PAUL CHRISTENSEN

It's raining out, the drops coming down like fingers picking off the red and yellow leavers of the maple trees like someone putting away the ornaments of a Christmas tree. The ground is puffy and sullen, drinking in the cold streamlets. A weatherman said the threat of flooding was remote since the rivers were running very low. Our own Otter Creek was showing the roots of the overhanging trees, and there were some tree branches that had come loose and were unable to move in th

They're beginning to park the snowplows on the corners of city streets, and along the country roads. They say the more apples there are on the trees, the heavier the snow will be. So everyone has set their jaw and stared at the plows as if they were ominous signs. I am used to Vermont's gunmetal gray skies now, after a week of drizzly weather, and the chill of damp mornings. We light fires in the late afternoon and come down early to our easy chairs to read, or gaze around at