More signs of fall, buckeyes & The Little Brown Jug

We moved here the end of October, 2005. While hiking through the woods we occasionally found buckeyes laying on the ground, but not very many. Last year we went out and hunted for them, and found a few more, but still not very many. This year, I went out looking 2 months earlier (I was smarter and watched the trees for ripening nuts!) and found lots more! I still missed a bunch, probably could have gone out a week or so earlier, the squirrels have still gotten a good amount of them.
I found a few trees still loaded quite heavy with them. One of the trees was small enough for me to grab and shake the crap out of it until the nuts rained down around me. I probably looked quite funny shaking the tree, but it worked! I now have them all spread out to dry, otherwise if they are all put together, they will get moldy and rot! Buckeyes are super easy to start from seed, barely needing to touch the ground for them to split open and sprout. I would start a few from seed, but there are so many seedlings, it is easier to just transplant them. Now to make some Buckeye necklaces to show our OSU spirit!!
Another sign of fall around these parts is the Little Brown Jug flag hanging all over town (this one is in my front yard).

The Little Brown Jug®, the premier pacing classic for 3-year-olds, provides a fascinating chapter in the more-than-a-century-old history of harness racing. The Jug, enriched by the tradition of the famed Grand Circuit and the picturesque backdrop of the Delaware County Fairgrounds, steadily maintains the flavor of the sport and competition from the days of its origin. The Little Brown Jug® is a part of Americana. And it shall ever remain so.

The Little Brown Jug not only happens at the Delaware County Fairgrounds, it also happens during fair week. It is a major sporting event, shutting the town down on race day, Thursday. All the schools and most businesses are closed, traffic is horrific, and if you want to eat dinner out on that night, you better do it early. Once racing is over around 6 pm, the fairgrounds are emptied and all the restaurants are packed to the gills.