I picked up a snack pack of pretzels at the grocery store the other day for my low cal break snack at work. I opened the little bag to find all of the little pretzels were in the shape of either jack-o-lanterns or bats. My hand froze on it’s way to my mouth…wasn’t it last week I was making potato salad for the Labor Day bar-be-que? The salt water taffy in the “seasonal candy” aisle has been replaced by candy corn, mini candy bars and pumpkin peeps. Shorts and sandals have been replaced by long pants and (gasp!) sweaters and fleece. The flannel sheets have crept back onto the bed and, it seems, everything passing my lips seems to taste like apple and cinnamon or pumpkin.
Neighbors are counting acorns and searching for wooly bears trying to anticipate the severity of the upcoming winter. A friend from Delaware just told me about a crab named Baltimore Billy who will be taking a dive in the Chesapeake Bay. Depending on whether he turns right or left when he hits the water will indicate the severity of winter in that area. Who, or what, is predicting winter in your neck of the woods??
Most seasonal changes seem to me to gradually approach and settle in, except the autumnal equinox. It seems that overnight a day filled with light becomes a day in which the sun and the moon are having a tug of war, and right now it’s a draw. Let’s look at some of those “overnight” changes as we attempt to embrace the change of seasons…
Summer …becomes Autumn
All in all, there are advantages and disadvantages to summer and autumn. I am grateful I live in an area that provides changes in seasons to provide a new environment and new activities several times a year. Having grown up in an area with four distinct seasons, I don’t think I could ever be content with living in a geographic area with a constant singular climate.
I hope you are able to gently let go of summer and move forward to the color and excitement autumn has to offer… What is your favorite season? Why??
September 23, 2012 at 6:40 am
Gorgeous header! I think I love fall for its crisp change of season, the cooler temperatures leaving behind hot weather…and those bugs…., a change of menu, and all its busy-ness as we prepare for the holiday season. Delightful post.
September 23, 2012 at 10:37 am
Thanks Georgette! While change is good, fall seems to slide right into winter in Maine ~ and winter is one L-O-N-G season up here in the northern regions. While I too love fall, I just hate to let go of the warmer temps and the LIGHT!
September 23, 2012 at 12:14 pm
Hi, Carol! I will miss the glories of the New England fall this year. And since this will be my first fall in this part of So. California, I have no idea what to expect. Autumn has long been my favorite season, so I’m looking forward to seeing what each day will bring. What I’ve noticed most so far are the shorter days and the changing angle of the light on the surrounding mountains. It sure does seem the summer flew by!
September 23, 2012 at 2:07 pm
…and I’ll be anxious to experience fall in Southern California through your eyes (and photos). New England (especially Maine) misses you too!
September 23, 2012 at 3:15 pm
Hi, Carol. Happy to see Baltimore Billy made it into your blog this time. I’ll be sure to let everyone know which direction he swims Wednesday. As you know, fall is my favorite time of year — mainly because of the colorful trees and crisp, cool air it brings. I enjoy sitting around the fire pit, walks with my dog, hot chocolate, and especially drives up to Lancaster and other areas of Pennsylvania to take-in the colorful trees and fields of orange pumpkins. Finally, the end of autumn ushers us into the holiday season that we all enjoy so much with family and friends.
September 23, 2012 at 6:53 pm
I’ll be anxious to get the report on Baltimore Billy! I love all of the same things about fall. I just hate to put my long pants and sweater/coat on… the chilly months last so long in Maine I try to hang on to the shorts and no coat weather as long as I can. I also grasp each moment of daylight before it disappears. But, as you know, each season has it’s blessings!
September 23, 2012 at 5:34 pm
I like all the 8 seasons we have in Norway, but summer is my favorite, if we get a summer.. 😉
September 23, 2012 at 6:57 pm
What are the 8 seasons in Norway? Do you have each of America’s 4 seasons twice, or do you have 4 we have never had? From what I have seen of your photographs, all of your seasons, as well as your countryside, are beautiful! Thank you for commenting.
September 23, 2012 at 11:11 pm
Nope. I’m hanging on for all seasons to the sunshine. I know….I’ll be disappointed soon. (Lovely way you described the change.)
September 23, 2012 at 11:45 pm
Thanks Barb. Good luck with the sunshine…
September 27, 2012 at 2:08 am
I’m coming to your place to use your rosie glasses if it gets much cloudier here., Carol.
September 24, 2012 at 12:17 pm
In my part of Canada, winter lasts way too long. But this winter we are going to join the Canadian Snowbird migration and head down to Arizona for a while. The prospect of this makes the upcoming snow season not such a depressing thought!
September 25, 2012 at 12:55 am
I know what you mean about the long winters. I think it’s the “wearing of the coat” that bothers me most. I hope the Canadian Snowbird migration works well for you!
September 24, 2012 at 4:57 pm
I second that emotion. As a transplant from CA to NJ I’ve learned to appreciate the change in seasons, and now can’t imagine life without it!
September 25, 2012 at 12:59 am
The Garden State has a lovely cycle of seasons. Maine does not have a true spring like we did in Philly, but overall, still a good cycle of seasons. How long have you been in NJ?
September 25, 2012 at 8:20 am
Yes, NJ is not just smoke stacks and big hair. We’ve lived here about fifteen years now.
September 26, 2012 at 12:52 pm
Carol I was surprised to see a change of colors in South Dakota. In my travels last week to Custer State Park and Spearfish Canyon I caught glimses of yellow and red in the hills. It was a stark difference from the Badlands.
September 26, 2012 at 10:33 pm
I have noticed the beginnings of leaf changes here, although apparently there are many colors in northern Maine. Love the colors, the bare trees after they fall, not so much…
September 28, 2012 at 11:42 pm
I love the fall–love being outside and not being soaked to the bone from humidity and love being able to actually DO things, like yard work and even a tiny bit of housework without suffering too much from my inner furnace cooking me. I love the colors and the smells and the fact that mosquitoes are disappearing….but what I don’t like is what happens after fall and its beauty leaves us–then we’re faced here in Atlantic Canada with WINTER, and I do not like that, not one bit. Someone commented that they don’t like the coats–well, I don’t like having to wear boots! Hate them hate them hate them. They never fit my skinny feet and I always feel as if I’m walking out of them, plus they hurt my toes and my heels ache and I get hot in them…wayyyy too hot. I would like it to be fall all year round, please. Thank you very much. If you can make this happen I will be your slave for life!
September 29, 2012 at 10:20 am
I will work on your requests Sylvia! It is the anticipation of winter that brings my joy of fall crashing down. I mind the coat more than the boots. I would vote for making the mosquitoes disappear… I’m so sweet they LOVE me!
September 28, 2012 at 11:44 pm
Oh–and I forgot to mention one more thing that I don’t like–all the millions of leaves that descend from the trees to lay scattered across my yard, like dead fish floating in a poisoned pond. I do not like them at all. Thank you very much, again! 🙂
September 29, 2012 at 10:23 am
Wow! What a visual image!! My house in Pennsylvania (before Maine) was surrounded by maples. The dead leaves would be up to my knees. I used to fill up to 35 of those leaf and lawn bags every fall. The after effects of that beautiful foliage was exhausting.
September 29, 2012 at 6:18 pm
Hi there–I was just rereading my post about the leaves and realized that I like the image I used there–may have to incorporate that into something I write…leaves like dead fish floating in a poisoned pond…isn’t it funny how sometimes stuff comes out of us that we didn’t know was there in the first place?
October 6, 2012 at 9:06 pm
Autumn is the season of most of my favorite outdoor smells. Fallen leaves, wood smoke, steaming crockpots of apple cider with cinnamon sticks bobbing at the edges, the sharp rich smell of pork and sauerkraut at the local Oktoberfest, my sweatshirts are out of the closet and my fluffy socks have been pulled forward from their tightly packed pile at the back of my drawer. There are more covers on the bed, but the windows are still open during the day, the afternoon light is rich and golden and invites naps. 🙂
October 9, 2012 at 12:44 am
Sounds like you need to blog about fall… I must admit, I do have cider in the fridge, have made Mom-Mom’s apple crunch and have put the flannel sheets back on the bed!
October 8, 2012 at 11:15 am
Fall is my favorite season as well, although like you, I don’t like the shorter daylight hours.
The colors are at peak level here in my neck of mid-Michigan. I do love the brilliant trees and the maples we planted oh 15 years ago are now quite big and majestic.
Lovely post!
October 9, 2012 at 12:46 am
Sounds beautiful! Southern Maine has not yet reached peak leaves, but getting close.
October 8, 2012 at 1:06 pm
Love your colorful photos! Be careful around that poison ivy, though. Yikes!
October 10, 2012 at 11:37 am
Loved the post! I live in California where the cahnge in seasons is more subtle, but no less enjoyable! In just the last week we went from horribly host weathr to lovely coolness! I can still wear my sandels but now I am cool and comfortable! Ahhh, I love it!
June 8, 2013 at 10:57 pm
Nifty Post. I too, love Autumn. Without a doubt, the most intoxicating season of the year.