Late September brings on the first signs of autumn and with that we start thinking of Halloween. You start seeing pumpkins and bales of straw and you know fall is definitely in the air when the days begin to shorten and you wake up to frosty mornings. Apple farms start promoting their goods and several have Octoberfest Days where you can pick your own apples, go on hayrides and try to master the corn mazes. As Halloween approaches, decorations start popping up on neighbor's homes and pumpkin patches are abundant where children try to choose the perfect pumpkin.

Autumn and Halloween are my favorite times of the year, although I do not look forward to the winter and icy cold weather. It's nice to be outdoors to smell the fragrance of burning leaves, to feel the gentle warmth of the sun on your face and to hear the children squeal with delight as they jump into huge piles of leaves.

To commemorate the season, our quilting group decided to have a Halloween Pas this year. All players take turns and make squares for other participants playing the game, then we make our own quilt using all the new squares we received.