Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Frost on the Punkin'




It was thirty degrees at my house this morning, how about you?

"When the Frost is on the Punkin"
James Whitcomb Riley. 1853–1916

WHEN the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock,
And you hear the kyouck and gobble of the struttin' turkey-cock,
And the clackin' of the guineys, and the cluckin' of the hens,
And the rooster's hallylooyer as he tiptoes on the fence;
O, it's then the time a feller is a-feelin' at his best,
With the risin' sun to greet him from a night of peaceful rest,
As he leaves the house, bareheaded, and goes out to feed the stock,
When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock.

They's something kindo' harty-like about the atmusfere
When the heat of summer's over and the coolin' fall is here
Of course we miss the flowers, and the blossoms on the trees,
And the mumble of the hummin'-birds and buzzin' of the bees;
But the air's so appetizin'; and the landscape through the haze
Of a crisp and sunny morning of the airly autumn days
Is a pictur' that no painter has the colorin' to mock
Then the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock.

The husky, rusty russel of the tossels of the corn,
And the raspin' of the tangled leaves as golden as the morn;
The stubble in the furries—kindo' lonesome-like, but still
A-preachin' sermuns to us of the barns they growed to fill;
The strawstack in the medder, and the reaper in the shed;
The hosses in theyr stalls below—the clover overhead!
O, it sets my hart a-clickin' like the tickin' of a clock,
When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock.

Then your apples all is gethered, and the ones a feller keeps 25
Is poured around the cellar-floor in red and yaller heaps;
And your cider-makin's over, and your wimmern-folks is through
With theyr mince and apple-butter, and theyr souse and sausage too!...
I don't know how to tell it—but ef such a thing could be
As the angels wantin' boardin', and they'd call around on me
I'd want to 'commodate 'em—all the whole-indurin' flock
When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock.

7 comments:

The Editors said...

Nope, a perfectly sunny and warm 55 degrees in Sunny Fortuna. It never drops below 50 degrees.....ever. Yes, we DO live in paradise up here at the north end of the Eel.

Spence & Kate

Ernie Branscomb said...

You sound like you must have some kind of a close connection to the Fortuna Chamber of Commerce.

Kate said...

I would love to hear you recite this sometime Ernie! Would you?? (I don't even know what all the words are)

Anonymous said...

" A perfectly warm 55 degrees "
This morning it was a perfectly 22 degrees in Yakima and went for a walk before sun-up without a coat.
That's paradise.

Oregon

Ernie Branscomb said...

When did they change the Motto from "Sunny Fortuna" to "The Friendly City"? I have to agree, it's a nice town.

Dave Kirby said...

Off topic...there's a big college football game this saturday..LSU vs Alabama....picked up the following jokes.



How many Alabama fans does it take to eat a possum? Three. One to eat it, two to watch out for the cars.

Hear about the LSU coyote? He gnawed off three of his legs and still couldn't get out of the trap.

Why do they no longer serve ice at Alabama football games? The senior who knew the recipe graduated.

How many LSU freshmen does it take to change a light bulb? None. That's a sophomore course at LSU.

Ross Sherburn said...

35 degrees here in the North Valley. Thats pretty "nippy" for us................