Thanksgiving 2008

Laura liked to pick out gourds and small pumpkins in the fall and for Thanksgiving.  She usually reminded me to get some Indian corn too for hanging on the door.  This is my Thanksgiving arrangement of gourds and corn and white turnips too, put together in her honor.  At her grave, the mums are dried and spent, as they could be expected to be this late in November and as such they will carry on their vigil at her grave through Thanksgiving.  The holiday's passage is noted there with a balloon and some gourds to be added for the day.  At the last visit, we had some loud company in the nearby sugar maple tree.  It was a Pileated Woodpecker hammering away in search of some dinner.

With the cold weather, there's a skim of ice on Griffiths Pond.  A Hooded Merganser had joined the Buffleheads there the other day but now none of them are in evidence.  But the weather is set to moderate and I expect to see them again.

Memories of Thanksgiving past:  Here is Little Laura with Grandma and Grandpa and, in the other photo, 9 year old Laura has some fun, popping up from a hiding place behind the table.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone with special thoughts for those keenly feeling a recent loss, whether they are from our town, or from across the miles, and whether an old friend or new.