By Sally Treadwell

October is a month of contrasts, like those vivid scarlet leaves drifting lazily onto your still-emerald lawns. On the one hand, now that August’s enervating heat is well behind us, we’re joyfully heading out into the crisp air, greeting each weekend with festivals and hikes. And on the other hand, it’s a time for quietness and renewal as we shawl ourselves in the warm sanctuary of our homes, preparing for winter. This month, we have ideas for both extremes.

Moonlight Madness

“Well, it's a marvelous night for a Moondance /With the stars up above in your eyes…”~Van Morrison

There’s something magical about the jeweled night, when everything is unaccountably changed and shadows grow exotic. Children revel in those tantalizingly rare occasions when they get to stay out long past their bedtime and do something completely out of the ordinary. Canoeing, hiking or skydiving by moonlight? Why not?

First, go to moonconnection.com for everything moon-related, from an explanation of the tides or gravity on the moon to the apogees versus the perigee.

Then…

Take a full moon walk
Every month Sweetwater Creek State Park hosts the ‘Ruins to Rapids’ full moon hike. It’s a moderately difficult two-mile hike along the creek’s rapids to the Civil War-era textile mill ruins of New Manchester. If it’s overcast, the hike goes on, but it’s cancelled if it rains. Bring a flashlight and wear sturdy shoes. Hike dates are Sunday Oct. 4, Monday Nov. 2, and Wednesday Dec. 2, beginning at 7 PM to and ending about 9 PM. Info: 770.732.5871 www.friendsofsweetwatercreek.org

Celebrate the Moon Festival.
Chinese and Vietnamese people celebrate the moon on the day when it is at its fullest and roundest—this year, the festival falls on October 3, but you can celebrate your own version anytime. Families get together to eat mooncakes, plant trees, float lanterns, and watch the moon rise. They also sing legends and poems about the moon to each other. Most legends center on Chang’e, who is said to have flown to the moon and can still be seen dancing (look hard!) over its surface during the Moon Festival.

Nocturnal treetop excursion
Ever gone to school in a tree? Well, "Naomi Ruth," a 90-foot Southern Red Oak, serves as a living classroom in Panola State Park, Stockbridge. A nocturnal climb on Saturday October 17 from 7-9 PM will include “fluorescent lichen and other glowing critters of the night, stargazing and night climbing activities. We may even have a barred owl join us.” Register in advance. $25 plus $5 parking. 770-389-7801.

A moonlight paddle
Canoeing or kayaking at night is unutterably wonderful, with your senses on full alert. If you’re leery about trying it on your own, the social organization Meetup.com is hosting a family-friendly moonlight paddle on October 31—could be a great candy-free alternative to trick-or-treating! The organization has reserved the entire lake at Fort Yargo State Park in Winder and paddling will commence at 6 p.m.; however, there’s a paddling clinic at 2 p.m. and participants are invited to gather for dinner at 5 p.m. If you don’t have a canoe or kayak, Meetup can organize one for you. For full details, go to tinyurl.com/n3wn68

Seeing stars
If you want to see stars—REAL stars, not those scanty, city light-diluted facsimiles—you’re going to have to get out into Dark Sky territory. That means driving 50 miles or more away from the city. But believe me, when you see the Milky Way flowing across the sky on a clear night, you’ll understand that it was well worth the drive.

Want to check out the universe via a research-quality telescope? From the University of Georgia’s dark sky observatory at Hard Labor Creek in Rutledge, you can see “objects as near as the Moon and as far away as the edge of our visible Universe.” A public open house will be held on October 24 from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. That night the observatory will also be celebrating the International Year of Astronomy and the Galilean Nights Program. Info: 404-413-6033 or tinyurl.com/md9qpw. Bonus: book a campsite or cottage at nearby Hard Labor Creek State Park and make it a weekend, complete with hiking, golf, fishing, and canoeing.

Hard core astronomy fans can join the Atlanta Astronomy Club’s Peach State Star Gaze 2009, October 11—October 18, near Sharon, GA. Bring your own telescope if you have one; if not, amateur astronomers are almost always willing to share. More info at atlantaastronomy.org/PSSG/

And leaf-peepers heading up to the Blue Ridge can get an unparalleled view from the Parkway. Just head away from any town, find a convenient overlook, spread your blanket on the grass and break out the thermos of hot chocolate. Then settle in for an hour of blissfully serene star-gazing.

Falling for the moon
The Atlanta Skydiving Center periodically organizes full moon jumps. If you’re feeling wild, give them a call, or go to ascskydiving.com.

Scare up a scarecrow competition
Zany? Frightening? Cheerful? Artsy? Mysterious? Elegant? Scarecrows are as individual as people—unless you cheat and buy some mass-produced apology for one from the discount store, that is! Have a ball by making your own out of scraps of this and that; make it a family project and vote on ideas. A pumpkin will serve as a head, or that punctured basketball, maybe, covered with papier maché and marine varnish—ooh, hook the nose! Should she wear a feather boa? Or could he have robot eyes and wild earrings? For inspiration, go to tinyurl.com/mhjxwl.

It’ll be even more fun if you canvas your neighborhood and see if people are up for a community-building competition. Or invite your friends and family to make one at home, then escort it to a party at your house and vote for winners in the best, funniest, most creative categories. Give out the first annual Mommet, Murmet, Hodmedod, Tatie Bogle and Bwbach awards (will your friends guess that those are old names for scarecrows?).

For more inspiration, visit Scarecrows in the Garden at the Atlanta Botanical Garden, October 1 - 31. Designers, businesses and individuals donate their wild creations for the woodlands garden.

October 1 – 31. During weekends, there’ll be pumpkin bowling and scarecrow crafts 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; on Thursdays there’ll be Fest-of-Ale (seasonal brews plus music) 5 to 10 p.m.; and on October 25 rollick around at the Goblins in the Garden costume party. 404-876-5859 or atlantabotanicalgarden.org for info.

Serenity, small child-style
My first morning in India I awoke to absolutely manic chuckling coming from the park behind the hotel. Eventually, with much trepidation, I ventured out to find a group of men rhythmically throwing back their heads and laughing into the sky.

On the third morning I finally had the courage to ask what on earth they were doing. “It’s the laughing sutra,” said the ringleader. “It is a good way to start the day. You must find the little child in yourself–everyone must laugh; it is so good to laugh like a little child!”

On the fifth morning I nervously joined them. And you know what, it felt crazy at first but then it felt absolutely great—and it put me in a great mood for the whole day.

The laughing sutra has now become laughter yoga, a trend that’s sweeping the States. The idea is to do body-mind, “fake it ‘til you make it” laughter exercise, because laughter has such great benefits.

“For the most part, when you go and get medical treatment, a clinician is not necessarily going to tell you to take two aspirins and watch Laurel and Hardy," says Dr. Lee Berk on the laughteryoga.us site. "But the reality is that's where we are and it's more real than ever. There's a real science to this. And it's as real as taking a drug."

Laughing is a form of breath control. It increases levels of endorphins, your “happy” brain chemicals. It alleviates anxiety and depression, which can damage hearts and increase the likelihood of strokes. It relieves pain and stress. It decreases cortisol, that yucky hormone that increases belly fat, and it decreases levels of inflammation, too. Oh, and it burns more calories than grumping along. So what are you waiting for? Ha-ha-ha! Hee-hee-hee!

If you still feel daft laughing for exercise, just rent a hilarious movie, listen to Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me on NPR, chase your kids around the house until you all collapse in giggles—whatever it takes to get a few belly-deep guffaws into your whole family’s day.

Retreats for rest and renewal
Fall is a great time to renew yourself before the activities of the holiday season. Many people choose to go on a special spiritually or physically reinvigorating retreat; for a thrifty choice, create your own retreat at home.

Go-to choices
Pura Vida, a tranquil farmhouse spa in the foothills of the Blue Ridge near Dahlonega, offers two yoga retreats this month: October 9-11 and October 30-November 1. Indulge in massages, facials and wraps, too. Need to bring the kids? Don’t despair, there’s plenty to do nearby from the Kangaroo Conservation Center and the Chestatee Wildlife Preserve to tubing, horseback riding, canoeing, kayaking and hiking venues.

The Calvin Center brings a Christian-oriented approach to the retreat concept. The center has a beautiful woodsy setting ripe with outdoors pursuits like horseback riding, a challenge course, and archery. A labyrinth offers meditative walking. Two options to consider: a middle school retreat, Signatures of Christ, will be offered for your kids October 16-18, and noted watercolor artist Barbara York will help adults discover observation and composition techniques during WayPoints: Expression in Watercolor, October 24-30. Calvincenter-org or 770-946-4276

Stay home options
Your home is a perfect place for a weekend retreat. Tell the kids you’re having a vacation at home; prepare as if you were having special guests. During the week, take extra time to clean and de-clutter. Put fresh linens on the beds, buy or pick flowers, set out candles, find your fluffiest towels (a shallow bowl of water with floating candles and flowers is particularly nice). Then set the rules—no network or cable TV, no phone calls, no computer, no cell phones, no texting, no Facebook, no bill-paying, no office work. Decide what you WILL do.

This could be your family’s time to focus on health by cooking fresh, simple recipes together, hiking, kicking up leaves in the woods, playing Frisbee with the dog. You could take time to set menus and recipes for the coming week. Visit your local farmers’ market and blow your kids’ minds with strange vegetables—sputnik-like kohlrabi, golden beets (roast or boil, peel, and douse with balsamic vinegar—mmm!) and a rattlesnake beans.

You could give each other spa treats like massages, neck rubs, even hot stone massages. Kids take great delight in making up sugar and salt scrubs (make a few extra jars as holiday gifts). Recipezaar.com’s chocolate scrub is simple and smells heavenly: combine 1 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons unscented liquid soap, 3 tablespoons cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract in a jar and mix with olive oil until it forms a paste.

Play no-tech board games and watch family-friendly movies. A Star Trek marathon? Sure!

Or plan a project. While that may seem contrary to the spirit of a retreat, renewing your home can trigger mental renewal for you. Put your garden to bed and rake leaves. Refresh the family room with a warm paint color, add pillows and throws, bring in pictures and a mirror from other rooms. Or make over your basement by hauling out the junk, hammering together shelves, adding rugs.

Pick apples and pumpkins
The quintessential fall activity. You’re going to be stuck with tasteless supermarket Golden Delicious by January, so make the most of a bountiful harvest now. Hillcrest Orchards in Ellijay has 15 varieties of apples, including Mutsu, Ginger Gold, and Arkansas Blacks—plus pig races, fried apple pies and a corn maze. (hillcrestorchards.net.) Burt’s Farm in Dawsonville has pumpkins, winter squash, hayrides, gourds, Indian corn and hay bales (burtsfarm.com). Hint; it’s near Amicalola Falls—make a day of it.

Fall is a luxurious season, with extravagant leaf-drifts to kick through and longer evenings for curling in an armchair with a book, a child or two draped around you. Stretch out, look around, consider. What will your family do to make October the most vibrant month of the year?

Local Fall Activites
Fall Family Fun Days at the Rock Ranch - 1250 acres of scenic Georgia farmland and fun-filled attractions. Each weekend features a different themed event, live entertainment and ranch activities. 5020 Barnesville Hwy., The Rock, (706) 647-6374

Uncle Bob's - pumpkin patch-pick in the field and already gathered, pumpkin patch, corn maze, tractor-pulled hay rides, gift shop, refreshment stand, picnic area, petting zoo, farm animals, school tours 3781 E. Happy Valley Circle, Newnan, 770-253-8100.

Adams Farm - pumpkin patch- already gathered from the field, prepicked produce, picnic area, tractor-pulled hay rides, wagon rides, containers provided. 1486 Highway 54 West, Fayetteville, 770-461-9395

The Pumpkin Patch - pumpkin patch-pick in the field, or already gathered from the field, train rides, straw or hay bale maze, corn cannon, tractor-pulled hay rides, petting zoo, farm animals, school tours 3563 North highway 155 13 Reagan Road, Stockbridge, 770-954-9356

Southern Belle Farm - pumpkin patch-pick in the field,and and already gathere, corn, straw or hay bale maze, child-sized haybale maze, tractor-pulled hay rides, pre-picked produce, gift shop and refreshment stand, picnic area, farm animals, 1658 Turner Church Road, McDonough, 770-898-0999

Worthington Tree Farm -, pumpkin patch-pick in the field, and already gathered from the field, tractor-pulled hay rides, gift shop, 145 Twin Oaks Dr, Hampton