set up booths and continue selling produce during November.

I’vestocked up recently on bell and banana peppers, zucchini and yellow squash, salad mix, spinach and turnips.

Other Saturday activities included an open house at Can-Do Hardware. We watched the Razorback game and visited the open house at half-time, where we were treated to barbecue sandwiches and checked out the newlyopened appliance department. That evening I baked a pan of brownies and took them and my cookies tothe library fall festival. I monitored a couple of the games and enjoyed the costume and pie-eating contests. I entered the cake walk and was fortunate enough to win a pineapple pie. I visited the concession stand and ate a chili dog and some nachos before heading home. It was a fun evening and a good fund-raiser for the library.

Susan Holland, who works for the Westside Eagle Observer, is a lifelong resident of Benton County.

Opinion, Pages 6 on 10/31/2012