Harvest home

Another sure sign of the season around here is the appearance of corn shocks in people's yards and tied to the lamp posts around town. Since the corn is all brown and dry, a few pumpkins and other gourds add color.

In just a couple of days the corn fields -- already in sad shape from the summer drought -- turned completely brown. Often in the field right next to a cornfield, the pumpkins were peeping through the drying vines, waiting for the pick-your-own people to show up. Almost as diversely hued as sumac, the pumpkins range from yellow to a bright red-orange and the occasional odd white or pinkish.

When I first was assigned to Wisconsin back in 1985, I thought that the state had a thing for Halloween because of all the pumpkins and things around. Later I realized that the real tradition -- which does include Halloween -- is an agricultural community's celebration of harvest for many weeks leading up to Thanksgiving.