Little Joe’s Favorite Time of Year

By Tennessee

Little Joe loved the Ponderosa and the way the weather changed in spring. It started to get warm, and the birds started singing again. The grass began to turn green, and the leaves started growing on the trees. The wildflowers were so pretty. And the days got warmer. The sun warmed the land.

Every day something changed. Joe would do his chores and then go fishing with Adam.

In the summer everything was so pretty. The grass grew long, the birds sang louder, and the sky was real blue and the sun much hotter. Little Joe liked to go to the lake to cool off.

There was a lot more work to do on the Ponderosa in summer. But he still loved summertime.

But Little Joe’s favorite time was fall. He loved the Ponderosa in the fall. It cooled off a little and the grass was so green. There was usually a light breeze. The birds still sang, but it was a sad song because soon they would leave for the winter. But they’d always come back in the spring.

The sun was still warm, but each day grew progressively cooler. Little Joe loved to see the leaves change colors. The leaves budded in the spring, grew pretty and green in the summer, but every fall he could see the leaves change color. Yellow, brown, red, and orange. Every day he’d see some change in the colors of the leaves.

Then the leaves fell off the trees, and the trees were bare and sad, except the pines. Little Joe looked at all the leaves on the ground. He thought they were pretty and he collected them into piles and ran in them. The wind blew the leaves in the air and he watched them dance in the wind.

He did all his work on the Ponderosa and stayed outside whenever he could. One day he even got Adam and Hoss to play in the leaves with him. They made a big pile of leaves and took turns jumping in it. Then Hop Sing yelled, "You boys stop playing and go tend the horses and cattle."

Little Joe was sad but Adam told him, "We’ll play in the leaves again soon, little brother." And they went to tend the horses and cattle.

That night it rained all night, and the wind blew hard. The rain fell all the next day. They did their work but didn’t linger outside. That night the wind still blew, but the next day the sun came out. But the leaves were so wet and muddy, they could not play in them. When they dried out, they broke when the boys picked them up.

The weather got cooler and cooler, and soon it was wintertime and the grass was brown. The days grew shorter. There were no birds or flowers. It got dark so early that Little Joe did not have time to play after all his work was done. It got so cold that they couldn’t make the long trips into town. Then the snow started to fall, creating a white wonderland. They could see the footprints of deer and other animals on the snow. Little Joe wanted to spend more time outside so one day Ben said, "You boys go have some fun." Ben and Hop Sing went to town to replenish their stock. Adam, Hoss, and Little Joe had a snowball fight and made a snowman. They had a great time. They were so glad to get some fresh air and were all in a good mood that night.

It was a long, hard winter with a lot of snow. One night Joe asked, "Pa, what’s your favorite season?"

Ben said, "Summer. I love summertime, son. It’s hot and everything is green."

Joe turned to Adam and asked him the same question.

"I like the spring when everything is new and fresh and the grass starts growing."

Hoss said, "I like the winter. I know it’s cold, but the snow is so pretty and white."

Little Joe said, "Well, I like fall when the leaves change colors."

Hop Sing said, "I like all the seasons."

"Me too," said Joe. "I like seeing how the Ponderosa changes with the seasons." He added, "But I still think fall is best."

His family smiled at him.

The End.