Fall means apple butter, flower bulbs

Why doesn’t apple butter come in a small jar?

All I can find are jars big enough to last for several years or more.

When the weather turns from sweltering to chilly I get the urge for a nice piece of toast with apple butter or a slice of squishy white bread topped with apple butter for lunch.

We made apple butter once. We made it in the biggest pot we had. It looked like a cauldron and it was difficult to stir without chanting, “Double, double, toil and trouble, fire burn and cauldron bubble.” Then again, we weren’t thinking about Shakespeare or Macbeth.

Instead we were wondering if our arms would fall off before it became someone else’s turn to stir. After we were finally told we could stop, we had to strain the mixture. By this time we were tired of making apple butter. 

When we finally got all the apple butter strained we vowed to never do that again. We were allowed to taste the fruit of our labors while it was still warm. It was delicious. We were set free after cleaning up the mess we had made. I have kept my vow and am content to buy apple butter at the store. 

The aroma of apple butter cooking is one of the many delicious signs of fall. The stores have begun to sell Christmas cards and decorations. The displays are muted and Halloween costumes and candy are displayed in more prominent places. But Christmas merchandise is there, silently waiting for its turn in the spotlight.

It wasn’t all that long ago that my grandkids wore their Halloween costumes all year round. When we visited them when they were very little it was not unusual for one of them to hand me a costume with the demand that I put it on him. Those days are long gone.

This year I got pictures of Emma sporting fake wounds. She has no need for mass produced costumes. I haven’t heard what Jacob and Nicholas will be. 

I also haven’t heard any stories about any of them making apple butter. A couple of years ago they made ice cream in school. I think they also made butter but I’m not sure.

The classic sign of fall is leaves falling from trees. Most of our trees still have their leaves. I am always surprised when the air is calm and all but one leaf is still. That one leaf will be waving like it is in a windstorm. This happens to all of our trees. I wonder if they work it out to have one leaf represent the entire tree. 

One of the more pleasant autumn tasks is planting bulbs and rhizomes. I have bought two packs of tulip bulbs that will go nicely with a lily that needs to be divided. I am still hunting for some of the darker tulips and maybe a few odd daffodils and some irises. 

The irises I liberated from Mom’s house after she died have finally bloomed. They are a lot shorter than they were when she had them. I had put them in a bed separate from the other irises so I would know which ones were hers. They are an intense blue on top and white surrounded by that same blue on the bottom petals. They make me smile. 

What does fall mean to you? Is it the crunch of dry leaves? Is it the smell of those same leaves 

burning? Maybe it is the food that does it. Is it apple butter or maybe pumpkin? I know that officially fall began last month. However, I believe it isn’t really autumn until I go in search of apple butter and flower bulbs.