October 18, 2016

Autumn Loveliness in Ancestral Landscapes!

Autumnal Splendor in Vermont!
"Monday, October 2d. - Soft, half-cloudy day; something of spring in the atmosphere. The woods also are spring-like in their appearance to-day: many trees are just on the verge of turning, colored in light, delicate greens of every tint; the effect is very beautiful, and strangely like May. But here and there, amid these pleasing varieties of verdure, we find a brilliant flash of scarlet or crimson, reminding us that we are near the close of the year, under the influence of bright autumn, and not of gentle spring."
~ "Rural Hours" by  Susan Fenimore Cooper


 
Laura accompanied us as we admired our ancestral Vermont countryside.
How she delighted in the spectacular autumnal colours!
At a village green, she found a lovely autumn leaf.
Laura, a Queen Anne English wooden doll, and her clothing were made by talented dollmaker Kathy Patterson.




 
"Wednesday, October 11th. - At this very period, when the annual labors of the husbandman are drawing to a close, when the first light frosts ripen the wild grapes in the woods, and open the husks of the hickory-nuts, bringing the latest fruits of the year to maturity, these are the days when, here and there, in the groves you will find a maple-tree whose leaves are touched with the gayest colors; those are the heralds which announce the approach of a brilliant pageant - the moment chosen by Autumn to keep the great harvest-home of America is at hand."
~ "Rural Hours" by  Susan Fenimore Cooper


Susan Fenimore Cooper wrote the book "Rural Hours" as a journal of her frequent nature walks out and about the countryside. It was published in 1850.


Mellow autumn loveliness on a road less traveled.


"October 11th. - In a few days comes another and a sharper frost, and the whole face of the country is changed; we enjoy, with wonder and delight, a natural spectacle, great and beautiful, beyond the reach of any human means."
~ "Rural Hours" by  Susan Fenimore Cooper



"October 11th - We are naturally accustomed to associate the idea of verdure with foliage - leaves should surely be green! But now we gaze in wonder as we behold colors so brilliant and so varied hung upon every tree. Tints that you have admired among the darker tulips and roses, the richer lilies and dahlias of the flower-garden - colors that have pleased your eye among the fine silks and wools of a lady's delicate embroidery - dyes that the shopman shows off with complacency among his Cashmeres and velvets - hues reserved by the artist for his proudest works - these we now see fluttering in the leaves of old oaks, and tupeloes, liquid ambers, chestnuts, and maples! "
~ "Rural Hours" by  Susan Fenimore Cooper


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copyright © 2016 Diane Shepard Johnson and Sarah E. Johnson
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