October, the extravagant sister, has ordered an immense amount of the most gorgeous forest tapestry..."

Photography by Lydia Davison Whitcomb
 

The foliage has been losing its freshness through the month of August, and here and there a yellow leaf shows itself like the first gray hair amidst the locks of a beauty who has seen one season too many.... September is dressing herself in showy dahlias and splendid marigolds and starry zinnias. October, the extravagant sister, has ordered an immense amount of the most gorgeous forest tapestry for her grand reception.

~Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809–1894), "Autumn," The Atlantic Almanac, 1868