CHANGE OF SEASONS
Most regions of the earth have changes of season. The changes normally are from cool to warm, or from wet to dry. But even the poles, which are constantly cold and dry, have the change from twenty four hours of light to twenty four hours of dark. The tropical regions, which have equal night and day, have a rainy and a dry season. The desert regions of the world have cool and warm seasons.
The temperate regions of the world generally have four seasons that we know as Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall. And it is this change of four seasons that has helped make the peoples of temperate climates the most active and advanced of the world.
I remember that I was most effected by the change of season during the years of my strength and youth. The change from warm to cool, or from wet to dry, or from long days to short; or the changes in the rhythms of nature, or of human endeavor; always brought a quickening of spirit and interest to my life.
After months of no frozen precipitation we would unexpectedly awaken to a cold gray dawn with frost all about us. This would always awaken my soul in some way, give an eagerness to getting out of bed, a thrill to walking about in nature's new face.
It was always the change to something new, after long weeks of a sameness, that was the cause of the awakening of interest to life. Suddenly it would be time to make cider. After a long spell of warm summer days it would be suddenly cooler, and the apples would be ripe and falling from the trees. The whole family would help in the endeavors of picking up the apples, putting them in the cider mill, cranking the cider mill, operating the press, and collecting the cider in gallon vinegar jugs. The pulp would be emptied near by where yellow jackets would instantly be busy at collecting sustenance to carry them through the coming winter.