Here in Vermont we mark the changing seasons in autumn by familiar sights and sounds: green leaves turn red and gold, geese gather on Otter Creek and say it’s time. Some familiar changes seem absent this year: not a single lady bug on my screen door.
But there are also indoor signs of change. Stopping by Aubuchon Hardware after church to buy new light timers, I walk through an aisle where two young men are at work. One empties shelves of chemicals to clean swimming pools while across the aisle the other is stocking Christmas lights. And a big gray and white cat has settled down for a nap in an empty carton.
Kathleen G. Johnson
Middlebury
