The time period of this article takes place in the fall of late October 1949. I was still going to Franklin Grammar School and my teacher was Mrs. Thelma Clark and she had grades 5 through 8 at that time.

I stopped by the old Daniel Day house about a month ago to check out the work being done on the south side of the house.

Cold, autumn air and the start of winter bring unique challenges to firefighting. In particular, it is often the start of chimney fire season. A chimney fire is a fire that occurs in the chimney, or vent, of a heating appliance. Frequently, it is caused when creosote ignites. Creosote is a highly combustible by-product of wood fires, which is deposited on the lining of chimney walls.

With the area’s first snowfall, cows, sheep, and goats have been taken off pasture and brought into barns and a noticeable layer of ice is forming atop small farm ponds.

Lincoln County is blessed with an abundance of rivers. Some are well-known and regularly visited; others are smaller and less familiar. Regardless of their size and location, all are beautiful and help define the geography of the county.

It’s dark in the morning now when I leave Bath for Lincoln County. I follow a fast moving stream of headlights up Route 1. That’s how I know day is coming. If it was the middle of the night, I’d be chasing my own high beams, the road to myself.

I share the frustration of the young activists as I listen to news from the Glasgow climate conference where wealthy countries want the summit to appear a success without putting up the cash and commitments to make it so. Meanwhile developing countries that feel the existential threat of climate change most keenly are unwilling to have their concerns smoothed over to make COP 26 look successful.