Optimal Autumn

Autumn 🍂 is definitely my favorite season of the year regardless of what age I’ve been at, no matter where I’ve lived. The brilliant colors of the foliage during this time, and the crisp, cold nights have always been appealing to me. Strolling through the woods after the leaves 🍁 have fallen off the trees 🌳 has always been a treat for me too. I love the crunch of them underfoot and then think about all the fresh, new buds that will regenerate in the spring – a timeless process that always fascinates me.

When I was growing up in the Adirondack Mountains of New York State, one of the chores that my brothers and I were expected to do during the fall was to rake all the dead leaves 🍁 into piles which our father would burn or haul away. As kids we could never resist the temptation to create a couple of big piles of leaves and jump right into them, scattering them all over again. Of course, we had to rake them all back into neat piles again! Another chore we had during the fall (or autumn 🍂 depending on what word you like best) was to stack all the wood into neat cords that my father chopped up to feed our wood stoves during the winter.

This was definitely a muscle building exercise where we got plenty of healthy work in on the weekends, had a hearty dinner, and slept really well at night. Beginning in the fall and all through winter my mother would make lots of chicken soup and beef stews that really hit the spot during this time of year. Unlike many people I knew growing up, the shorter days when it got dark earlier didn’t really bother me. I didn’t have seasonal depression that tends to affect many others at some level.

Now that I’ve lived in Arizona for many years it hasn’t always been possible to enjoy the autumn because there isn’t a pronounced change in seasons in the Phoenix area. I definitely miss living in an region that has a normal range of seasons. This coming autumn 🍂 I’d definitely love to spend some time around the northern part of the state such as Flagstaff or Walnut Canyon to revive my joy 🥹 for this time of year. Anyone who currently lives in a sweltering desert 🌵 climate (or has in the past) can likely identify with what I’m saying.

Bundling up with sweaters or hoodies while taking long walks or embarking on energetic bike 🚴 rides are optimal in the autumn too. The month of November also intrigues me and has been my favorite month for many years. It’s not entirely an autumn period, or fully winter either, seeming to be suspended somehow between both. In any case, both Halloween 🎃 and Thanksgiving 🙏 occur during this time – less than a month apart, and they are the holidays I enjoy the most.

In a way too, autumn feels like the last, tenuous grasp before the death grip of winter fully takes hold. Even though I haven’t lived back in the Northeast for many years, the memories of those, icy 🥶,bone-chilling winters are still locked in my memory. So, between the broiling summers and frigid winters that are typical of many places – – I’ll take autumn 🍂 anytime!