Autumn brings many things to Dayton area

Fall is here, and the trees along the Carson River will soon wear their beautiful gold color like they do every year.

It's stunning to see, and I think we really don't appreciate how beautiful fall is here in the Dayton Valley. The rabbit brush adds to the array of gold colors - and does it ever plague folks who are allergic to it.

People who have never had allergies before living here can't figure out why they are so affected. Well, part of the answer is, some folks moving into the area come from the coast, where there is more moisture in the air and pollen doesn't linger as it does in dry atmospheres. We are constantly bombarded with a variety of pollens. And do you notice, you catch more colds?

We get those wonderfully frightening thunder and lightning storms in the fall, too. The smell of sagebrush after a storm is intoxicating, at least to some folks. I love the smell - it reminds me of my youth.

Also, after the first good rains, those people who know mushrooms can find many growing on the trees along the river. Before cooking and eating them, ask an old-timer here to make sure they are safe to eat.

This year, there has been a bumper crop of quail. I've noticed more mourning doves than usual, too. I always hear chukar calling up the hill across the road from my house. I'm glad people can't hunt in the congested areas of Dayton, but for hunters who do go afield to hunt, it should be a good season.

In the Emma Nevada Loftus diaries, she writes in detail every fall about the hunting excursions of her son, Chester Barton, and his wife, Helen. Emma hoped hunters wouldn't kill the quail she had fed all year.

Chester and Helen started each hunting season with quail, later hunting dove and finally, off to Elko to hunt deer. There was a regular group that went year-after-year and spent a week or more hunting. When they returned, they traveled to the Como area in the south Pine Nut Range to continue the hunt.

Emma wrote of big "pastichuti" feeds occurring after the hunting trips. She was not the best speller, and I can identify with that so I'm not sure of what they ate. I do know they made and devoured volumes of ravioli. Emma loved ravioli, and the Italian folks always provided her with plenty when they made a batch.

Fall in the early days of Dayton was a busy time with the ladies putting up the bounty of fruit and vegetables raised in the local soil. They had to be quick as they never knew when the first frost or snow might kill their gardens. Fall is an interesting and beautiful season in Dayton.

The Dayton Museum is on Shady Lane and Logan in Old Town Dayton. It's also the location of the Dayton Chamber office. It is open during the week upon request and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturdays and 1-4 p.m. Sundays. Check out daytonnvhistory.org. Group tours are available. Call 246-5543, 246-0462 or 246-0441.

The Historical Society of Dayton Valley meets at noon on the third Wednesday of the month at the Dayton Valley Community Center. Visitors welcome.

• Ruby McFarland is a 17-year resident of Dayton, a board member of the Dayton Historical Society and a docent at the museum.