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Mother Nature, with her broad paint brush, has, seemingly overnight, transformed my garden into a golden wonderland filled with warm hues of orange, burgundy and rust. The birds of summer are gone and I am slowly welcoming back my winter friends—black-capped chickadees, tufted titmice, nuthatches and woodpeckers. Bright red cardinals and bold blue jays abound, their feathers gleaming in the autumn sunlight, adding to nature’s marvelous tapestry.

And as I walk along my woodland paths with Christie, my 7-month-old collie puppy, I am enjoying her fascination with the falling leaves, the twittering birds, and the scampering squirrels as they noisily gather acorns for their winter nests.

If you love pasta as much as I do, then you will absolutely love this! Every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evening is “pasta night” at Valente’s on Main Street. Choose from several delicious pasta dishes including penne a la vodka and rigatoni Siciliana. Enjoy dessert and coffee, too—all for $14.99!

The Eastern Long Island Audubon Society will hold its monthly meeting at the Quogue Wildlife Refuge on Monday, November 2. There will be a short nature chat starting at 7:15 p.m., followed by the main program at 8 p.m.

This month’s guest speaker will be Bob Adamo and he will discuss his visit to the enchanting country of Ecuador. Part I of the three-part series will feature slides of the Amazon jungle and two very active hummingbird sanctuaries. The meeting is open to all and refreshments will be served. To join our local Audubon Society or for information about its many programs, field trips and bird counts, please visit easternlongislandaudubon.homestead.com.

The Westhampton Beach High School PTO will be hosting its fifth annual Holiday Fair on Saturday, November 21, from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m., at the Westhampton Beach High School gymnasium located at 49 Lilac Road in Westhampton Beach. All proceeds will help support the many programs offered to our students. There will be both a Chinese and silent auction. Admission is free. A limited number of booths are still available for vendors. For more information, please contact Brenda at 742-3328 before Tuesday, November 17.

November’s full moon is known as the Beaver Moon. On Monday, November 2, join the knowledgeable guides at the Quogue Wildlife Refuge for a nighttime hike through the forest up to North Pond. Look and listen for nocturnal creatures and enjoy some night-vision activities. The 90-minute walk for adults and children over 11 years of age begins at 7 p.m. Reservations are required. The program is free for Refuge members and $5 for non-members.

The exciting “Nature Nuts” series at the Refuge continues in November. Your little ones will be as busy as squirrels gathering nuts as they take nature walks, enjoy hands-on activities and observe the Refuge’s animals.

The first class in the four-session program will be held on Tuesday, November 3, from 10 until 10:45 a.m. The other sessions will be offered at the same time on November 10, 17 and 24. The program is for children age 2 and 3, and kids must be accompanied by a parent. The fee is $40 for Refuge members and $65 for non-members. For additional information, call 653-4771.

The cold-stun sea turtle season is almost here. “Cold-stunning” causes sea turtles to become immobile when the water temperature falls below 50-degrees Fahrenheit, making it impossible for the turtles to migrate to warmer water. A cold-stunned sea turtle may appear to be dead, but it may actually still be alive! Without proper intervention, a cold-stunned sea turtle will inevitably die.

If you would like to help our turtles, please attend the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation’s lecture at the Quogue Wildlife Refuge on Wednesday, November 11, at 7 p.m. For more details, call 369-9840 or visit riverheadfoundation.org.

Congratulations to all of our East Quogue Elementary School scholars!

Sixth-grader Zakary Jones was selected as September’s Art Student of the Month.

Citizenship Awards for September were presented to: Julia Pucci, James O’Neill and Sidney Heaney (first grade); Nick Chen, Ermel Bautista and Jennifer Curran (second grade); Kerry Dillon, Evan D’Alessandro and Emma Daniels (third grade); Paola Lopez, Brandon Luna, Jennifer Hessler and Jillian Vargas (fourth grade); Nick Pazera, Isabella Pustovit and Jessica Abrams (fifth grade); and Brandon Bullock, Anna Taylor, Jackeline Ortiz and Madison Skala (sixth grade).

And the Students of the Month for September are: Jimmy Liu, Gabrielle Johnson and Patricia Gilvary (first grade); Rylee Hirshenson, Ellen Murphree and Matthew Lambert (second grade); James Moran, Troy Lanzetta and Alex Pazera (third grade); Xochitl Valdespino, Anna Gilmartin, Jack Tiska and Jake Linder (fourth grade); Lucas Cardaci, Thomas James Farrell and Reilly Dunning (fifth grade); and Liam Gilmartin, Zakary Jones, Maya Clairborne and Nicholas Arpino (sixth grade).