Morning, Afternoon, and Evening

1. The really neat thing about volunteering, the thing that brings me joy every time, is that I end up working side by side with someone I don't know very well. Two or more of us are thrown together in a situation, perhaps in the dirt pulling weeds as we were today, and suddenly the labor doesn't feel like labor any more.
2. Our friends have once again dusted off their antique apple press and made a party of cider-making. We arrive with a bag of horse apples, two empty gallon jugs, and a dessert to share. The whole affair is work intensive. One person washes the apples, another loads the hopper, another churns the crank, and another presses the pulp down into the slat bucket. Two more people pour the juice through a filter into various jugs. It's a chilly, fall day with lots of good food and a jolly time all around.
3. The nights have finally turned cold for the first time this season. I snuggle under the down comforter and enjoy the hibernation, at least for a few hours.