The Month of October
Poetry, Quotations, Sayings, Facts, Information, Quips,
Aphorisms, Lore
"I saw old Autumn in the misty morn
Stand, shadowless like Silence, listening
To Silence."
- Thomas Hood
“He is outside of everything,
and alien everywhere. He is an aesthetic solitary. His beautiful, light
imagination
is the wing that on the autumn evening just brushes the dusky window.”
- Henry James
"I have come to a still, but not a deep
center,
A point outside the glittering current;
My eyes stare at the bottom of a river,
At the irregular stones, iridescent sandgrains,
My mind moves in more than one place,
In a country half-land, half-water.
I am renewed by death, thought of my death,
The dry scent of a dying garden in September,
The wind fanning the ash of a low fire.
What I love is near at hand,
Always, in earth and air."
- Theodore Roethke,
The
Far Field
"Corn and grain, corn and grain,
All that falls shall rise again."
- Wiccan Harvest Chant
"Just before the
death of flowers,
And before they are buried in snow,
There comes a festival season
When nature is all aglow."
- Author Unknown
"There is no season when such pleasant and
sunny spots may be lighted on, and produce so pleasant an effect on the feelings, as now in October."
- Nathaniel Hawthorne
"Spring comes with flowers, autumn with the
moon, summer with the breeze, winter with snow. When idle
concerns don't fill your thoughts, that's your best season."
- Wu-Men
"A child looking at ruins grows younger
but cold
and wants to wake to a new name
I have been younger in October
than in all the months of spring
walnut and may leaves the color
of shoulders at the end of summer
a month that has been to the mountain
and become light there
the long grass lies pointing uphill
even in death for a reason
that none of us knows
and the wren laughs in the early shade now
come again shining glance in your good time
naked air late morning
my love is for lightness
of touch foot feather
the day is yet one more yellow leaf
and without turning I kiss the light
by an old well on the last of the month
gathering wild rose hips
in the sun."
- W. S. Merwin,
The Love of
October
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Months and Seasons Quotes, Poems, Sayings, Verses, Lore, Myths, Holidays Celebrations, Folklore, Reading, Links, Quotations Information, Weather, Gardening Chores Compiled by Mike Garofalo |
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"The sweet calm
sunshine of October, now
Warms the low spot; upon its grassy mold
The pur0ple oak-leaf falls; the birchen bough
drops its bright spoil like arrow-heads of gold."
- William Cullen Bryant
"The scarlet of maples can shake me like a cry
Of bugles going by.
And my lonely spirit thrills
to see the frosty asters like smoke
upon the hills."
- William Bliss Carman
"My tidings for you: the stag bells,
Winter snows, Summer is gone.
Wind high and cold, low the sun,
Short his course, sea running high.
Deep-red the bracken, its shape all gone,
The wild goose has raised his wonted cry.
Cold has caught the wings of birds.
Season of ice – these are my tidings."
- Irish Poem, Translated by
Caitlin
Matthews
Samhain, Halloween: Extensive Bibliography, Links, Lore, Poems, Prayers, Preparations, Crafts, Rituals, Quotes
Cloud Hands Blog by Mike Garofalo
Short Poems and Haiku by Mike Garofalo
"The leaves fall patiently
Nothing remembers or grieves
The river takes to the sea
The yellow drift of leaves."
- Sara Teasdale
"Youth is like spring, an over-praised season
more remarkable
for biting winds than genial breezes.
Autumn is the mellower
season, and what we lose in flowers we more than gain in fruits."
- Samuel Butler
"She had only to stand in
the orchard, to put her hand on a little crab tree and look up at the apples,
to make you feel the goodness of planting and tending and harvesting at last."
- Willa Cather
"You ought to know that October
is the first Spring month."
- Karel Capek
"October is nature's
funeral month. Nature glories in death more than in life. The month
of departure
is more beautiful than the month of coming - October than May. Every green
thin loves to
die in bright colors."
- Henry Ward Beecher
"Your tombstone stands among the rest;
neglected and alone
The name and date are chiseled out
on polished, marbled stone
It reaches out to all who care
It is too late to mourn
You did not know that I’d exist
You died and I was born.
Yet each of us are cells of you
in flesh, in blood, in bone.
Our blood contracts and beats a pulse
entirely not our own.
Dear Ancestor, the place you filled
one hundred years ago
Spreads out among the ones you left
who would have loved you so.
I wonder if you lived and loved,
I wonder if you knew
That someday I would find this spot,
and come to visit you."
- Dear Ancestor
"Perhaps the most famous icon of
the holiday is the jack-o-lantern.
Various authorities attribute it to either Scottish or Irish origin. However, it seems clear that it was used as a lantern by people who traveled the road this night, the scary face to frighten away spirits or faeries who might otherwise lead one astray. Set on porches and in windows, they cast the same spell of protection over the household. (The American pumpkin seems to have forever superseded the European gourd as the jack-o-lantern of choice.) Bobbing for apples may well represent the remnants of a Pagan 'baptism' rite called a 'seining', according to some writers. The water-filled tub is a latter-day Cauldron of
Regeneration, into which the novice's head is immersed. The fact that the participant in this folk game was usually blindfolded with hands tied behind the back also puts one in mind of a traditional Craft initiation ceremony."
- Mike Nichols,
All
Hallow's Eve
"The gilding of the Indian summer mellowed
the pastures far and wide.
The russet woods stood ripe to be stripped, but were yet full of leaf.
The purple of heath-bloom, faded but not withered, tinged the hills...
Fieldhead gardens bore the seal of gentle decay; ... its time of
flowers and even of fruit was over."
- Charlotte Brontë
"Even if something
is left undone, everyone must take time to sit still and watch the leaves turn."
- Elizabeth Lawrence
"Stone Lagoon and sky
become one--
deepening fog."
-
Michael P. Garofalo, Above the Fog
"Colors burst in wild
explosions
Fiery, flaming shades of fall
All in accord with my pounding heart
Behold the autumn-weaver
In bronze and yellow dying
Colors unfold into dreams
In hordes of a thousand and one
The bleeding
Unwearing their masks to the last notes of summer
Their flutes and horns in nightly swarming
Colors burst within
Spare me those unending fires
Bestowed upon the flaming shades of fall."
- Dark Tranquility, With
the Flaming Shades of Fall
“But I remember more dearly
autumn afternoons in bottoms that lay intensely silent under old great trees”
- C. S. Lewis
by Larry Hodgson
Nancy J. Ondra
by Scott Calhoun
by Nancy J. Ondra
by C. Colston Burrell
by Tracy DiSabato-Aust
"Between the heavens
and the earth
The way now opens to bring forth
The Hosts of those who went on before;
Hail! We see them now come through the Open Door.
Now the veils of worlds are thin;
To move out you must move in.
Let the Balefires now be made,
Mine the spark within them laid.
Move beyond the fiery screen,
Between the seen and the unseen;
Shed your anger and your fear,
Live anew in a new year!"
- Lore
of the Door
"The stillness of October gold
Went out like beauty from a face."
- E. A. Robinson
"When all the cows were
sleeping
And the sun had gone to bed,
Up jumped the pumpkin,
And this is what he said:
I'm a dingle dangle pumpkin
With a flippy floppy hat.
I can shake my stem like this,
And shake my vine like that."
"Clouds gather, treetops toss and sway;
But pour us wine, an old one!
That we may turn this dreary day
To golden, yes, to golden!
Autumn has come, but never fear,
Wait but a little while yet,
Spring will be here, the skies will clear,
And fields stand deep in violets.
The heavenly blue of fresh new days
Oh, friend, you must employ them
Before they pass away. Be brave!
Enjoy them; oh, enjoy them!"
- Theodor Storm,
A Song in October
"October's poplars are flaming torches
lighting the way to winter."
- Nova Bair
"As I went out walking this fall afternoon,
I heard a whisper whispering.
I heard a whisper whispering,
Upon this fine fall day...
As I went out walking this fall afternoon,
I heard a laugh a' laughing.
I heard a laugh a' laughing,
Upon this fine fall day...
I heard this whisper and I wondered,
I heard this laugh and then I knew.
The time is getting near my friends,
The time that I hold dear my friends,
The veil is getting thin my friends,
And strange things will pass through."
- The Veil is Getting Thinner
"How innocent were these Trees, that
in
Mist-green May, blown by a prospering breeze,
Stood garlanded and gay;
Who now in sundown glow
Of serious color clad confront me with their show
As though resigned and sad,
Trees, who unwhispering stand umber, bronze, gold;
Pavilioning the land for one grown tired and old;
Elm, chestnut, aspen and pine, I am merged in you,
Who tell once more in tones of time,
Your foliaged farewell."
- Siegfried Sassoon, October Trees
"Great Goddess, Mistress of cats,
Lady of love, beautiful Vana-Goddess,
Fulfill my greatest needs, O glorious one.
Teach me the magic I need.
Give me a glimpse of your deep wisdom.
Teach me in dreams. Enrich my life.
O Lady, you are Golden-Tears of Asgard
Lady of love, beautiful Vana-Goddess,
You are the Shape-shifter, the Sayer,
The Independent One.
Give me the strength and the magic I need."
-
Prayers to Freyja
"October's the month
When the smallest breeze
Gives us a shower
Of autumn leaves.
Bonfires and pumpkins,
Leaves sailing down -
October is red
And golden and brown."
- Can
Teach Songs
"Listen! the wind is rising,
and the air is wild with leaves,
We have had our summer evenings,
now for October eves!"
- Humbert Wolfe
"To all the ancient ones from their houses, the
Old Ones from above and below. In this time the Gods of the Earth touch our
feet, bare upon the ground. Spirits of the Air whisper in our hair and chill our
bodies, and from the dark portions watch and wait the Faery Folk that they may
join the circle and leave their track upon the ground. It is the time of the
waning year. Winter is upon us. The corn is golden in the winnow heaps. Rains
will soon wash sleep into the life-bringing Earth. We are not without fear, we
are not without sorrow...Before us are all the signs of Death: the ear of corn
is no more green and life is not in it. The Earth is cold and no more will
grasses spring jubilant. The Sun but glances upon his sister, the earth..... It
is so....Even now....But here also are the signs of life, the eternal promise
given to our people. In the death of the corn there is the seed--which is both
food for the season of Death and the Beacon which will signal green-growing time
and life returning.In the cold of the Earth there is but sleep wherein She will
awaken refreshed and renewed, her journey into the Dark Lands ended. And where
the Sun journeys he gains new vigor and potency; that in the spring, his
blessings shall come ever young!"
- Two Samhain
Rituals, Compost Coveners, 1980
"O hushed
October morning mild,
Thy leaves have ripened to the fall;
Tomorrow's wind, if it be wild,
Should waste them all.
The crows above the forest call;
Tomorrow they may form and go.
O hushed October morning mild,
Begin the hours of this day slow.
Make the day seem to us less brief.
Hearts not averse to being beguiled,
Beguile us in the way you know.
Release one leaf at break of day;
At noon release another leaf;
One from our trees, one far away."
- Robert
Frost, October
"Fall is not the end
of the gardening year; it is the start of next year's growing season. The
mulch you lay down
will protect your perennial plants during the winter and feed the soil as it
decays, while the cleaned up flower
bed will give you a huge head start on either planting seeds or setting out
small plants."
- Thalassa Cruso
"Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;
To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees,
And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;
To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,
And still more, later flowers for the bees,
Until they think warm days will never cease,
For Summer has o'er-brimm'd their clammy cells."
- John Keats, To
Autumn
"The morns are meeker than
they were,
The nuts are getting brown;
The berry's cheek is plumper,
The rose is out of town.
The maple wears a gayer
scarf,
The field a scarlet gown.
Lest I should be old-fashioned,
I'll put a trinket on."
- Emily Dickinson, Nature
27 - Autumn
"Burning the small dead
branches
broke from beneath
thick spreading
whitebark pine.
A hundred summers
snowmelt rock and air
hiss in a twisted bough."
- Gary Snyder, Burning the Small Dead
"Along the side roads the
bright gold of thin-leafed wild sunflowers gleams from its dust covering and
attracts the eye as quickly as mention of easy money. Purple ironweed is
diminishing in the pastures; thistles are down to their last silken tassels;
goldenrod pours its heap of raw gold into the general fund."
- Rachel Peden
"Bittersweet October. The mellow,
messy, leaf-kicking, perfect pause
between the opposing miseries of summer and winter."
- Carol Bishop Hipps
"Gardening imparts an organic perspective on the passage of time."
- William Cowper
"The harvest moon hangs round and high
It dodges clouds high in the sky,
The stars wink down their love and mirth
The Autumn season is giving birth.
Oh, it must be October
The leaves of red bright gold and brown,
To Mother Earth come tumbling down,
The breezy nights the ghostly sights,
The eerie spooky far off sounds
Are signs that it's October.
The pumpkins yellow,. big and round
Are carried by costumed clumsy clowns
It's Halloween - let's celebrate."
- Pearl N. Sorrels, It Must be October
"The winds gives me
Enough fallen leaves
To make a fire"
- Ryokan
"Beauty is one of the rare things that
do not lead to doubt of God."
- Jean Anouilh
"A year of beauty. A year of plenty.
"All still when summer is over
stand shocks in the field,
nothing left to whisper,
not even good-bye, to the wind.
After summer was over
we knew winter would come:
we knew silence would wait,
tall, patient calm."
- William Stafford, Tragic Song
"Lady Autumn, Queen of the Harvest,
I have seen You in the setting Sun
with Your long auburn tresses
blowing in the cool air that surrounds You.
Your crown of golden leaves is jeweled
with amber, amethyst, and rubies.
Your long, flowing purple robe stretches across the horizon.
In Your hands You hold the ripened fruits.
At Your feet the squirrels gather acorns.
Black crows perch on Your outstretched arms.
All around You the leaves are falling.
You sit upon Your throne and watch
the dying fires of the setting Sun
shine forth its final colors in the sky.
The purple and orange lingers
and glows like burning embers.
Then all colors fade into the twilight.
Lady Autumn, You are here at last.
We thank You for Your rewards.
We have worked hard for these gifts.
Lady Autumn, now grant us peace and rest."
- Deirdre Akins
l(a
le
af
fa
ll
s)
one
li
ness
- e.e. cummings
"Halloween.
Sly does it. Tiptoe catspaws. Slide and creep.
But why? What for? How? Who? When! Where did it all begin?
'You don't know, do you?' asks Carapace Clavicle Moundshroud climbing out
under the pile of leaves under the Halloween Tree. 'You don't really know!'"
- Ray Bradbury, The Halloween Tree
"October gave a party;
The leaves by hundreds came-
The Chestnuts, Oaks, and Maples,
And leaves of every name.
The Sunshine spread a carpet,
And everything was grand,
Miss Weather led the dancing,
Professor Wind the band."
- George Cooper, October's
Party
"silence
seeks the center
of every tree and rock,
that thing we hold closest-
the end of songs"
- Michael
McClintock, Letters in Time
"I see that old hammock out back,
Swaying lightly in the wind
That Autumn oft expels in October,
Waiting for me to come and dream,
But the bulbs that fill my tired Hands,
leaving trails of rusty earth
Must first be laid to rest,
I must tend to their needs first."
- B. R. Jording, Fall Planting
"To enrich the earth I have sowed clover and grass
to grow and die. I have plowed in the seeds
of winter grains and various legumes,
their growth to be plowed in to enrich the earth.
I have stirred into the ground the offal
and the decay of the growth of past seasons
and so mended the earth and made its yield increase.
All this serves the dark. Against the shadow
of veiled possibility my workdays stand
in a most asking light. I am slowly falling
into the fund of things. And yet to serve the earth,
not knowing what I serve, gives a wideness
and a delight to the air, and my days
do not wholly pass. It is the mind's service,
for when the will fails so do the hands
and one lives at the expense of life.
After death, willing or not, the body serves,
entering the earth. And so what was heaviest
and most mute is at last raised up into song."
- Wendell Berry
"In spring when maple buds
are red,
We turn the clock an hour ahead;
Which means, each April that arrives,
We lose an hour out of our lives.
Who cares? When autumn birds in flocks
Fly southward, back we turn the clocks,
And so regain a lovely thing
That missing hour we lost in spring."
- Phyllis McGinley, Daylight
Savings Time
"Delicious autumn! My very soul
is wedded to it,
and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth
seeking the successive autumns."
- George Eliot
"All
things on earth point home in old October: sailors to sea, travellers to walls and fences, hunters to
field and hollow and the long voice of the hounds, the lover to the love he has
forsaken."
- Thomas Wolfe
"To appreciate the wild and
sharp flavors of these October fruits, it is necessary that you be breathing the sharp October or November air. What is sour in
the house a bracing walk makes sweet. Some of these apples might be
labeled, “To be eaten in the wind.” It takes a savage or wild taste to appreciate a
wild fruit. . . The era of the Wild Apple will soon be past. It is a fruit
which will probably become extinct in New England. I fear that he who walks over
these fields a century hence will not know the pleasure of knocking off wild
apples.
Ah, poor soul, there are many pleasures which you will not know! . . . the
end of it all will be that we shall be compelled to look for our apples in a barrel."
- Henry David Thoreau
"There ought to be gardens for all months in
the year,
in which, severally, things of beauty may be then in season."
- Sir Francis Bacon
"Heat lingers
As days are still long;
Early mornings are cool
While autumn is still young.
Dew on the lotus
Scatters pure perfume;
Wind on the bamboos
Gives off a gentle tinkling.
I am idle and lonely,
Lying down all day,
Sick and decayed;
No one asks for me;
Thin dusk before my gates,
Cassia blossoms inch deep."
- Po
Chu-i (772-864), Autumn Coolness
Translated by Howard S. Levy and Henry Wells
"When clear October suns unfold
mallee tips of red and gold
children on their way to school
discover tadpoles in a pool,
iceplants sheathed in beaded glass
spider orchids and shivery grass,
webs with globes of dew alight
budgerigars on their first flight,
tottery lambs and a stilty foal
a papers slough that a snake shed whole,
and a bronzewing's nest of twigs so few
that both the sky and the eggs show through."
- Flexmore Hudson, Mallee
in October
"There is an old Scottish custom of eating an apple on Samhain night while looking into the mirror. Legend says that you will see your true love reflected there. A Victorian Halloween card states the following verse: On Halloween look in the glass, Your future husband's face shall pass.
A modern
adaptation of this charm could include standing before the mirror at midnight on
Samhain. The new charm will help you to recognize a future or potential love.
Slice the apple crosswise to expose the star-shaped arrangement of seeds
inside. Light a tea-light candle and place the apple slices and the candle
before the mirror. At midnight, say the following charm three times:
As this Samhain night rushes past, Reveal to me a love that shall
last. May I know them when next we meet, May our love be both strong and
sweet. Allow the candle to burn out, and the
next morning leave the apple pieces outside as an offering to the nature
spirits. Pay attention and see who you "meet" within the next thirty days."
- Ellen Dugan, Garden Witchery
"Wheels of baled hay bask in October sun:
Gold circles strewn across the sloping field,
They seem arranged as if each one
Has found its place; together they appeal
To some glimpsed order in my mind
Preceding my chance pausing here --
A randomness that also seems designed.
Gold circles strewn across the sloping field
Evoke a silence deep as my deep fear
Of emptiness; I feel the scene requires
A listener who can respond with words, yet who
Prolongs the silence that I still desire,
Relieved as clacking crows come flashing through,
Whose blackness shows chance radiance of fire.
Yet stillness in the field remains for everyone:
Wheels of baled hay bask in October sun."
- Robert Pack, Baled Hay
"No regrets cloud my thanks
no fear of the river,
slower now than the swift moving channel
I deigned to cut
in the exuberance of youth.
The River Lethe trickles through cracks
opened several summers ago
but not before I earned,
and still hold in my own right,
the gold coin Charon will demand,
though not a word be spoken,
not a breath exchanged.
As we make passage on the River Styx
I know not what lies ahead,
less of what I've left behind,
but I will go to complete
my preterdained journey to the otherworld
as the Ferryman leaves me off
and guides his boat
back to earthly shores."
- Kaaren Whitney, The Ferryman
"Now that she is middle-aged, my wife
likes to stand before the window
and comb her hair
Her only makeup a trace of cloud
the landscape of a graceful
poised maturity"
- William
Marr, Autumn Window
"Well, it's a marvelous night
for a Moondance
With the stars up above in your eyes
A fantabulous night to make romance
'Neath the cover of October skies
And all the leaves on the trees are falling
To the sound of the breezes that blow
And I'm trying to please to the calling
Of your heart-strings that play soft and low
And all the night's magic seems to whisper and hush
And all the soft moonlight seems to shine in your blush."
- Van Morrison, Moondance
"Withered vines, gnarled trees, twilight
crows,
river flowing beneath the little bridge,
past someone's home.
The wind blows from the west
where the sun sets, it blows
across the ancient road,
across the bony horse,
across the despairing man
who stands at heaven's edge."
- Ma
Chih-Yuan, Meditation in Autumn
Translated by David Lunde
"The falling leaves drift by the window
The autumn leaves of red and gold
I see your lips, the summer kisses
The sun-burned hands I used to hold
Since you went away the days grow long
And soon I'll hear old winter's song
But I miss you most of all my darling
When autumn leaves start to fall."
- Autumn Leaves, Lyrics by Johnny Mercer and Jacques
Prévert
"When gentians roll their fingers tight
To save them for the morning,
And chestnuts fall from satin burrs
Without a sound of warning;
When on the ground red apples lie
In piles like jewels shining,
And redder still on old stone walls
Are leaves of woodbine twining;
When all the lovely wayside things
Their white-winged seeds are sowing,
And in the fields still green and fair,
Late aftermaths are growing;
When springs run low, and on the brooks,
In idle golden freighting,
Bright leaves sink noiseless in the hush
Of woods, for winter waiting;
When comrades seek sweet country haunts,
By twos and twos together,
And count like misers, hour by hour,
October's bright blue weather."
- Helen Hunt Jackson, October's Bright Blue Weather
by Anthony Huxley
by Ben Eric van Wyk 
by National Geographic
by Matthew Biggs
by Ben Eric van Wyk 
by John Vaughan
by Elizabeth Schneider
"I will dance
The dance of dying days
And sleeping life.
I will dance
In cold, dead leaves
A bending, whirling human flame.
I will dance
As the Horned God rides
Across the skies.
I will dance
To the music of His hounds
Running, baying in chorus.
I will dance
With the ghosts of those
Gone before.
I will dance
Between the sleep of life
And the dream of death.
I will dance
On Samhain's dusky eye,
I will dance."
- Karen Bergquist, An Autumn Chant
"Give me the end of the year an' its
fun
When most of the plannin' an' toilin' is done;
Bring all the wanderers home to the nest,
Let me sit down with the ones I love best,
Hear the old voices still ringin' with song,
See the old faces unblemished by wrong,
See the old table with all of its chairs
An' I'll put soul in my Thanksgivin' prayers."
- Edgar A. Guest, Thanksgiving
"Like someone who opens a door of glass
or sees his own reflection in it
when he returns from the woods
the light falls so variously here at the end of October
that nothing is whole or can be made into a whole
because the cracks are too uncertain and constantly moving.
Then you experience the miracle
of entering into yourself like a diamond
in glass, enjoying its own fragility
when the storm carries everything else away
including the memory of a freckled girlfriend
out over the bluing lake hidden behind the bare hills."
- Henrik Nordbrandt, The Glass Door
Translated by Thomas Satterlee
Samhain, Halloween: Extensive Bibliography, Links, Lore, Poems, Prayers, Preparations, Crafts, Rituals, Quotes
Cloud Hands Blog by Mike Garofalo
Short Poems and Haiku by Mike Garofalo
"The green elm
with the one great bough of gold
Lets leaves into the grass slip, one by one, --
The short hill grass, the mushrooms small milk-white,
Harebell and scabious and tormentil,
That blackberry and gorse, in dew and sun,
Bow down to; and the wind travels too light
To shake the fallen birch leaves from the fern;
The gossamers wander at their own will.
At heavier steps than birds' the squirrels scold.
The rich scene has grown fresh again and new
As Spring and to the touch is not more cool
Than it is warm to the gaze; and now I might
As happy be as earth is beautiful,
Were I some other or with earth could turn
In alternation of violet and rose,
Harebell and snowdrop, at their season due,
And gorse that has no time not to be gay.
But if this be not happiness, -- who knows?
Some day I shall think this a happy day,
And this mood by the name of melancholy
Shall no more blackened and obscured be."
- Edward
Thomas, October
"If thou openest not the gate to let me enter,
I will break the door, I will wrench the lock,
I will smash the door-posts, I will force the doors.
I will bring up the dead to eat the living.
And the dead will outnumber the living."
- Ishtar's Descent Into
the Underworld
"Look, how those steep woods on
the mountain's face
Burn, burn against the sunset; now the cold
Invades our very noon: the year's grown old,
Mornings are dark, and evenings come apace.
The vines below have lost their purple grace,
And in Forreze the white wrack backward rolled,
Hangs to the hills tempestuous, fold on fold,
And moaning gusts make desolate all the place."
- Hilaire Belloc, October
"Autumn is
marching on: even the scarecrows are wearing dead leaves."
- Otsuyu Nakagawa
"Looking on the happy Autumn-fields,
An thinking of the days that are no more.
- Alfred Lord Tennyson
"It was a morning of
ground mist, yellow sunshine, and high rifts of blue, white-cloud-dappled sky.
The leaves were still thick on the trees, but de-spangled gossamer threads hung
on the bushes and the shrill little cries of unrest of the swallows skimming the
green open park spaces of the park told of autumn and change."
- Flora Thompson
"Tonight as the barrier between the
two realms grows thin,
Spirits walk amongst us, once again.
They be family, friends and foes,
Pets and wildlife, fishes and crows.
But be we still mindful of the Wee Folke at play,
Elves, fey, brownies, and sidhe.
Some to trick, some to treat,
Some to purposely misguide our feet.
Stay we on the paths we know
As planting sacred apples we go.
This Feast I shall leave on my doorstep all night.
In my window one candle shall burn bright,
To help my loved ones find their way
As they travel this eve, and this night, until day.
Bless my offering, both Lady and Lord
Of breads and fruits, greens and gourd."
"The leaves are green, the nuts are brown,
They hang so high they won't come down.
Leave them alone till frosty weather,
Then they will all come down together."
"October inherits summer's
hand-me-downs: the last of the ironweed, its purple silken tatters turning
brown, and the tiny starry white asters tumbling untidily on the ground like
children rolling with laughter; stiff, drying black-eyed Susans whose dark eyes
gleamed from July's roadsides; coneflowers with deep yellow petals surrounding
brown pincushion centers from which bumblebees still are sipping honey.
The assignment of yellow is taken up now by thin-leafed wild sunflowers and
artichokes."
- Rachel Peden
"The Romans adopted the Celtic practices as their own. But in the first century AD, Samhain was assimilated into celebrations of some of the other Roman traditions that took place in October, such as their day to honor Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. The symbol of Pomona is the apple, which might explain the origin of our modern tradition of bobbing for apples on Halloween.
The thrust of the practices also changed over time to become more ritualized. As belief in spirit possession waned, the practice of dressing up like hobgoblins, ghosts, and witches took on a more ceremonial role.
The custom of Halloween was brought to America in the 1840's by Irish immigrants fleeing their country's potato famine. At that time, the favorite pranks in New England included tipping over outhouses and unhinging fence gates.
The custom of trick-or-treating is thought to have originated not with the Irish Celts, but with a ninth-century European custom called souling. On November 2, All Souls Day, early Christians would walk from village to village begging for "soul cakes," made out of square pieces of bread with currants. The more soul cakes the beggars would receive, the more prayers they would promise to say on behalf of the dead relatives of the donors. At the time, it was believed that the dead remained in limbo for a time after death, and that prayer, even by strangers, could expedite a soul's passage to heaven.
The Jack-o-lantern
custom probably comes from Irish folklore. As the tale is told, a man named
Jack, who
was notorious as a drunkard and trickster, tricked Satan into climbing a tree.
Jack then carved an image
of a cross in the tree's trunk, trapping the devil up the tree. Jack made a deal
with the devil that, if he would
never tempt him again, he would promise to let him down the tree."
- Canuckville,
Useless Matter That Doesn't Really Matter
"I know the year is dying,
Soon the summer will be dead.
I can trace it in the flying
Of the black crows overhead;
I can hear it in the rustle
Of the dead leaves as I pass,
And the south wind's plaintive sighing
Through the dry and withered grass.
Ah, 'tis then I love to wander,
Wander idly and alone,
Listening to the solemn music
Of sweet nature's undertone;
Wrapt in thoughts I cannot utter,
Dreams my tongue cannot express,
Dreams that match the autumn's sadness
In their longing tenderness."
- Mortimer Crane Brown, Autumn Dreams
"Lord, it is time.
The summer was very big. Lay thy shadow on the sundials, and on the
meadows let the winds go loose.
Command the last fruits that they shall be full; give them another two more
southerly days, press them on to fulfillment and drive the last sweetiness into
the heavenly wine."
- Rainer Maria Rilke
"A certain day became a presence to me;
there it was, confronting me--a sky, air, light:
a being. And before it started to descend
from the height of noon, it leaned over
and struck my shoulder as if with
the flat of a sword, granting me
honor and a task. The day's blow
rang out, metallic--or it was I, a bell awakened,
and what I heard was my whole self
saying and singing what it knew: I can."
- Denise Levertov, Variation on a Theme by Rilke
"Harvest home, harvest home!
We've plowed, we've sowed
We've reaped, we've mowed
And brought safe home
Every load."
"Now's the time when
children's noses
All become as red as roses
And the colour of their faces
Makes me think of orchard places
Where the juicy apples grow,
And tomatoes in a row."
- Katherine Mansfield, Autumn Song
"Especially when the October
wind
With frosty fingers punishes my hair,
Caught by the crabbing sun I walk on fire
And cast a shadow crab upon the land,
By the sea's side, hearing the noise of birds,
Hearing the raven cough in winter sticks,
My busy heart who shudders as she talks
Sheds the syllabic blood and drains her words."
- Dylan Thomas, Especially
When the October Wind
"In the time of autumn floods, a hundred streams poured into the river. It swelled in its turbid course, so that it was impossible to tell a cow from a horse on the opposite banks or on the islets. Then the Spirit of the River laughed for joy that all the beauty of the earth was gathered to himself. Down the stream he journeyed east, until he reached the North Sea. There, looking eastwards and seeing no limit to its wide expanse, his countenance began to change. And as he gazed over the ocean, he sighed and said to North-Sea Jo, "A vulgar proverb says that he who has heard a great many truths thinks no one equal to himself. And such a one am I. Formerly when I heard people detracting from the learning of Confucius or underrating the heroism of Po Yi, I did not believe it. But now that I have looked upon your inexhaustibility -- alas for me ! had I not reached your abode, I should have been for ever a laughing stock to those of great enlightenment!"
To this North-Sea Jo (the Spirit of the Ocean) replied, "You cannot
speak of ocean to a well-frog, which is limited by his abode. You cannot speak of ice to a summer insect, which
is limited by his short life. You cannot speak of Tao to a pedagogue, who is limited in his
knowledge. But now that you have emerged from your narrow sphere and have seen the great ocean, you know
your own insignificance, and I can speak to you of great principles."
- Chuang Tzu, Autumn
Floods, Chapter 17, Translated by Lin Yutang
"In harvest time, harvest folk, servants and all
Should make, all together, good cheer in the hall
Once ended the harvest, let none be beguiled
Please such as did help thee, man, woman and child."
- Thomas Tusser, Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandry
"Once more their weird
laughter of the loons comes to my ear, the distance lends it a musical,
melancholy sound. For a dangerous ledge off the lighthouse island floats
in on the still air the gentle trolling of a warning bell as it swings on the
rocking buoy; it might be tolling for the passing of summer and sweet weather
with that persistent, pensive chime."
- Celia Thaxter
"October, the tenth month of the current Gregorian calendar and
the second month of Autumn’s rule, derives its name from octo, the Latin word
meaning “eight,” as October was the eighth month of the old Roman calendar.
The traditional birthstone amulets of October are opal, rose sapphire, and
tourmaline; and the calendula is the month’s traditional flower. October
is shared by the astrological signs of Libra the Scales (or Balance) and Scorpio
the Scorpion, and is sacred to the following Pagan deities: Cernunnos, Hecate,
the Morrigan, Osiris, and the Wiccan Goddess in Her dark aspect as the Crone. During the month of October, the Great Solar Wheel of
the
Year is turned to Halloween (Samhain Eve), one of the four Grand Sabbats celebrated
each year by Wiccans and modern Witches throughout the world."
- Secrets of a Witch
"Across the land a faint
blue veil of mist
Seems hung; the woods wear yet arrayment sober
Till frost shall make them flame; silent and whist
The drooping cherry orchards of October
Like mournful pennons hang their shriveling leaves
Russet and orange: all things now decay;
Long since ye garnered in your autumn sheaves,
And sad the robins pipe at set of day."
- Siegfried Sassons, October
Apples of the Immortals
Apple Lore and Facts. By Susa Morgan Black, OBOD.
Apple Branch in Dianic Tradition
The Apple Branch: A Path to Celtic Ritual. By Alexei Kondratiev. Citadel, 2003. 320 pages. ISBN: 0806525029.
Pomona: Roman Goddess of Orchards, Fruit and Plenty
Mabon, Autumnal Equinox, Alban Elfed
Adoration for
Pomona
by Scott B. Stewart
"This month, this season
we will gather under the apple tree
as Autumn dawns upon the earth
to pray under the apple tree
so dear to Pomona's heart.
Dear and wise Pomona, we invoke thee
in the sacred month of your apple tree
to bring forth your fertility.
Fill our minds with creativity,
our hearts with love and compassion
as you bless your dear apple tree
with her harvest's sweet fruition.
She profusely blooms white in Spring,
attracting many friendly bees
which pollinate her flower.
With your divine grace and joy,
you reward them with your nectar.
Let it be to you as nectar
this prayer to you that we offer
in praise and supplication
with our purest love and great affection.
You shall clothe her leaves in colors
as the Autumn nights get cooler.
This apple tree we gather under
will display your loving nature:
red, orange, gold
and mixtures thereof.
With reverence and with love
we honor you, our Lady Pomona
this apple tree month...
and adoringly forever."
|
Months and Seasons Quotes, Poems, Sayings, Verses, Lore, Myths, Holidays Celebrations, Folklore, Reading, Links, Quotations Information, Weather, Gardening Chores Compiled by Mike Garofalo |
|||
"On the first page of my dreambook
It's always evening
In an occupied country.
Hour before the curfew.
A small provincial city.
The houses all dark.
The store-fronts gutted.
I am on a street corner
Where I shouldn't be.
Alone and coatless
I have gone out to look
For a black dog who answers to my whistle.
I have a kind of halloween mask
Which I am afraid to put on."
- Charles Simic, Empire of Dreams
"In the great silence of my favorite month,
October (the red of maples, the bronze of oaks,
A clear-yellow leaf here and there on birches),
I celebrated the standstill of time.
The vast country of the dead had its beginning everywhere:
At the turn of a tree-lined alley, across park lawns.
But I did not have to enter, I was not called yet.
Motorboats pulled up on the river bank, paths in pine needles.
It was getting dark early, no lights on the other side.
I was going to attend the ball of ghosts and witches.
A delegation would appear there in masks and wigs,
And dance, unrecognized, in the chorus of the living."
- Czeslaw Milosz, All Hallow's Eve
Translated by Czeslaw Milosz and Leonard Nathan
"October is the tenth
month of the year
in the Gregorian
Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days.
October begins (astrologically) with the sun in the sign of Libra
and ends in the sign of Scorpio.
Astronomically speaking, the sun begins in the constellation of Virgo
and ends in the constellation of Libra.
The name is from the Latin Word "octo"
for "eight".
October was the eighth month in the Roman
calendar until a monthless winter period (summer in the southern hemisphere) was divided between January
and February.
In the old
Japanese calendar the month is called Kan'na dzuki (神無月)."
- Wikipedia
"Crispy air and azure
skies,
High above, a white cloud flies,
Bright as newly fallen snow.
Oh the joy to those who know October!
Colors bright on bush and tree.
Over the weedy swamp, we see
A veil of purple and brown and gold.
Thy beauty words have never told. October!
Scolding sparrows on the lawn,
Rabbits frisking home at dawn,
Pheasants midst the sheaves of grain,
All in harmony acclaim, October!
Brown earth freshly turned by plow,
Apples shine on bended bough,
Bins o'erflowed with oats and wheat,
And satisfaction reigns complete. October!
Radiant joy is everywhere.
Spirits in tune to the spicy air,
Thrill in the glory of each day.
Life's worth living when we say, October!"
- Joseph Pullman Porter
"I want to tell you what hills are like in
October
when colors gush down mountainsides
and little streams are freighted with a caravan of leaves,
I want to tell you how they blush and turn in fiery shame
and joy,
"The apple teaches the lesson of love
and faith, generosity and gratitude. Love not just between man and woman but
as the driving force behind our existence and the relationships that we
share with others; faith both in ourselves and in others; and generosity and
trust in the understanding that a heart that is open to give and receive is
both the gateway to personal happiness and fulfillment and the key that
unlocks the secrets of the Otherworld. The generous apple satisfies body,
mind, and spirit, and warns against miserliness, for like attracts like.
What we give will be the measure of all we receive."
- Jane Gifford, The Wisdom of Trees
"Pulling up
twisted tomato vines–
long autumn shadows.
Chimney smoke
rises
from house after
house–
hazy autumn foothills.
warm sweater
cozy sock cap–
late October
In the dimming days–
suddenly Chrysanthemums
open my dry eyes."
- Haiku
by Mike Garofalo
"Summer, goodbye.
The days grow shorter.
Cranes walk the fairway now
In careless order.
They step so gradually
Toward the distant green
They might be brushstrokes
Animating a screen.
Mist canopies
The water hazard.
Nearby, the little flag lifts,
Brave but frazzled.
Under sad clouds
Two white-capped golfers
Stand looking off, dreamy and strange,
Like young girls in Balthus."
- Donald Justice, October
"As autumn returns to earth's northern hemisphere,
and day and night are briefly,
but perfectly,
balanced at the equinox,
may we remember anew how fragile life is ----
human life, surely,
but also the lives of all other creatures,
trees and plants,
waters and winds.
May we make wise choices in how and what we harvest,
may earth's weather turn kinder,
may there be enough food for all creatures,
may the diminishing light in our daytime skies
be met by an increasing compassion and tolerance
in our hearts."
- Kathleen Jenks,
Autumn Lore
"There was something
frantic in their blooming, as if they knew that frost was near and then the
bitter cold. They'd lived through all the heat and noise and stench of
summertime, and now each widely opened flower was like a triumphant cry, "We
will, we will make seed before we die." "
- Harriette Arnow
"The apple fairy is extremely beautiful and frequently seductive. Apples were considered the fruit of the gods in Celtic lore, and the apple tree has many associations with magical creatures. The unicorn lives underneath it and in spring the sweet apple blossom offers home to may flower fairies who spread an atmosphere of love and happiness.
The gifts of the Apple Fairy are everlasting youth and beauty, although sadly such matters often give rise to strife.... The apple fairy invites us to enjoy sensuous pleasures of all descriptions, in the knowledge that there is plenty to go around, and that nothing that is truly ours can ever be taken away from us."
"The word "Diwali" is the corruption of the Sanskrit word "Deepavali"
- Deepa meaning light
and Avali, meaning a row.
It means a row of lights and indeed illumination forms its main
attraction.
Every home - lowly or mightly - the hut of the
poor or the mansion of the rich - is alit with the orange glow of twinkling diyas-small earthen lamps - to welcome Lakshmi,
Goddess of wealth and prosperity. Multi-coloured Rangoli designs, floral
decorations and
fireworks lend picturesness
and grandeur to this festival which heralds joy, mirth and
happiness in the
ensuring year. This festival is celebrated on a
grand scale in almost
all the regions of India and is looked upon mainly as the
beginning of New Year. As such
the
blessings of Lakshmi, the celestial consort of Lord Vishnu are invoked with
prayers.
Even countries like Gkyena,
Thailand, Trinidad, Siam and Malaya celebrate this festival
but in their own
ways. This Diwali festival, it is surmised
dates back to that period
when perhaps history was not written, and in its
progress through centuries it lighted
path of thousands to attain the ultimate good and complete ecstasy."
- Malini Bisen,
Diwali Festival, India
"Crisis is
part of me.
Beneath my glass skin
Is a typhoon of savage passion. On October's
Desolate shore a fresh carcass is cast up;
October is
my empire.
My gentle hands control what is lost.
My tiny eyes survey what is melting.
My tender ears listen to the silence of the dying.
Terror is
part of me.
In my rich bloodstream
Courses all-killing time. In October's
Chilling sky a fresh famine erupts.
October is
my empire.
My dead troops hold every rain-sodden city.
My dead warning-plane circles the sky above aimless minds.
My dead sign their names for the dying."
- Tamura Ryuichi
“On the motionless branches
of some trees, autumn berries hung like clusters of coral beads,
as in those fabled orchards where the fruits were jewels . . .”
- Charles Dickens
"There comes a
time when it cannot be put off any longer. The radio warns of a
killing frost coming
in the night, and you must say good-by to the garden. You dread it, as
you dread saying good-by
to any good friend; but the garden waits with its last gifts, and you must
go with a bushel basket
or big buckets to receive them."
- Rachel Peden
“There is a harmony in
autumn, and a luster in its sky, which through the summer is not heard or
seen,
as if it could not be, as if it had not been!”
- Percy Bysshe Shelley
"Aye, thou art welcome, heaven's delicious breath!
When woods
begin to wear the crimson leaf,
And suns grow meek, and the meek suns grow brief
And the year smiles as it draws near its death.
Wind of the sunny south! oh,
still delay
In the gay woods and in the golden air,
Like to a good old age released from care,
Journeying, in long serenity, away.
In such a bright, late quiet, would that I
Might wear out life like thee, 'mid bowers and brooks
And dearer yet, the sunshine of kind looks,
And music of kind voices ever nigh;
And when my last sand twinkled in the glass,
Pass silently from men, as thou dost pass."
- William Cullen Bryant,
October
Samhain, Halloween: Extensive Bibliography, Links, Lore, Poems, Prayers, Preparations, Crafts, Rituals, Quotes
Cloud Hands Blog by Mike Garofalo
Short Poems and Haiku by Mike Garofalo
"October is marigold, and
yet
A glass half full of wine left out
To the dark heaven all night, by dawn
Has dreamed a premonition
Of ice across its eye as if
The ice-age had begun its heave.
The lawn overtrodden and strewn
From the night before, and the whistling green
Shrubbery are doomed. Ice
Has got its spearhead into place.
First a skin, delicately here
Restraining a ripple from the air;
Soon plate and rivet on pond and brook;
Then tons of chain and massive lock
To hold rivers. Then, sound by sight
Will Mammoth and Sabre-tooth celebrate
Reunion while a fist of cold
Squeezes the fire at the core of the world,
Squeezes the fire at the core of the heart,
And now it is about to start."
- Ted Hughes, October Dawn
"In the other gardens
And all up the vale,
From the autumn bonfires
See the smoke trail.
Pleasant summer over
An all the summer flowers,
The red fire blazes,
The gray smoke towers.
Sing a song of seasons!
Something bright in all,
Flowers in the summer
Fires in the fall!"
- Robert Louis Stevenson, Autumn Fires
"Now Autumn's fire burns slowly along the woods."
- William Allingham
"I long for the bulbs to arrive, for the
early autumn chores are melancholy, but the planting of bulbs
is the work of hope and is always thrilling."
- May Sarton
"Fresh October brings the pheasant,
The to gather nuts is pleasant."
- Sara Coleridge
Return to the Top of this Webpage
Links and References
American Indian Lore for October: "How the Turtles Back Was Cracked,"
Cherokee
Ancient Greek Samhain
Festivals. By John Opsopaus.
Annie's Month of
October
Always a delightful compendium of facts and information. Provides a kid safe Christian perspective.
Ante
Diem III Nonas October - The Pagan Left Information on Quan
Yin.
Ante Diem III
Kalendas October - The Pagan Left
An Annotated & Illustrated Collection of Worldwide Links to Mythologies, Fairy Tales & Folklore, Sacred Arts & Sacred Traditions. By Kathleen Jenks, Ph.D.
Apple Lore
and Facts. By Susa Morgan Black, OBOD.
Apple Branch in Dianic
Tradition
The Apple Branch: A Path to Celtic Ritual. By Alexei Kondratiev.
Citadel, 2003. 320 pages. ISBN: 0806525029.
Apples - A
Teacher's Cyberguide
Autumn Season Celebrations, Mabon, Autumn
Equinox, Alban Elfed (September 21st) Celebrations and Activities
There are many activities for Samhain that are also done on Mabon - all related
to harvesting and preservation during the early autumn season.
Autumn
- A Celebration of Tradition in Vermont
Autumn
Greetings, Customs and Lore Mythology Myth*ing Links:
Autumn Equinox. A 60K list of carefully selected and informatively
annotated links about mythology.
Autumn - Quotes, Poems, Sayings
and Quips for Gardeners
Creating Circles and Ceremonies: Rituals for all Seasons and Reasons.
By Oberon Zell-Ravenheart and Morning Glory Zell-Ravenheart. Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, New Page Books, 2006.
Appendices, glossary, index, 288 pages. ISBN: 1564148645. VSCL.
Cloud Hands Blog by Mike Garofalo
Cuttings - October.
Short poems by Mike Garofalo.
Daoist
Health and Spiritual Practices
Day of the Dead,
Halloween, Samhain: Extensive Bibliography,
Links, Lore, Poems, Prayers, Preparations, Crafts, Rituals, Quotes
December: Quotes, Poems, Lore, Myths,
Sayings, Celebrations
Diwali Festival, The Lighting
of the Lamps, India
Fairies, Elves, Nature Spirits:
Lands Spirits, Alfs, Wights, Lars, Trolls, Dwarves,
Sidhe, Devas, Otherworld, Little Folk, Ancestors, Ghosts
Fall, Autumn - Quotes, Poems, Sayings
and Quips for Gardeners
Flowers:
Quotations, Lore, Myths, Resources
Greek and Roman
Autumn Festivals
The Green Man (Powers
of Spring and Summer): Bibliography, Links, Quotes, Information, Lore,
Myths, Role
Labyrinths:
Lore, Bibliography, Links, Resources, Quotes
Land Spirits, Nature Spirits:
Fairies, Elves, Alfs, Wights, Trolls, Dwarves, Sidhe,
Devas, Otherworld, Little Folk, Ancestors, Ghosts
Lore and Magick of the
Harvest. By Asherah.
Mabon, Autumnal Equinox, Harvest Festival
Michaelmas Lore A Christian feast in honor of the Archangel
Michael.
Months: Poems, Quotations,
Sayings, Lore
Mrs.
Ritter's First Grade Critters
Nature Spirits:
Fairies, Elves, Alfs, Wights, Lars, Trolls, Dwarves, Sidhe,
Devas, Otherworld, Little Folk, Ancestors, Ghosts
November: Quotes, Poems, Lore, Myths, Sayings
October Calendar - School
of the Seasons
October Holidays and
Celebrations. Compiled by Sue LaBeau.
October
Literature Connections
October: Quotes, Poems, Lore, Myths,
Gardening
October
Poems Catholic poetry about Our Lady, Mary. Mother of
Jesus Christ.
Old
French Sayings about October
One Old Druid's Final Journey - The
Notebooks of the Librarian of Gushen Grove
Quotes for Gardeners Over 3,500 quotes arranged
by over 140 topics.
Reinventing the
Halloween Night
Ritual of the
Labyrinth: Ta Hiera Laburinthou. By John Opsopaus.
Red Bluff,
California. Natural History Studies at our Home and Gardens.
Sacred
Circles: Bibliography, Links, Resources, Quotations, Notes, Construction
Samhain, Halloween, All Hallows Eve, Beginning of the Winter/Dark Season
Samhain, Summer's End, Hallowmas, All Saint's Day, All Hallows Eve,
Halloween, Shadow Fest, Martinmas,
Old Hallowmas, The Last Harvest
Day of the Dead, Beginning of the Winter/Dark Season, Otherworld Borders Day
Samhain: Extensive Bibliography, Links, Lore, Poems, Prayers, Preparations, Crafts, Rituals, Quotes
Samhain: The Eight Seasonal Religious
Celebrations of NeoPagans
Yule:
Preparing for Yule and Saturnalia on December 21st
Preparing
for the Autumnal Equinox, Mabon, September 21st
Slavic Pagan
Holidays - Autumn
Summer: Quotes, Poems and Sayings for
Gardeners
Thesmophoria - Ancient Greek Autumn Festival
Taoist
Health and Spiritual Practices
Trees:
Quotations, Lore, Myths, Resources
Yuletide, Winter Solstice:
Preparing for Yule and Saturnalia on December 21st
October Weather Lore
October Attributions
Astrological Signs: Libra, September 23 - October 22
Astrological Signs: Scorpio, October 23 - November 22
October Birthstones: Opal
October Gemstone: Jaspar
October Flower: Calendula
Return to the Top of this Webpage
October Gardening Chores
Red Bluff, North Sacramento Valley, California, USA
USDA Zone 9
Red Bluff, California. Natural History Studies at our Home and Gardens
Removing dead and non-productive vegetable
crops.
Ordering seed and garden catalogs.
Start planting seedlings for the Winter Garden.
Removing dead fruit and branches to burn pile.
Remove all peppers in case of frost.
Adding and turning manure into the soil.
Put all tools up under cover in the sheds.
Reduce watering as temperature drops.
Watering plants as needed.
Being attentive to the effects of the cold dry winds.
Planting potted trees and shrubs in the ground.
Placing cold sensitive potted plants in protected areas or indoors.
Planting new bulbs and moving old bulbs.
Prune and mulch perennials.
Cutting dead branches and limbs from trees.
Research new material for this webpage.
Storing and repairing tools.
Fertilize with 20-9-9 or 15-15-15.
Trees without leaves need little or no watering.
Picking pumpkins, squash, colored corn, and other crops for Thanksgiving
decorations.
Finish all digging and construction projects before the first rain.
Bring in wood and kindling to rain free storage areas.
Repair roofs on sheds and house.
Mow lawns and use cuttings in mulch pile.
Clean up Sacred Circle
Garden.
Clean and repair gutters.
Close up evaporate coolers and cover.
Add fallen leaves to the compost pile.
Be prepared for chilling frosts.
Collect seeds from plants.
Start pruning berry vines.
"Since we do experience droughts nearly every summer, it is
crucial to provide supplemental irrigation to newly installed (spring) landscapes. Generally this means a couple
of hours of watering once or twice a week. Keep in mind that trees and shrubs planted in the
spring and summer use a significant amount of their resources for above-ground growth.
Since root growth is favored during the dormant season, it’s best to install
landscape plants in the fall. It has been demonstrated that shrubs and trees planted during the
fall suffer less environmental stress than those planted in the spring or
summer."
-
Dr.
Linda Chalker-Scott
October Gardening Chores and
Tips
Oregon State University
October Tips
Earth Wise Creations Tips for October - Zone 9
Gardening Tips - October - New York Botanical Garden
Top Garden Projects for October in the Pacific Northwest by Ed Hume
52 Weeks in the California Garden by Richard Smaus
The Garden Helper Tips for October - Northern U.S.
Tips from the Master Gardeners of Santa Clara County, California
Farmer Fred's Monthly Gardening Chores for Central California
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Photographs in October
Karen and Mike Garofalo
Red Bluff, Northern Rural California
Red Bluff Gardens - Comparison from 1998 - 2007
Red Bluff, California. Natural History Studies at our Home and Gardens
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More Quotes for Gardeners
Cloud Hands Blog by Mike
Garofalo
Spirituality and Concerns of the Soul
Simplicity and the Simple Life
Pulling Onions:
Observations of a Gardener
By Michael P. Garofalo
Clichés for Gardeners and Farmers
The History of Gardening Timeline From Ancient Times to the 20th Century
Short Poems and Haiku by Michael P. Garofalo
Awards and Recognition for this Web Site
Willpower, Resolve, Determination: Quotes, Poems, Sayings
Quotes
for Gardeners
Quotes, Sayings, Proverbs, Poetry, Maxims, Quips, Clichés,
Adages, Wisdom
A Collection Growing to Over 3,500 Quotes, Arranged by 140 Topics
Many of the Documents Include Recommended Readings and Internet Links.
Over 6 MB of Text.
Compiled by Michael P. Garofalo
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Distributed on the Internet by Michael P. Garofalo
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Welcome Your Comments, Ideas, Contributions, and Suggestions
E-mail Mike Garofalo in Red Bluff, California
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October
- Quotes, Poems,
Folklore, Customs, Garden Chores.
Last updated on October 20, 2012
This October Quotations document was first published on the Internet WWW on January, 2000, at http://www.gardendigest.com/monoct.htm.
On January 1, 2005, this October Quotations
document as moved and thereafter updated at
http://www.egreenway.com/months/monoct.htm.
The History of Gardening Timeline
One Old Druid's Journey: The Notebooks of the Green Wizard
Cloud Hands: Taijiquan and Qigong
|
Months and Seasons Quotes, Poems, Sayings, Verses, Lore, Myths, Holidays Celebrations, Folklore, Reading, Links, Quotations Information, Weather, Gardening Chores Compiled by Mike Garofalo |
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