As the vibrant, glowing colors of fall, the crisp mornings and evenings with a touch of dew turn our thoughts to this impending season of Thankfulness.

In the olden days it was a time to be thankful for the harvested crops that had been nurtured and raised from spring through summer and harvested in the fall to be dried and stored for the winter months when food cultivation was not possible.

According to Wikipedia : Prayers of thanks and special thanksgiving ceremonies are common among almost all religions after harvests and at other times.

Growing up in a rural farming town where apples were a huge crop, fall meant delicious crisp apples in many different colors, and all the things we made out of the apples….pies, cobbler, sauce, cider and juice.  What a delight it was to pick a fresh ripe apple off a tree where it had been basking in the glow of the Indian summer sun and biting into it with the sun’s warmth on the skin, the sweet juice dripped off your chin – that experience is something to be thankful for! People were  thankful for the harvest because the farmers had money to spend, the workers had money to spend and the whole town was endowed with the wealth that the crops brought forth.

As Time goes by and our lives change shape and direction, people come and go, children are born and raised, family members grow old and frail, true friends are treasured more than anything monetary and the harvest season brings thoughts of thankfulness for all those special people, times and memories, more than the food in the pantry. Most of us do not truly harvest what we plant and grow these days in the same manner as the Pilgrims did but we still appreciate the spirit of Thankfulness none the less.

Wishing you and yours a wonderful and thankful harvest season.