Every October Mom pulls Hank out of her shed and fluffs him up with some new hay, a new bandana and maybe some new clothes if he needs them. Hank has had the same hat for years. Mom sits Hank on a bale of hay, surrounds him with pumpkins and leaves him to greet anyone who passes by.

Every morning my mom eats breakfast on her front porch. If it is cold, she adds more layers of clothing and wraps herself in a blanket. Sometimes she builds a fire in her outdoor fire pit. On this particular morning, she took pictures of the last hay cutting in her little hay meadow. The sun was just peeking out over the hills behind her house to spotlight the gold tree at the edge of the meadow.

The sun rose higher and graced the ridge in the distance with its rays. It was a brisk, cool morning. See the cloud of mist on the far right? It marks the location of the pond. Later this same day, the hay was baled. Mom only got 80 bales with her last cutting, but it was the third cutting of the year. She hauled all 80 bales by herself. I was out of town on a trip with my choir kids and she just couldn't wait for me to get back and help her. Did I mention that my mom is sixty-seven?!!