Fall Has Arrived

I love fall.

Don't get me wrong - I also love summer, winter, and spring.  Each season claims something incredibly wonderful - winter brings snow days and Christmas and hot chocolate, spring brings flowers and newness and color, summer brings sunshine and outdoors and vacation. 

But fall, oh, I love fall.

Fall brings beautiful colors. 

When I first moved here, I missed the vibrant reds and oranges and yellows found in the fall colors of the East Coast.  I've learned that there is almost nothing more beautiful than a sea of dark evergreen and golden yellow as the aspen groves mingle among the pine trees.  And scrub oaks, while ordinarily nothing special, turn a brilliant red for a pop of sensational color every so often.

Fall brings crisper weather.

I do love sunshine and outdoors and summer fun, but after months of being hot, I love to put on a pair of jeans and a sweater.  To go outdoors and feel my cheeks get a little pink from the cold.  To go outside and watch a football game without being hot or cold, but just perfect.  And since this is truly the land of sunshine (sorry Florida, you're not really the sunshine state), crispness is usually accompanied by the sunshine, and it's lovely.

Fall brings muddy dirt roads and much needed moisture.

After a dry, almost rainless summer, you know fall has finally arrived when the clouds roll in one day, the fog is heavy, and finally, finally, the dusty roads out at my parents' house are no longer dusty, but even a little muddy.  When the grass has droplets of water and the air smells like rain. 

Fall brings special occasions.

Fall starts a series of my favorite occasions - college football games with family, high school football games where Husband and I cheer on the kids I spend so much time with.  My birthday comes towards the end of October - and while I'm not a huge birthday person, I still love celebrating the possibilities of what the next year may hold.  Thanksgiving, a family favorite, with good food, the Christmas tree, and the first watching of A Muppet Christmas Carol.  The holiday season, with decorations everywhere, goodwill towards others, time with friends and family, a respite from work, a chance to celebrate the best Gift ever.  And, of course, the arrival of the Gingerbread Latte, my personal gift from God.  (Seriously, if you know me at all, a Gingerbread Latte makes everything better.)

I love Fall.

And it has finally arrived.