Autumn Beginnings

Happy October!

This is the month of changing colors, the month of the final harvest. The preparation for our hibernation. 

But out here, the spindly needles of trees remain rich and dark and full. The ground does not become parched and patchy but rather lush with thick lime-skin green. And more often than not, the school year supersedes any whimsical fancy of fall strolls and fireside evenings. The pace is picking up. With endings come beginnings. 

And with beginnings, come wobblies. 

Many things have been put into motion the past couple of weeks. The teen center launched, the community garden idea was born, Mary and I started homework help hours at the library, fundraising time and field trip planning are abuzz, and I have started a new job. 

Its a wobbly world. 

I feel the excitement - the potential of all of these things - and the more excitement invested, the more worry about doing things successfully. 

I have made a lot of connections with community members who are interested in the garden. Our group has agreed however, that we would like kids to be a part from the ground up and make the initial ask for the property. This has required some rallying and has put the project at a tortoise pace. 

When I say we have started library hours, I mean to say that Mary and I sat in the library last Thursday and did crossword puzzles for two hours, hoping that some eager student would come by and seek us out. On our Friday meeting, the issue was addressed and met with little surprise from our supervisor, who is less than hopeful about the library finding a successful way to use AmeriCorps as a resource. 

So naturally, I am determined to try. Again, possibilities. Again, wobbly. 

Both of these could probably benefit from some sort of fundraising effort. A jumping bean inside me wants to throw out a ball on these right away. Some more logical part is thinking I probably need to be more tactful about timing and coordinating than some of my past planning experiences. 

The job is good. Albeit, it is the local coffee shop which could be a wonderful aid for my coffee needs or detrimental for my coffee addiction. Its a fine line. The wobbly comes along with the barista pressures. The mechanics and level of multi-tasking is a bit out of my natural comfort zone but again, determined! With only two days of work down so far, I am already getting a bit more comfortable but cannot for the life of me remember drink regulars or prices yet. Customers who I have carried on ecstatic conversation with as a cafe frequenter myself beforehand have now witnessed my blathering half-heartedly about some small talk while trying to time my shots not to be done before my milk or suffering ineptitude of how to properly pour my milk out without the thermometer always intercepting and sploshing a mess across the counter. I am good with people. I am good with task-work. I am not good with crossing the two. Wobbles.

Job two: I will don a night-owl alter ego beginning this coming Saturday as Kelly's Karaoke host at the Blue Spruce. I am pretty stoked about that but will probably have to up my song repertoire to take to the mic on slow nights.

More firsts included our first semi-serious situation at open gym that involved head-butting, nose-bleeding and apparently a scolding talk from some police officers.

In happier news, the little ones got their hands into some sparklies on the craft table. I am pretty sure the gym will be sparkling for the rest of the year.

The Teen Center also opened this month. In sharp contrast to constant up and down at Open Gym, life there is pretty bland. Shift one resulted in the completion of one and a half 550-piece puzzles, remedied afterwards by singing buttercup with Mary and Lacy and the Spruce. Night two, another one and a half as Ainsley, Alice and I suffered through a frequent chorus of "Zhlurpieee!" being yelled randomly throughout the night.

A long Friday marked the start of a long, active weekend. On Saturday, we observed "make a difference day" at the Randall Community Garden, helping them to prepare their beds for winter and split wood for families in the community. After the dreary forecast of the week before, the weather kindly bestowed us with a few more sunny, warm days it happened to be perfect for getting down in the dirt. After lunch, we helped those that had been chopping to make wood piles.

When we finished with the wood Mary, Lou, Chris, Desiree and took a drive down some breathtaking backroads to discover what the Onalaska Apple Festival was all about...

...Well, it was not all about apples. In fact, besides the fair-fare of candied apples, only two stands had anything remotely apple-esque: a winery that made Apple Wine and a nursery that taunted with a table of bagged apples, only to explain to me that, no, they were only there to show the possibilities of what I could grow...if I were around here for four + more years.

To it's credit, the apple wine was tasty and there had been cider pressing earlier but my large, empty canvas bag that anticipated a bounty of apples returned home still very large and empty.

Evidence that they were selling cider at SOME point but it was all out. 

In addition to Apple wine, there was blackberry, cranberry and Rhubarb

Delicious Sheep's cheese, delicious Raw honey, even delicious music. But not one red delicious, let alone actually delicious apples.

On Sunday, I had my second day of work and did much better at holding my own in the front of shop. Lucky for me, I don't have to explain to many that I'm the new girl. Its a small town.

After work Lou, Mary, Ainsley, Chris and Alice all met me and we cashed in the rest of our sunshine on the packwood lake trail. Lou and I compared some mushroom notes and I collected a few more varieties to identify. Still no confidently taste-able findings yet.

pink Coral. poisonous. Some believe it to be a laxative.
That could just be cause its poisonous.

Not your tasty cooking mushroom. But most likely hallucinogenic.

Wooly Chantarelle. Not edible. Gastric Upset. Joy. 

The hike was beautiful. The trail opened up on a few clearings that revealed a mountainside patched with fiery accents, a mark of eastern autumns. Eventually, we even came across one on our own trail and dwindled a bit, feasting on a glimpse of a season forgotten.

At the lake, we met a couple of men from Onalaska (they had never had interest in the apple festival), one who pressed his own 80-120 gallons of cider a year! He gave us a swig and I was half tempted to ask if I could come by sometime and buy some but he seemed to feel extremely covetous of his fruity beverage. Once they left, the rest of us sprawled on rocks and logs and ate snacks and thought once again "wow. I live here?!" with the exception of the moment that Lou decided to get curious about an old container he found and wanted to lug out as trash. Combine the noxious fumes of all the sewers in the world and you might be there. Way to pack it out, Lou = p

Today is rain. But inside, my home heats with wood-fueled embers and a few stray leaves fall past my porch window. Whatever October is here, it is here. And I will love it.

Also, the team is talking about group halloween costume ideas! So far we have pondered:

-90's celebrity
-Lord of the Rings
-Alice in Wonderland
-Toy Story

Any votes? Any ideas?