It is Fall

     THE days are gettin' shorter, and

     the summer birds are leaving,

 

     The wind sighs in the tree tops,

     as though all nature was grieving;

 

     The leaves they drop in showers, there's a

     blue haze¹ over all,

 

     And a feller is reminded that once again it's

     Fall.

     It is a glorious season, the crops most gathered

     in,

 

     The wheat is in the granary and the oats are

     in the bin²;

 

     A feller jest feels splendid, right in harmony

     with all,

 

     The old cider mill a-humin', 'gosh, I know

     it's Fall.

     I hear the Bob White whistlin' down by the

     water mill,

 

     While dressed in gorgeous colors is each

     valley, knoll³ and hill;

 

     The cows they are a-lowing, as they slowly

     wander home,

 

     And the hives are just a-bustin' with the

     honey in the comb.

     Soon be time for huskin' parties, or an apple

     paring bee,

 

     And the signs of peace and plenty are just

     splendid for to see;

 

     The flowers they are drooping⁴, soon there

     won't be none at all,

 

     Old Jack⁵ Frost has nipped them, and by that

     I know it's Fall.

     The muskrat⁶ has built himself a house down

     by the old mill pond,

 

     The squirrels are laying up their store from

     the chestnut⁷ trees beyond;

 

     While walking through the orchard⁸ I can

     hear the ripe fruit fall;

 

     There's an air of quiet comfort that only

     comes with Fall.

     The wind is cool and bracing⁹, and it makes

     you feel first-rate,

 

     And there's work to keep you going from

     early until late;

 

     So you feel like giving praises unto Him

     who doeth all,

 

     Nature heaps her blessings¹⁰ on you at this

     season, and it's Fall.

     The nights are getting frosty and the fire

     feels pretty good,

 

     I like to see the flames creep up among the

     burning wood;

 

     Away across the hilltops I can hear the hoot¹¹

     owl call,

 

     He is looking for his supper, I guess he

     knows its Fall.

     And though the year is getting old and the

     trees will soon be bare,

 

     There's a satisfactory feeling of enough and

     some to spare;

 

     For there's still some poor and needy¹² who

     for our help do call,

 

     So we'll share with them our blessings and

     be thankful that it's Fall.

 

1 haze   

n.霾，烟雾；懵懂，迷糊；vi.(over)变模糊

参考例句：

• I couldn't see her through the haze of smoke.在烟雾弥漫中，我看不见她。
• He often lives in a haze of whisky.他常常是在威士忌的懵懂醉意中度过的。

2 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

3 knoll   

n.小山，小丘

参考例句：

• Silver had terrible hard work getting up the knoll.对于希尔弗来说，爬上那小山丘真不是件容易事。
• He crawled up a small knoll and surveyed the prospect.他慢腾腾地登上一个小丘，看了看周围的地形。

4 drooping   

adj. 下垂的，无力的 动词droop的现在分词

参考例句：

• The drooping willows are waving gently in the morning breeze. 晨风中垂柳袅袅。
• The branches of the drooping willows were swaying lightly. 垂柳轻飘飘地摆动。

5 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

6 muskrat   

n.麝香鼠

参考例句：

• Muskrat fur almost equals beaver fur in quality.麝鼠皮在质量上几乎和海獭皮不相上下。
• I saw a muskrat come out of a hole in the ice.我看到一只麝鼠从冰里面钻出来。

7 chestnut   

n.栗树，栗子

参考例句：

• We have a chestnut tree in the bottom of our garden.我们的花园尽头有一棵栗树。
• In summer we had tea outdoors,under the chestnut tree.夏天我们在室外栗树下喝茶。

8 orchard   

n.果园，果园里的全部果树，(美俚)棒球场

参考例句：

• My orchard is bearing well this year.今年我的果园果实累累。
• Each bamboo house was surrounded by a thriving orchard.每座竹楼周围都是茂密的果园。

9 bracing   

adj.令人振奋的

参考例句：

• The country is bracing itself for the threatened enemy invasion. 这个国家正准备奋起抵抗敌人的入侵威胁。
• The atmosphere in the new government was bracing. 新政府的气氛是令人振奋的。

10 blessings   

n.（上帝的）祝福( blessing的名词复数 )；好事；福分；因祸得福

参考例句：

• Afflictions are sometimes blessings in disguise. 塞翁失马，焉知非福。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We don't rely on blessings from Heaven. 我们不靠老天保佑。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

11 hoot   

n.鸟叫声，汽车的喇叭声； v.使汽车鸣喇叭

参考例句：

• The sudden hoot of a whistle broke into my thoughts.突然响起的汽笛声打断了我的思路。
• In a string of shrill hoot of the horn sound,he quickly ran to her.在一串尖声鸣叫的喇叭声中，他快速地跑向她。

12 needy   

adj.贫穷的，贫困的，生活艰苦的

参考例句：

• Although he was poor,he was quite generous to his needy friends.他虽穷，但对贫苦的朋友很慷慨。
• They awarded scholarships to needy students.他们给贫苦学生颁发奖学金。