Autumn Activities

Believe it or not, it's Fall and I was wondering what people's favorite activities are for this in-between season.  I usually like to take the kids on walks among the leaves and we do a once a week thing in the neighborhood to help a couple elderly ladies rake up their leaves and throw them into their spinning mulcher thingy.

Of course, leaves haven't fallen just yet which is a little weird so lets hope a big snow doesn't show up and annihilate the trees.

In 2007 I completely missed fall because I took a trip to New York in October. The leaves in Missoula fell while I was gone and the leaves in New York stayed green until the week after I left. It is one of the biggest lessons of my life. During another year, fall set in early and it was never warm enough for the leaves to change, so they stayed green even after they fell off the trees. It was weird. Anyway, I think the leaves usually change around here in October and these warm days are promising for a wonderful array of colors and some good jumping piles.

Some things I like to do around this time are watch the night sky, switch out the summer menu for some more hearty feasts and hot cocoa, and tell stories - especially ghost stories.

I never saw the leaves change colors until I went to college. In Southern California we don't really get seasons. I went to Berkeley and for the first time saw bundles of red lining the grey sidewalk.
But this will truly be my first experience with the full seasons. I bought a used rocking chair on Craigslist and some yarn. There is something so satisfying about making warmth when its cold outside. I've got a pile of books in the corner of my room that's been growing all summer, and I'm looking forward to burrowing under blankets for some good stretches.