Autumn Is Upon Us

It's no secret: Autumn is my favorite season.

The day after Labor Day I pack away all my summer decorations and pull out the pumpkins and scarecrows. I burn the apple and pumpkin candles, and start thumbing through my favorite cookbooks, adding my favorite fall dishes to my weekly menus.

The weather starts to change here, too. The days can still be hot, but they lose the humidity of July and early August. The nights become significantly cooler, dropping down to the upper 50s. If you're not careful and forget to close the windows -- like I have a few times -- you'll find yourself wearing sweats and drinking coffee to warm up.

And that's fine. It doesn't bother me one bit.

But when Mother Nature is ahead of me? Well, sometimes I have to admit, I'm not quite as ready for autumn as I thought I was.

And yesterday was one of those days.

It started with my son. He looked out his bedroom window, pointed out the leaves that had already fallen in our front yard, and exclaimed "Mommy! That means winter is coming!" And while rationally, I know Ash trees are the first to lose their leaves and colder temperatures are still a month or two away, I still feel a little pang in my heart as I watch those leaves flutter to the ground.

I took a walk around my property yesterday morning, observing the changes. More ash tree leaves on the ground. The doesn't shine directly into the backyard. And the leaves on the rhododendron are starting to turn a brilliant shade of red.

Yes, like it or not, autumn is upon us.

Let the leave-raking, chimney sweeping, and baking begin!