Fall has arrived.  The sun sets at 5:30pm; the sun rises at 6:45am. Nightime lows are in the ‘40s, daytime highs will dance around 72 degrees this week.  

We’re in the midst of saying goodbye to friends here, which means a pleasant series of hugs and wine-30 get-togethers. “You’ve got to come up in February for the toboggan championships, kind of like Halloween on ice,” they say.  “OK, but you have come south for Friday night TGIFs and Trivia,’ we say.

Meanwhile, life goes on . The town recreation department kicked off its  Scarecrow Fest (EVERYTHING is a ‘fest’). Kids and parents made scarecrows, pumpkins lined up along traffic intersections, and trees are changing colors, deeper each morning than the evening before. https://wiscassetchamber.com/event/wiscasset-scarecrow-fest-2021-schedule/

Across the river in Damariscotta, the town’s annual Pumpkinfest began with dozens of the huge fruits being carved and painted for Halloween. The winning pumpkin was grown by Ed Pierpoint, he showed up with the biggest pumpkin ever weighed or grown in Maine, according to the Lincoln County News.  More than a ton: 2,121.5 pounds.  https://www.mainepumpkinfest.com

Besides the pumpkin growing, the Fest also featured pumpkin carving. Some artists work with knives and scoops to create three dimensional sculptures.  Other artists rely on imagination and paint and use the gourds as canvases for spooky imaginations.

Elsewhere, Big Al’s Going Out Of Business sale is still a deal ... 33% off everything. We went to lunch with neighbors at the town’s newest restaurant, Monhegan Farm.  Very good. 

And we began packing up for the winter.  Think of it as moving every six months or so.  Now, I’m not complaining and don’t ask for sympathy.  But there’s a lot of lugging furniture into the garage, hauling the grill off the back deck, and turning over Donna’s garden, and emptying dozens of flower boxes.

All around us, it’s beautiful.  A week ago the tree leaves were green beginning to turn golden.  This week, Friday night to be exact, reds and deep yellow began to show.  There’s a road from Wiscasset headed toward Booth Bay that is spectacular.  There’s one stretch of road that has eight different trees changing eight different colors.  Just gorgeous.

We are headed back to South Carolina for the winter  There’s plenty happening there, too.  So, habit may cause me to write some more columns this winter. Ya’ like stories about alligators and pickle ball?

We’ll see.  

Got a comment, email me at wiscasset@barnako.com