All things on earth point home in old October: sailors to sea, travelers to walls and fences, hunters to field and hollow and the long voice of the hounds, the lover to the love he has forsaken. (Thomas Wolfe)
October, the tenth month, but it was the eighth month in the old Roman calendar – after all, octo- means eight
For we in the northern hemisphere, October is about autumn, but to those south of the equator, they are enjoying the emergence of spring
In leap years, no month starts on the same day of the week as October, but during common years, only January does
October ends the same day of the week as February every year, but only January does in common years
October’s moon is known as the Hunter’s Moon
Flower: Calendula, Birthstone: Opal, and the Zodiac signs: Libra (until October 22) & Scorpio (October 23 and beyond)
There is no season when such pleasant and sunny spots may be lighted on, and produce so pleasant an effect on the feelings, as now in October. (Nathaniel Hawthorne)
Sometime in October, all the four major professional sports leagues in North America are playing
Slavs call it “yellow month” because of the colors of leaves, but the Anglo-Saxons refer to October as “Winterfylleth” because at winter begins with this full moon … yet the Germanic use “Wein-mond” for wine month
Neil Gaiman wrote a story personifying the month in his collection Fragile Things entitled October in the Chair
Some movies with October in the title: October Sky, Hunt for Red October,
The October Man, First Monday in October, The Hunt for Red October, Mr. October, October Sky, and October
Oh, Marilla,” she exclaimed one Saturday morning, coming dancing in with her arms full of gorgeous boughs, “I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers. It would be terrible if we just skipped from September to November, wouldn’t it? Look at these maple branches. Don’t they give you a thrill–several thrills? (L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables)
October is the month to increase awareness for AIDS, Antidepression Death, Blindness, Breast Cancer, Caffeine Addiction Recovery, Domestic Violence, Down Syndrome, Emotional Intelligence, Dyslexia, Eye Injury Prevention, Fair Trade, Global Diversity, Audiology, Chiropractic Health, Critical Illness, Cyber Security, Disabilities Employment, Depression Education, Ergonomics, Liver, Orthodontic Health, Spina Bifida, Substance Abuse, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, Work & Family, Rett Syndrome, Workplace Politics, Menopause, and Squirrels
October is the month to celebrate American Cheese, Pharmacists, Apples, Children Magazines, Church Libraries, Class Reunions, Country Music, Eat Better – Eat Together, LGBT History, Free Thought, Books, Bake & Decorate, Arts & Humanity, Medical Libraries, Right Brainers, Spinach Lovers, Cosmetology, Photographers, and Stamp Collecting
October is the month to promote Adopt a Dog, Black Speculative Fiction, Bully Prevention, Bilingual Children, Church Safety & Security, Co-op Awareness, Energy Management for Families, Halloween Safety, Health Literacy, Home Eye Safety, Strategic Planning, Walking to School, Intergenerations, Long-Term Care Planning, Animal Safety & Protection, Crime Prevention, Dental Hygiene, Family Sexuality Education, Kitchen & Baths, Hearing Protection, Gourmet Adventures, Car Care, Tackling Hunger, Window Covering Safety, Organizing Your Medical Info, Self Promotion, Reading Groups, and Toilet Tank Repair
October is the month to appreciate bats, caramel, chili, cookbooks, field trips, popcorn, pork, roller skating, seafood, pizza, sausage, pretzels, desserts, apples, pickled peppers, tomatoes, cookies, and pasta
October is the month to Embrace Positive Attitude, Vegetarians, Family History, Hispanic heritage, German-American heritage, Polish-American heritage, and Italian-American heritage (yea me – Do any of these apply to you?)
October is nature’s funeral month. Nature glories in death more than in life. The month of departure is more beautiful than the month of coming – October than May. Every green thin loves to die in bright colors. (Henry Ward Beecher)
There is soooo much in this post, Frank! I’m going to have to come back for these songs all month long!
Happy fall!
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Elyse,
I guess this is an example that I need to lower my exuberance … and hopefully you’ll return for the music. 🙂
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Oh I will! But I think keeping all of this on is a good thing. Loads to look at!
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Thank you!
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“O suns and skies and clouds of June,
And flowers of June together,
Ye cannot rival for one hour
October’s bright blue weather…..”
–Helen Hunt Jackson
( a poem remembered from English class, sophomore year, 1961)
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Cynthia,
Oh my my …. thanks for sharing this one … especially because it shows that your love for poetry goes way back.
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Personally I prefer spring to autumn – but the colours can be beautiful and I enjoy the wrapping up of summer and preparation for winter that ensues! October seems to be a bit short of decent songs judging by this collection Frank, except perhaps for the great JT! [Am I being too harsh? I went hunting for something and returned empty handed – so maybe there really is a dearth of ‘October’ titled music] The last video wouldn’t play for me so I may pop back later for another try. In my part of the world October contains our Labour Day and traditionally that is when all the spring planting was done – Nowadays though September contains such nice weather lots of us have already planted our gardens and are hoping October won’t be too skittish! Lots going on this month – imagine if you kept up with them all…….. 🙂
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Increase awareness for squirrels? Ooooookay, that’s a weird one. But I’m all for appreciating popcorn. Yum.
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Carrie,
I’m with you as seeing the info about squirrels gave me a puzzled look. … and cheers to your love for popcorn.
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October is one busy month. I am half Polish, my mom’s side. So I can celebrate that half of me.
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Catherine,
Cheers to your Polish segment of your background. I will be nice, thus not ask which half.
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Great post dear Frank, October seems rich… Have a nice October, Thank you, love, nia
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Nia,
Glad you enjoyed this! All the best to you!!!
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We also have Columbus day, a long for which I can’t wait!
I gotta check the videos later on my computer.
Embrace a Vegetarian, I’ll present one with pork, sausages and seafood lol
Have a nice day Frank.
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Leo,
Nothing like a pork-sausage-seafood-loving vegetarian. Meanwhile, it seems that Columbus Day om Spain is October 12th … so cheers to your celebration!
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“The Hunt for Red October” remains one of my favorite movies if only for the lines by 2nd Rank Capt. Vasili Borodin: “I will live in Montana. And I will marry a round American woman and raise rabbits, and she will cook them for me. And I will have a pickup truck… maybe even a “recreational vehicle.” And drive from state to state. Do they let you do that?” Sadly, Borodin dies after being shot by the ship’s cook, saying: “I wanted to be a Buckaroo.”
Also in October I plan to increase my awareness for Workplace Politics, celebrate Right Brainers, appreciate Tomatoes, embrace Positive Attitude, and avoid promoting Self Promotion.
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Tim,
Glad to see my reference rekindling your spirit for one of your favorite movies. Here’s a research idea for you: the effect on workplace politics by right brainers with a positive attitude that avoid self promotion.
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Knowing that October is the month to appreciate both caramel and apples, I’ve been on the lookout for caramel apples at my market but they’ve yet to surface. They’re one of my favorite seasonal indulgences, Frank.
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Lame,
I imagine those caramel apples are just around the corner, after all, I’m starting to see them. Enjoy!!!
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Happy October Frank. Love American Cheese and apples (used to pick them as a child) – nothing like a fresh apple right off the tree.
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Mary,
As you now, it’s apple season … so cheers to cider, caramel apples, and whatever.
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Isn’t that the truth and in TX we get nothing but very old apples (as storage warehouses can keep them [appearing fresh] for as long one year to 18 months]). So fresh yellow delicious and mac’s are not to be here ~ miss them!
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Where did you spend your youth?
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Upstate New York, apple and cherry country ~
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Big difference from where you are now.
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Yes, and right now we are getting pelted by golf-ball size hail and wind guts in excess of 80 mph, w/o much rainfall. Haven’t had one of these for quite some time. We are having some serious wide-spread structural damage, almost destruction in many areas that we haven’t had in years – do I sound like a weather man, it’s what I’m listening too.
Yes, long story short – very different.
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Big yuk on the weather … stay safe.
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A positive attitude does well, whatever the month is, doesn’t it? 🙂 Julie London was magnificent. Loved the October Fall gallery. Have a great month.
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Dear Frank,
You really embrace a lot of things in one post. You are a very intelligent person.
I especially embrace the “Breast Cancer Awareness” month and AIDS awareness.
Also, I’m a Veggie… so I guess I get a hug! “LOL” Thanks, Frank!
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Resa,
Many thanks … but I give a lot of thanks to Google … then again, I have to do well searching. Cheers to what you embrace … and hugs for you.
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Great post dear Frank… I loved the excerpt by Thomas Wolfe attached at the beginning!… And U2′ song brought me tons of good memories 🙂
Thanks for sharing. Hope you have a wonderful october!, Aquileana 😀
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Aquileana,
Although you are going into spring, thanks for putting yourself into our fall. …. and hey … hope you stop by this weekend.
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After being reminded that October is “Embrace Positive Attitude” month, I unfortunately have to admit there is nothing about October, except for some family birthdays, that I enjoy. I do enough complaining about weather in my own blog, so I won’t do it on yours…I’ll try to be positive. I DO like Julie London.
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Debra,
I’m looking at a long list of opportunities for you to enjoy October, but one in particular jumps out at me for you to embrace … Toilet Tank Repair! 😉 … and you would love the fall colors in this part of the country.
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From now on, I’m celebrating October with wine, not just candy! 🙂 And I love that October color and piano music. Soothing and delightful.
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Brenda,
My wine celebrations are continuous, so cheers! 🙂 … I’m right with you on that video as the combination of colors and piano are wonderful!
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Yes, I need a superb screen to really do it justice. 🙂
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I love October, Frank. My eldest was born this month, and Thanksgiving is next weekend here in Canada. Turkey and pumpkin pie…yummm….I have my mantle all decked out with fall garland and pumpkins…cool weather has begun and we await the first frost.
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Kayjai,
Thanks for the reminder about the Canadian Thanksgiving as i need those reminders! Cheers to your eldest’s upcoming birthday, which is another reason for mom to have a glass of wine.
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October was my fav month as a kid; I could play all day on the weekends and never get too hot! I remember jumping over logs in the woods, walking for miles among the trees, horseback riding through the woods, and generally soaking in the color of the month. As a gardener, it signals the end of the growing season, but there are so many perks in terms of harvest, food, and overall a colorful world. Loved the “October Colors” video. Thanks for a lovely post, Frank.
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Lynn,
Many thanks for sharing your thoughts about October from your youth. As you mentioned, it’s a great month for outdoor activities … and even with the normal temperature differences between the beginning and end of the month.
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Love Love Love Julie London!!
I love October because it has my favorite of all time holiday, plus my first grandchild was born on my favorite of all time holiday. Just how cool is that?
But October signals cooler and then colder weather…. bah!
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Val,
Glad you enjoyed the Julie London song … but wow … I think there interesting music this month that matches what October is … but I know, you’ll miss the months of never-hot-enough-for-Val temps.
Wow … our grandchild was born on Columbus Day! … Named Christopher? 😉
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Grist for the October Mental Mill:
It is true that we see more colors than some animals. However, some animals see colors we cannot. Spiders and many insects can see a type of light called ultraviolet that humans cannot see. Other animals are able to see in the infrared.
The the chart below lists some common animals and the colors they can see.
ANIMAL THE COLORS THEY SEE
SPIDERS (jumping spiders) ULTRAVIOLET AND GREEN
INSECTS (bees) ULTRAVIOLET, BLUE, YELLOW
CRUSTACEANS (crayfish) BLUE AND RED
CEPHALOPODS (octopi and squids) BLUE ONLY
FISH MOST SEE JUST TWO COLORS
AMPHIBIANS (frogs) MOST SEE SOME COLOR
REPTILES (snakes) SOME COLOR AND INFRARED
BIRDS FIVE TO SEVEN COLORS
MAMMALS (cats) TWO COLORS BUT WEAKLY
MAMMALS (dogs) TWO COLORS BUT WEAKLY
MAMMALS (rabbit) BLUE AND GREEN
MAMMALS (squirrel) BLUES AND YELLOWS
MAMMALS (primates-apes and chimps) SAME AS HUMANS
MAMMALS (African monkeys) SAME AS HUMANS
MAMMALS (South American monkeys) CAN’T SEE RED WELL
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Jim,
Interesting list to ponder, but I have to ask this question: Is the organism’s color sight specialized to see what they need to see?
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Has to be, Frank. That’s the way it works. The question I would ask is, which package of total sensory input is superior? (Sharks sense electric fields, e.g.)
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But isn’t superiority dependent on the organism’s need?
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Good point, Frank. One might limit the definition of “superiority” in this case to an organism’s need, because the need is what drives sensory design. But the context I had in mind was the complexity and range of color spectrum that would give maximum potential to appreciation. That’s abstract thought, something animals don’t do. Fish don’t suffer for wont of seeing red. But isn’t it interesting that range of color sensitivity correlates with brain power?
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Given the total electromagnetic range, visible light is a very small portion. Too bad we don’t have a switch to see in another spectrum.
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