We had to memorize this poem in the sixth grade. It's one of my favorites and I usually think about it every fall:

Something Told the Wild Geese
by Rachel Field

Something told the wild geese
It was time to go,

Though the fields lay golden

Something whispered, "snow."

Leaves were green and stirring,
Berries, luster-glossed,

But beneath warm feathers

Something cautioned, "frost."

All the sagging orchards

Steamed with amber spices,

But each wild breast stiffened
At remembered ice.

Something told the wild geese

It was time to fly,
Summer sun was on their wings,

Winter in their cry.

And here's another reason not to hang around.

Maddie Salutes: This is a new feature on the blog that might appear again from time to time. When anybody does anything of note or import, Maddie, the Amazing Barking Dog, will honor you by barking her fool head off in a most congratulatory way. And this week, Maddie gives out a five bark salute to Emmet, in Cleveland, because the front page that he designed for the election day edition of the Plain Dealer was talked about on both CNN and MSNBC. Congratulations Emmet! You're knocking us out down here! And to you from Maddie:

Woof, Woof.....Woof, Woof, Woof!

The rest of you should get busy and try to come up with something that impresses Maddie.

I was putting together a playlist of songs for Thanksgiving Dinner this week. One of my favorite Thanksgiving hymns is We Gather Together. It always makes me think of Thanksgiving Day on Captain Kangaroo, when, at the end of the show, Mr. Green Jeans (or maybe it was the Captain, I'm not sure) would carry out a beautiful turkey to serve to everybody at the Treasure House, and that song would play, and then we would be whisked right off to the opening of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, which bored me silly after seeing four high school marching bands and the Underdog balloon.

Oh, how I loved the Captain, and Mr. Green Jeans, and Bunny Rabbit - it was so cute the way he would whack his little head on the counter, demanding carrots. And Mr Moose, with his ping pong balls, was hilarious. Yes, I loved them, but not Grandfather Clock, because he was just creepy and Dancing Bear? What a farce! That bear was only shuffling his feet. I read that the Banana Man was an old vaudevillian, whose costume couldn't be cleaned. It smelled terrible and when he was on the show, nobody wanted to be anywhere near the set.

From the Archives: 1961 - Brian, me, Jeff, and Shorty Pants

A baby shower cake that I made this weekend

And finally, the Recipe of the Week: I made these for Rob this weekend.

Scotcheroos
1 cup sugar

1 cup light corn syrup

1 cup peanut butter

6 cups Rice Krispies

1 cup chocolate chips

1 cup butterscotch chips

Bring sugar and syrup to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in the peanut butter. Add rice krispies. Press into a butter 9 X 13 pan. Melt the chips and spread over the top.

"Instead of putting a quarter under a kid's pillow, how about a pinecone? That way, he learns that 'wishing' isn't going to save our national forests." Jack Handey