Falling into Fall

I'll say right at the beginning, summer is my least favorite season. I don't like hot weather, humidity, or bugs. I don't like going from air conditioning to hot air and back again. I don't like feeling sweaty and sticky.  I don't like summer.

So, it will come as no surprise that I am happy to see fall weather arriving in Central New York. Today I had a chance to take a short walk in my second favorite place, Pratt's Falls Park (the first being the Indiana Dunes). The leaves are starting to turn color, they are falling, the air is crisper, the leaves are crunchier. I guess some people see autumn as a season for decay, a time of loss, a season of darker days and colder nights.  But I like to think of it as a time for gathering up, for resting, for turning inward. Fall reminds me of curling up in front of a fire with a good book and a nice mug of hot tea.  It is a comforting season with its own unique smells and colors. Autumn is the time to rest before the exhilaration the cold weather of winter brings.

I like wearing sweaters (and if you don't have a season for donning sweaters you don't get a season for enjoying shedding them!)  Autumn is just the right temperature. You can warm up easily and you don't sweat.    Fall smells good--leaves, wood smoke, apples--the rich earthy smells you miss in the winter when the snow falls. Fall looks good--the reds and golds, even the shades of brown, bring a new look to the woods and hillsides.

Fall is a time for change. For turning over new leaves. For going down new paths. For gathering and resting. For pausing a moment before falling into the challenges of winter.