They say that one a day keeps the doctor away.

This snazzy marketing message was meant to urge the public to eat apples for health, though the real message behind it was to promote an effort to eat apples, rather than drink them. This adage was coined during Prohibition in order to convert apples from a drink to a food. The typical method of consuming apples back then was in the form of alcoholic cider, apple jack, or apple brandy.

Mum’s the word.

If you must speak, then sing out to the queen of autumn, the chrysanthemum. This quintessential fall flower is ubiquitous during this season and offers blooms of many colors.

Chrysanthemums are a very large group of plants with over 150 diverse species in the genus. Ox-eye daisy, feverfew, pyrethrum and Shasta daisies, along with many other plants, are chrysanthemums.

Who knew? 

Bamboo shoots, those Asian culinary delicacies, are really the beginnings of the bamboo plants, the culms (new growth) that culminate in a full-grown bamboo plant. Though it may seem obvious, I had thought that bamboo shoots were in the same company as oyster mushrooms, buffalowings, cherry tomatoes, horseradish, bread an d butterpickles, and other misnamedfoods. I guess that you learn something new every day.

The most notable thing in season right now is the flu.

Pandemic pandemonium has set in, and many people are reaching for the antibacterials. Fight the urge: hand washing will do, too, and is chemical-free.

For those seeking natural relief, there is another potent potion to fight the flu. It’s a local, native and delicious decoction made from a plant found on-Island.

You are seeing stars — and even weirder, I can confirm that the green and red flashes of light in the heavens are not figments of your imagination!

It is not that you bumped your head, nor do you need glasses. And you are not hallucinating traffic lights in the night sky. This time of year, it is common to observe a light that appears to flicker in color, twinkling red and green low in the northeast sky.

You won’t have this mushroom to kick around anymore.

Earthstars, which are in the puffball family of mushrooms, are nature’s kickballs. Very few of us can resist the urge to take a boot to these and other bulbous puffballs. As fall progresses, the sporous spheres are nearing the end of their reproductive lifecycle, although you can still see their dried, crusty remains through the winter.