Slipping into Autumn…

“One morning you smell the autumn. It’s not yet cold; it’s not windy; actually, nothing has changed at all—and yet everything.”

~~ Kurt Tucholsky

Well, not really slipping, more like plunging overnight headlong into the chasm of dropping temperatures as they went from unseasonably high before dipping into the 40’s. The falling temperatures and seasonal changes have added ever-changing color to the canopy of our favorite walk along the Tanyard Branch Trail/Bolin Creek Trail to Umstead Park but the Bolin Creek struggles to flow. Rain or the lack thereof remains a problem. Over the past 132 years of records, this September was Central NC  Orange County’s 40^th driest, with a rain deficit now standing at 9.93 inches below normal. With hurricane season ending on November 1^st, unfortunately North Carolina will not have received substantial benefit from the landfall of any Atlantic storms.

As we explore Chapel Hill and Carrboro, we were excited to learn about and attend this year’s Carrboro Music Fest. The ads said, “Come listen to music all day long, all over town, all for free!” so we did. A hundred bands/performers scattered all around Carrboro. Music, food, drink, and a beautiful fall afternoon helped to encourage folks to come out. It was fun migrating about town stopping and enjoying music at the Speakeasy, the Steel String Brewery, the legendary Cat’s Cradle, Weaver Street Market, and several parking lots turned into performance venues for the day.

Chapel Hill’s PlayMakers Repertory Company celebrates its 50^th Season this year and what better way to join in the celebration then to spend a wonderful laugh out loud evening enjoying their production of “Angry, Raucous, and Shamelessly Gorgeous” By Pearl Cleage, Directed by Mike Wileand with a cast including Kathryn Hunter-Williams, Delaney Jackson, Rasool Jahan, and Tia James. If you are in the area PlayMakers is well worth a visit.

Carrboro Farmers Market has become a big part of our Saturday morning routine, lots of sweet potatoes, plenty of okra, beautiful lettuce, and some amazing potato varieties.  On the way home our weekend would not be complete without stopping at Blue Tail Bakery, to pick up a couple of iced donuts (vanilla bean is our favorite), some sweet or savory scones, and maybe a chai spiced bun.

Work continues on revising and completing my novel “Trade Winds” as well as drafting story ideas. My newest short story out for submission is THE DANCING BEAR: “Daisy, Dancing Bear Extraordinaire” was a novelty act at the Palisades Park in the late 1950s when family highway excursions and roadside attractions were all the rage. Procured under shadowy circumstances by One Eyed Jack, infamous proprietor of Palisades Park, and urged on by Jack’s closest friends, THE DANCING BEAR would enjoy a brief foray into the limelight and become the stuff of roadside folklore.

Earlier this month we took the opportunity to meet up with family and friends and headed west to revisit old haunts in Denver for a few days. Staying downtown at the very unique Populus Denver allowed us to skip renting a car and take advantage of RTD ‘s “the bus to the train to the plane” as well as quick trips crisscrossing the city.

As we usually do, we packed our schedule with visits to City Park Farmers Market to check in with the Switchgear’s Farm, Café Tres for some always amazing Pastelitos, wandered through the Denver Botanical Gardens, the Denver Zoo, and spent an afternoon in the Denver Art Museum where unfortunately one of my favorite pieces “The Ten Cent Breakfast” by Willard Metcalf was missing. Yes, that is Robert Louis Stevenson in profile on the bottom right reading a newspaper.

With family we enjoyed a Saturday afternoon of Denver Porch Fest Concerts followed by drinks at Sputnik. Spent an evening at the Dazzle Denver Jazz Club to hear the amazing guitarist El Javi’s music described as “eclectic acoustic fusion”. Of course, there was time to enjoy Happy Hour at Vesper Lounge for their fries, sliders, and Vesper Martinis as well as an excellent lunch stop at City, O’City, coffee at Pablos Coffee, and a new favorite for brunch Dozens.

Also, as I have said before, I cannot say enough about Internet Archive dot com. They are a valuable tool for research as well as a treasure trove of hard-to-find online books. And never forget your local library or book seller.

Until next time. Peace

Note on the cover photo: Autumn Field, (Gettysburg Battlefield, PA, September 2017)