"But the air’s so appetizin’; and the landscape through the haze of a crisp and sunny morning of the airly autumn days"*

My favorite time of the year is just about to start: FALL! Cool, crisp days; apple cider; chrysanthemums in bloom; red, gold, and orange leaves on the trees and crunchy under foot; pumpkins; Halloween; apple crisp. It always feels to me like the start of something new rather than the end of something. (This is probably tied to the academic calendar and was ingrained at a young age.)

Of course, it doesn't actually FEEL like fall right now with temps in the high 70s F and nearly 90F predicted for Sunday. But the days are growing shorter and soon enough cooler temps will arrive. I think I might put up my fall decorations around the house this weekend.


When I was a kid, my dad had my siblings and me memorize the following poem as an after-dinner contest. (We were always memorizing stuff. Whoever could recite the whole thing by heart first won the contest.) The second stanza has always been one of my favorites; it perfectly captures how I feel about this time of year. 

When the Frost is on the Punkin*

By James Whitcomb Riley 
 

They’s something kindo’ harty-like about the atmusfere

When the heat of summer’s over and the coolin’ fall is here—

Of course we miss the flowers, and the blossums on the trees,

And the mumble of the hummin’-birds and buzzin’ of the bees;

But the air’s so appetizin’; and the landscape through the haze

Of a crisp and sunny morning of the airly autumn days

Is a pictur’ that no painter has the colorin’ to mock—

When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder’s in the shock.