In a quiet hollow created by a ring of tall, colorfully arrayed autumn trees sit several wooden picnic tables, their tops covered with ivory, russet, and gold plaid cloths. Beneath a small shelter adorned with copper and saffron ribbons, which is set off to one side, is a modestly sized banquet buffet, decorated for the season with miniature pumpkins and gourds, leaves and clusters of acorns. Behind it are a line of simple wooden chairs, each with a cluster of leaves tied to the upper rung of the back. |