This blog is the second part of my response to Zacharias Tims' original comment of an earlier blog of mine (see The Pantry, comment by Mr. Tims and my initial response to his comment, The Warmth of New Englanders.) In part of that commentary Mr. Tims notes:

Gathering Leaves

Spades take up leaves
No better than spoons,
And bags full of leaves
Are light as balloons.

I recently received an interesting (but misguided) commentary to one of my previous blogs (The Pantry comment by Zacharias Tims) that got me thinking about New Englanders in general and Mainers in particular. In one of my past lives (for I have reinvented myself along the way many times in my short, 40-something years), I trained as an anthropologist and historian. My love of learning has always been on New England culture and history, and having been born in Vermont and raised in northern New York, I feel a special affinity toward the region. Hence my need here to respond directly to Mr. Tims.

Autumn is here and the leaves are at their peak of fiery reds and muted yellows. The garden is in the clean-up stage, with beds to be turned and weeds still to be routed out. Nights have been turning colder, with the promise of frosts and snow to come. But we're ready for it as I have been storing away my harvest in a well-stocked pantry.

We all remember the scene from the movie where the crash of '29 occurs and there's a run on the bank, and there's Jimmy Stewart using his own money to keep the bank afloat. And remember how he describes how one depositors' money isn't in the bank, but in his neighbors' homes? So, how did we end up right back in this mess when the message was so clear? Remember the other movie line we seemed to revel in recently? "Greed is good." Only for the greedy. Greed, yes. But a lot more.

Well, it's hunting season in Maine. That's not what's funny here, at least not for the game animals anyway. What got my attention the other day was a sign hanging outside a country store: "Budweiser Outdoors Hunters Welcome." In the middle of the sign is a sketch of the elusive buck with the nice antler rack.

OK, we've all heard the story: a driver installs a new GPS in his car and while following directions in detail, drives into a river when the road dead ends at the river bank. Ah, technology.

I've learned a lot from my cats over the years. Play hard, sleep often. Nothing is so important it can't wait until after a nap. When you are really comfortable, purr loud. When someone ignores you, purr louder.