84-L>ncntar Fanning, Saturday, Septambar 18, 1993 W a farm jj^Sa Joyce Bnpp -And other hazards Errant leaves litter the front porch, as if carelessly tossed by some unseen, giant hand. So, day after day, I tackle them with a broom, sweeping the brownish-green, half-wilted, has beens of the season out into the yard with numerous others. But this year’s leaf fall is differ ent from most We’ve had “fall” since mid-summer. And every one of the noisy, blustery thunder storms of recent weeks re-litters the porches and lawns with a fresh scattering of maple tree fallout Perhaps it was the trauma of July’s drought and record setting stretch of high temperatures that has resulted in this premature leaf drop. Or maybe an infestation of aphids, as has been the case in some of the past hot dry summers. Though I’ve never completely outgrown a childhood passion for climbing trees, our ancient maples are a bit high to go scaling in search of bugs. This early onset of falling leaves appropriately ushers in this week’s “official” start of my fa vorite season. But autumn has al ready worked a foot in the door, its early signs easing into our sur roundings more gradually than the jolt of tearing off the flrst-day-of autumn page from our day calen dar. Our tall Norway spruce has also been giving us “drops” all season. Pine cones make wonderful wood stove kindling, quick-starting when dry and wonderfully fra grant with authentic pine scent But the “drops” arc not yet kind ling-dry, a fact I discovered when trying to start a doggie-roasting fire recently. So the winter woodstove supply of pine cones, ours and those ga thered from the cone-littered lawn of friends, are being “cured.” Laid out along the middle “step” of the railroad-tie retainer wall, the con es are protected from blowing away during strong winds while being exposed to the drying effect of the bright sunshine. Thunderstorms rolling by every other evening, however, tend to slow this drying process. The con es are definitely clean and free of dust, though. Ears on some of the neighbor hood’s earliest-planted com began showing maturity some weeks ago. As husks turn brown and crinkly on some varieties, the ears droop toward the ground, a plant characteristic that helps shed moisture and protect the golden kernels. A sure sign of the season is the area’s army of forage choppers, noisily chewing up row after row of standing com and spewing it out in tiny pieces of green and yel low into forage wagons lumbering behind. That urgency to start chopping, keep chopping and get finished chopping silage usually overrides all other jobs on dairy and livestock farms during Sep tember. Farm wives nag, worry and pray until the last load is chopped that all that silo-filling-season ur gency doesn’t override their farm ers paying attention to common sense equipment safety measures. And now, weedy meadows and brushy fencerows begin to “brighten up” with their seasonal colors, as stands of goldenrod wave long fingers of fluffy yellow blossoms. I break off a handful of the tall blooms growing along a field road, to mix with cattails from the pond bank and loosely Snltzing will be a featured activity at the Hans Herr House Snitz Fest. Snitz Fest Reflects Early Settlers’ Diets WILLOW STREET (Lancaster Co.) Documents in the collec tion of the Hans Herr House prove the importance of the everyday apple in the diet of early Menno nite settlers in Lancaster County. Christian Herr’s 1749 inventory lists among his other possessions an “apple mill and dough (trough) and a cider press.” Three genera tions later, a great-grandson of Christian’s (also named Christian) describes planting an orchard. Dated March 9, 1821, he states “...I planted an orchard on the place where John Beam lives as f0110w5....” He then describes by row the apple varieties planted in this orchard, including Rambos, Redstreaks, Winesops, Sweet Pip pins, Bellflowers, Newtown Pip pins, Romanites, and Hughs Crabs. arrange in the old nail barrel on the porch. Butternut squash tumb ling from an up-turned wicker basket near the bhrrel adds a har vest touch. Now if I can just find the gold papertwist ribbon to replace the tired, worn, insect-riddled laven dar stuff hanging limply on the front-door wreath, we’ll be all set to properly salute the arrival of fall. I’ll have to sweep the leaves off the porch again so fall can find its way in. GOOD FOOD OUTLET STORES See Our Original Line Of Golden Barrel Products Plus All Kinds Of Beans, Candies, Dried Fruit, Snack Mixes, Etc. At Reduced Prices A BAKING MOLASSES * MAPLE SYRUP *