Ashland Speaks

By Lula Anderson

Labor Day Weekend has come and gone. So many people trying to cram in the last of the summer activities before vacation is over. School will be starting soon, school taxes are in the mail, Many had to pick and choose what activities they were going to participate in. What picnic should we skip? If we go to your picnic and leave early, we can go to the next. Oh good, the one was rescheduled for Sunday, so we can go to yours and mine. Hurry, Hurry. Get in the sun and swimming before the Autumn season starts. Start planning your winter schedule: What slopes will you be skiing on this year? What lift plan should we get? What gives us the biggest bang for the buck? Hurry, Hurry. The year is passing quickly. I, for one, enjoy this time of the year when I can sit quietly in the sun and watch the season change, slowly, from summer to fall. The birds sound different. The leaves are in the transition stage from dark green to yellow green. The flowers are at their showy peak. Vegetable gardens are ready to pick. Slow down. Enjoy life!

Johanna is moved in and cutting hair in my old barbershop. It's conveniently located on 23 and very handy for me to attend my Friday appointments. One less place where I have to drive. The only thing, when she cleaned out my "office", she moved everything into my "craft room" which was already overflowing with what have you. Now, every day I have to go through a minimum of one carton and decide what goes and what stays, and where to put it. Johanna has a friend who is taking my stained glass, but the boxes are so heavy that they can only move on or two a day. I thought that I had emptied all of Andy's stuff after the flood, but there was still so much in the back of the cabinets. Too many memories that no one else can share.

Jewett welcomes a new business: Gardens by Trista. It is located at the site of the former Kerns greenhouses just below the original garden shop. I was going to drop by during their open house, but never got there. I was hoping to find out details about Trista and her endeavor. Next week.

My son adopted a cat after Billy Matthews passed. Of course, it was female and pregnant. He came home one afternoon and couldn't find her. She had crawled under his covers and gave birth to 6 beautiful kittens. They are 8 weeks old, litter trained and looking for a new home. If interested, call me. 518-734-5360.

WAJPL Craft Classes have ended for this year, and some of the work is on display as our Autumn decorations. So many of the students leaving were already preparing for next year's classes. Now that the newbies know what is going on, they are starting to plan ahead and get patterns and ideas ready. Next up will be planning for the Holiday luncheon. We still have guest speakers lined up for the remainder of our meetings. We also HAVE to have election of officers this year. As always, we are looking for "new blood". The club is for those 55 years of age and up. It's a great way to meet and greet your neighbors, plus take the time to learn what programs Greene County has to offer their Senior Citizens. I know that you feel that you aren't old enough for a Senior Citizen Club, but many of our younger seniors have found that we are a very active group that is open to suggestions. Plus, our Pot Luck refreshments are the talk of the County.

Just because you're in the country, and you're paying for a room or B&B, doesn't mean that everything is included. I hear reports of people taking wood off of wood piles because they want a bonfire and don't have enough gumption to pick it up from the wood that the electric company left behind. Janet Goos wants people to know that, even though the store is closed, she and Teddy still live on the premises and to leave her geraniums alone.

AS I REMEMBER IT

I have often told you about how my father stabled horses at area boarding houses for the guests to ride. Once Labor Day passed, it was time for the family to enjoy their horses. Sundays were a day of rest from daily chores, so after church, and the animals were fed and cows milked, we got to do fun things as a family. Our friends from Cementon, the Feurgasons, would frequently join us when we went out on our horses. We would saddle up as many as needed, and head up North Settlement, to Route 10, over to 32C, and to the top of the road which leads to Conesville. It was always such a pleasant day. The smell of the horses, and the everchanging smells of the area. We'd watch the animals and birds come out of the woods to see what we were doing. The sun shining down on our heads, warming us after a chilly morning, until one day, my mother couldn't make it. She was dizzy and had a hard time staying on the horse. Needless to say, we turned back where she went in and lay down. For a couple of weeks, all horseback riding was terminated. I was nine years old and scared that I would lose my mother. She recovered, and before the snow, we did go out on a few more rides, but it just didn't seem the same – until April 5, when my brother Franklyn was born. By the next fall, we were out and enjoying the fall mountains, with an extra passenger.

Have a happy fall. Get out and enjoy the mountain air.