Tis the Season! (aka 10 Things...)

(Edit:  I woke up this morning and literally the first thing that popped into my head was TEN THINGS ON THE TENTH - and I realized I had to come here and edit my post in order to participate... so... bear with me as I add a few things to make it 10 Things That Tell Me Fall is Here) 

No, I’m not referencing Christmas or the winter holidays in my subject title… I’m actually referring to my favorite season of all… Autumn.

Fall is when I feel my absolute best.  The temperatures complement me the most. The bugs (shiver) are dying off.  The crickets are LOUD.  Everything feels a little more peaceful to me.  And even if the calendar tells me Autumn doesn’t officially begin until the 23^rd, my body knows when fall begins for “realz”.

1.     My hair knows… because it stops frizzing.  It starts to have a different luster.  It works with me, not against me.  It is happy.

2.     My nose knows… because while I have allergies year round, fall is the one time of year when they actually diminish.  Yeah, I know… odd since most people have that dreaded hay fever during this time of year.  Not me.  My allergies lessen and that makes me happy.

3.     My nose knows more... because I can smell it in the air.  When the temperatures change, so does the scent the air carries.  I've definitely been getting whiffs of fall in the air.

4.     My lips know… because they chap.  They do this between every season, actually, and weeks before anything else indicates that the season changes.  My lips have been very chapped since August 22^nd.  It’s the time of year when Blistex gets a lot of money from me.  

5.     My ears know… because the crickets are loud. This is probably noticeable because it’s cool enough at night to have my windows open and the air conditioning off, but it’s definitely a sign of late summer (when there are tons of crickets loud) sliding into early fall (when there are still a few crickets out there, hollering for their mates or telling the temperature or whatever they are doing.  I love falling asleep to that sound.  My ears also know because of the geese.  While mid-Ohio has geese year round (not something I grew up with noticeably in western NY), they cluster together and start flying in the fall.  In the spring and summer they walk everywhere, including stopping traffic to cross the streets.  But in the fall, they fly together, in that famous V shape.

6.     My skin knows.  My face clears up and is less red than when the heat is high.  I don’t have to wear make-up to even it out (although I do get very pale very quickly without that redness).  The rest of my skin, though it gets very dry in the winter, seems to “like” fall, as it tends to need less moisturizing than other times of the year.

7.     And my eyes… they seek all signs of fall.  The “V” of the geese, the changing of the leaves; seeking all of the sights of the changing of the season.  School buses!

8.     The muscles and pores – the very cells of my body – seem to know it’s autumn.  I feel more languorous, ready for the slowing down of nature.  I sleep longer, as if I am preparing for the hibernation in winter.

9.     The urge to cook and bake grows.  I never feel like baking more than I do in the fall.  It just seems the right time to be making comfort breads, sweet breads like zucchini and banana bread,  apple pies and crisps, pumpkin anything!  I've really been wanting to bake lately!

10.    Last but not least, I know fall is here when my annual fall scrapbook retreat looms on the horizon.  I've been going to a fall retreat for ... what?  I think eight years now!  It's the time that I create my Christmas cards and gifts, get away from the stress of the household and reeeeellllaaaaaaaxxxx.  And the hosts of the place where we go to can paper you like there's no tomorrow.  Wonderful!

My messy table is on the right. 

Tis the season – my favorite season.  Fall.  I can only hope and pray that I won’t “miss” it this year, like so many other years past.  It seems so fleeting.  I hope to “catch” most of it this year, taking time to breathe in deep breaths of cooling to crisp air, breathing in the sweet smell of the dying leaves, exhaling slowly… ahhhhhhhhhhh.

Yes.  Welcome, sweet autumn.

What’s your favorite season?