by
Jean Hughes
November 20, 1995

The sun sprays light from beneath the dark horizon. Dawn's mountainous clouds are lit in a tall ring around the sky. My world's ablaze!

Come To The Morning
            Come to the morning; come to earth's delight.
            Walk with the dawn, from shadows of the night.
            Walk from the sliver moon, from night bird's cries,
            Into the sunlight and flamingo skies.
The color slowly disappears, and when the last wisps of pink are gone, the giant sun, as red as fire, comes filtering through the bottoms of the trees. Traveling to the tree tops, it turns to orange and then to gold.

I kick up leaves as I walk to the woods' spring. It drips in sparkling waterfalls. Ferns overhang its music.

Summer clears out quickly when the deep frost comes. The woods changes, almost before my eyes, from a green jungle into a place of openness and sunbeams. I can see down the hollows, where bare tree tops, almost a hundred feet in the air, sway together.

Now that almost all the green from the trees is brown upon the ground, the colorful fungi have their season. Velvet butterfly-winged mushrooms cling to many dead limbs. I can stop anywhere in the woods, stand still for a moment, and they pop into sight as though bursting into bloom.

There are white fungi with furry brown centers; big cream-colored ones with undersides of deepest orange. There are blacks, browns, greens, blues, and sparkling silver beauties that green-leaf summer has kept hidden. Some of them smell very sweet.

But here is still green growth beneath the fallen leaves. The earth is generous with green. It is life's color more than any other.


The full-blown pumpkin moon has come and gone, but it has left my heart filled with pumpkin moonshine -- a November gift to the dwellers of the hills, as are the pumpkins for Thanksgiving pies.

Frost-on-the-Pumpkin Pie
Bake and cool a 9-inch pie crust.
Combine in a saucepan and bring to boiling: 1 1/2 cups 
cooked pumpkin, 3 slightly beaten egg yolks, 3/4 cup brown sugar, 
3/4 cup milk, 2 t. pumpkin pie spice, 1/4 t. salt and 2 T. margarine.
Reduce temperature and cook five minutes, stirring regularly. Cool.
Combine in a small saucepan: 2 T. sugar, 1 T. cornstarch and 
1/2 cup water. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, 
until mixture is thick and clear.
Cool by placing pan in cold water.
Beat: 3 egg whites with 1/8 t. salt and 1/2 t. vanilla.
When soft mounds form, gradually add: 6 T. sugar and then the
cornstarch mixture. Beat to stiff peaks.
Pour cooled pumpkin mixture into shell. Swirl on meringue, 
sealing to crust. 
Bake at 350o for about 12 minutes. Cool before serving.

Tonight, my world's a sleeping beauty. A chill breeze tingles over my face. I love the feel of night wind in the autumn. I can roam in my hills without fear at every season. My wild world is more gentle than the civilized. Along my roadside and on the woods' trails, moon-darkness is a friend.

This is a night of sharp moon shadows. Although I know the moon is a rock where men have walked, it is still my moonlight maker. It is still the lovely, mammoth pearl that is enhanced by a whole-sky diamond tiara made of stars. Sometimes I can't believe that I'm a part of all this majesty of earth and heaven.

* * *
Fragrant fall pursues me this afternoon, as I walk to the little creek. The way that nature sweetens all things back to life is never more apparent than it is today. I dig into the loam beneath the fallen leaves and sniff the mellow, vibrant soil that is made from faded flowers, decomposed leaves, and fallen branches and trees. I hold the miracle of life in my hands.

The Sweetest Time
            The sweetest time of life is always now.
            Three chickadees and three titmice just came to tell me so.
            And I called back, "I know, my dears, I know."
Copyright 1995, Jean Hughes.

Jean's book of ramblings and recipes "A Country Mile of Winter" and her book of poetry "The Earth's My Home" are available for $4.95 each plus $1.30 for postage and handling. Ten of Jean's favorite recipes will be included free with each book ordered. Order from...

Country Mile Publications
616 E. Monroe St.
Delphi, Indiana 46923

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