Each year on 31 October, we celebrate Halloween and it is seldom asked, where did it come from and why do we dress up in costumes, send the children out to trick or treat, and display jack 'o lanterns, skeletons, and spider webs? Well, I thought that it may be time to try and answer the questions and determine why we value what we do on that night. It turns out that the night is really a lot more complicated and steeped in combinations of paganism, religion, and folly. I always think of this time as the real start of winter, and recall that last Halloween we had a very large snow storm. I guess that is what happens when you fail to see the night through a child's eye. But, rather than rewrite what I have read, I thought it better to post a sample from History.com and provide a link. They have done a great job of capturing the background of the holiday. Wikipedia also has some good information. And, I have included some illustrations from cards of the late 1930's and the present from Dover publications. Enjoy!
"Straddling the line between fall and winter, plenty and paucity, life and death, Halloween is a time of celebration and superstition. It is thought to have originated with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off roaming ghosts. In the eighth century, Pope Gregory III designated November 1 as a time to honor all saints and martyrs; the holiday, All Saints’ Day, incorporated some of the traditions of Samhain. The evening before was known as All Hallows’ Eve and later Halloween. Over time, Halloween evolved into a secular, community-based event characterized by child-friendly activities such as trick-or-treating. In a number of countries around the world, as the days grow shorter and the nights get colder, people continue to usher in the winter season with gatherings, costumes and sweet treats". Full story is here.

Autumn is a great time of the year if you disregard the fact that it is followed by winter with the cold and snow. Except for last winter, when there was less snow than I have ever seen here in New Hampshire, we generally plan for a fair amount of the white stuff. We are what is considered a tourist state, in that a good part of our income comes from visitors coming to us for the Ocean, winter skiing, and fall foliage. And now, the fall colors are spectacular and fun to see. But what causes the normally green leaves to change into the vibrant reds, yellows, and other beautiful colors. Well, it is a long story so I will give you the short version, and a great link to read about the changes in leaf morphology.
We all know that green leaves contain chlorophyll, which absorbs light to produce sugars  that fuel tree and plant growth. But, along with the chlorophyll, the leaves also have carotenoids, which is a yellow pigment and lies dormant during the growth period. When the leaves began to go dormant due to shorter days, the leaves do two things; they produce more sugar for the winter period, and the chlorophyll becomes bleached and allows the carotenoids to show. But, the increased sugars also produce anthocyanins, that are red. The colors produced are somewhat species specific, and the swamp maple has deep reds, where the oaks have more yellow. The entire process can be seen here.
Cattails, also known as the genus Typha, are found in mud flats and are interesting as fauna. They produce long spike-like flowers and in the fall, ripen and explode into millions of seeds. They are somewhat invasive and the photos below show the progression from spike to seed. I took these pictures near my favorite super market. And, although the rhizomes (roots) are edible, I don't expect to see them on any menu soon.