THE END OF THE GARDEN

When practicing the piano I have had an audience of moose and ducks in the pond but this was the first deer. Winter is so hard for these little white tail deer and, despite some glorious fall days, summer is over so - what the heck - please help yourself.

THE SEASON,S LAST SATURDAY MARKET

Everybody, it seems, came out for our last Saturday Market.
The next big event will be in December when the huge bazaar up at Snow King is the draw. After that, my neighbor told me when we first moved here " Everyone just goes inside and watches the snow fall". I dont think that is at all true because this place is nothing if not a mecca for outdoor activities. Still, she is right in that the snow will fall and, now that we are approaching October, i can safely say sooner than later.

SOFT MORNING

OLD BILL'S FUN RUN

THIS LITTLE TOWN OF JACKSON WYOMING earns the most money via community contributions per capita than any other town or city in the country. I was told " perhaps in the world". We are a community that takes care of its own.

And this is how we do it.

OLD BILL'S FUN RUN, a project of The Community Foundation, is based on local individual and business contributions. $600,000 is given by one couple alone ( known as Mr and Mrs Ole Bill ) and another TWO MILLION is contributed by other "Co Challengers".

On this glorious September Saturday hundreds of runners and supporters, a large number of kids, some in strollers, a good representation of dogs, and even the elders from St Johns Living Center in their wheelchairs gathered at the square for the 10 o'clock start of the race.

There were balloons and flags, food, and music and about 70 booths, both in the Square and bordering it, representing some of the charities who benefit from the day's events. Then on Cache Street, which abuts the Square, the Saturday Farmers Market was a buzz with shoppers eager for local goods - fruit, veggies, breads, cheeses and flowers. On the far side of the Square , under a huge tent that took up the block, the Boy Scouts served free scrambled egg tortillas.

What a day and what a fabulous endeavor!

Last year Old Bills raised SEVEN MILLION DOLLARS for our charities. I have little doubt they will do so again.

NOTE : The elderly woman about seen pushing her chair is the oldest resident at the living center. She was the only one who insisted upon crossing the finish line ( albeit from the beginning ). She is 103.

The last shot is my neighbor Godiva in her Old Bill's tee shirt.

A Frost Last Night

September
by Linda Pastan

it rained in my sleep
and in the morning the fields were wet

I dreamed of artillery
of the thunder of horses

in the morning the fields were strewn
with twigs and leaves

as if after a battle
or a sudden journey

I went to sleep in the summer
I dreamed of rain

in the morning the fields were wet
and it was autumn

"September" by Linda Pastan, from Carnival Evening: New and Selected Poems 1968-1998. © W.W. Norton & Company, 2009. Reprinted with permission.