Autumn

It is so beautiful here in Indiana.  Wow, it's been a long time since I lived in a place where the leaves changed to such vivid colors.

It really just takes your breath away.  As you can see, I'm always stopping the car, jumping out and taking a picture.

This is called a "burning bush."  (With reference to the burning bush in the Bible.)  

They are all over town.

In other news around town, it is finally time to harvest the crops.  We have been anxious to see how this was done.  This field is partially harvested.  The machinery cuts the corn, tumbles it around somehow, funnels off the corn, and spits everything else back out.  You can see how cluttered the ground is.

This is what is left.

And even more close up it looks like this:

Bits of corn cobs, stalks, etc.

Craig spent a couple of days last week building a ramp for a man in our ward who has had some surgery on his foot, and is in a wheelchair.  He enlisted the help of Brother Morrison, who is a master woodworker.  Brother Morrison had all the tools and know-how.  They built it in one day, and poured the cement for the ramp the next day.

The cement at the bottom allows for a smooth transition from dirt to wood.

Along with the help of Brother Wagner, those three men did an excellent job.  In addition, many others in the branch donated funds for the materials.

I thought I would show you a picture of our primary.  We just finished making masks for an Activity Day.

Because we have no scouting program, the boys are invited to Activity Days.  We try to incorporate some of the scout activities.  Next month we are doing "knots" and learning to tie ties.  Yay!

Oh, BTW, the tall one is actually our Primary President.  LOL

We FINALLY finished painting the back of Sister Sutton's trailer.   What a comedy of errors.

But, the blue streaks from the shutters are gone.

Craig even painted the door jam of the garage door.  It was pretty weather beaten.

I managed to get a picture of Sister Sutton supervising.

I snapped this picture of Craig the other day.  He is eating breakfast and enjoying the sun.

I don't know how he squats like that, but he is comfortable and can stay like that for a long time.  If I remember correctly, I think he's talking to Sam in between cereal bites.

Finally, I wanted to share our trip to the Covered Bridge Festival.
We were invited to go to this at the beginning of summer and have been waiting all this time.
We actually saw several beautiful bridges.

I learned some things about covered bridges.  They were covered to protect them from the elements.

They had windows, which I think is really cool.  Here is Craig and Robert Wagner enjoying the view.  You can also see graffiti.  Sheesh.  Is nothing sacred?

The view at the other end was really beautiful -- all the fall colors.

Here is the bridge in Bridgeton.  Parking is on this side of the bridge, and everyone walks across it to get into the town.

Here is a view from the other side.

Even though the Festival is to commemorate the bridges, believe me, 

IT'S ALL ABOUT THE FOOD AND SHOPPING.

Imagine every town having a giant craft fair.  We spent the day in three different cities.

This was one of the food courts.  We had homemade potato chips with cheese and bacon.  YUM

You can see that the sky is overcast.  It was threatening rain, but luckily stayed dry.  I guess that, no matter the weather, it is always crowded everyday of the 10-day festival.  At least it was not freezing cold.  This picture was taken on a Monday.

Rows and rows of shopping tents selling everything imaginable.

AND, I found a spinning wheel for sale.  A bargain price of $75.

Craig tried on several hats looking for the one that best suited his style.

There were performers.  This guy were advertising a melodrama taking place that afternoon.

And you KNOW we had to have the solid mahogany 57 chevy

There were craftsmen, of course.

The countryside was gorgeous.  Fall leaves, hills, trees, valleys.  Different from the corn fields that surround Rensselaer.  It was a great day with good friends.

Finally, we had our Branch Chile Cook Off last Saturday.  It was a great turn out.  I think the investigators almost outnumbered the members.  NOW, if we can just get them at church.  Maybe we should offer more candy?  Ya think?