A chill is in the air. The leaves are turning incredible colors and tumbling down. Gardeners are harvesting and canning their crops. I’m baking apple pies. Front porches are popping up decorated with pumpkins and gourds. So, it must be my favorite time of the year — autumn.

It always amazes me at how happy I am to prepare my home for every season in the Midwest. I remember last spring feeling so good about putting away the stand for the firewood it holds on my side porch. I was quite happy tending to the pruning of my rose bushes and preparing the ground for my garden. And now, with spring seeming like a lifetime ago, here I am getting out the firewood stand, and I can’t wait to have my first fire in the fireplace. I am looking forward to those fireside chats we have all winter.

October treats

Lombard has some really great programs relevant to this time of year. While we will often refer to this time of year as Indian summer, the Lombard Historical Society has taken this one step further and is hosting a program on American Indian culture and heritage from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 12, at the auditorium of the Helen M. Plum Memorial Library, 110 W. Maple St.

Lorraine Gerhardt, former Lombard village clerk and one quarter Cherokee, will speak about American Indian heritage and have on display her impressive collection of artifacts and turquoise jewelry dating from the turn of the last century. Lorraine will discuss her collection and many of the reasons why Americans have such a distinctively different character from the rest of the world.

I find a talk like this intriguing due to the fact we discovered Indian heritage in my mother’s side of the family. There is so much to know about the life before North America was discovered; I would think this to be incredibly interesting. This is part of their general meeting and refreshments will be served.

Next on their agenda is a tour of the cemetery at Main and Washington at 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 19. I have attended a previous tour of this cemetery, found it interesting and was completely charmed by the portrayal of former residents of Babcock’s Grove, which is the original name of our town. This tour will include the current restoration under way, the history of the cemetery, and again you will be able to meet some of the former residents and learn about their history in the development of Babcock’s Grove and Lombard.

Costumed docents will be portraying the lives of a Civil War doctor and his son, a builder’s wife, a brick maker, a local artist whose work was part of the 1893 World’s Fair, and a farmer.

The cost of the tour is $5 for nonmembers and $3 for members, with children younger than 10 attend for free. For more information, call (630) 629-1885 or visit www.lombardhistory.org.

Ghouls Night Out

From 5 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 29, Potted Petals, 732 S. Main St., is inviting all witches and warlocks for a howling good time. Everyone entering is expected to wear a witches costume or at least a hat. If you are dressed in full costume you will receive 10 percent off your nightly purchases and a chance to win the grand prize of a $50 gift certificate. And the best part is they even have a psychic joining them for the night.

Halloween trick or treat hours are from 3 to 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 31. The village hall has times and safety tips at www.villageoflombard.org.