I am not a person who thrives when it's hot -- and I define "hot" as anything upwards of 75 degrees -- so I am happy when summer is over, or on its way out. I do love fall, but it's not so much fall as it is "not-summer," so I also love winter and spring. (Okay, I REALLY love winter, but that's more of a survival mechanism, native Wisconsinite as I am.)
While I (like you) do not "thrive when it's hot," I would probably shrivel up and die in a place like Wisconsin! I love Winter (in the South), too--a very close second to Fall for me!
I mean, I grew up here, so I don't really know any different, but long ago someone advised me to "sport your way through winter," and it's brilliant advice. If you sit inside when it's cold (and dark more often than it's light, and sometimes miserable), it's going to be a long seven months. If you get out, it's usually amazing -- I look forward to it every year.
Yep! transferred here for work, met a native, and that was that...
I think this year I'm going to try XC skiing again. Haven't gone since I was a kid, but if I don't do something, I might go mad. One knee is already just loose parts, so I don't have a whole lot to lose. Ice fishing is a no-go for me.
I love XC skiing, though I’ve broken my tailbone and bruised it more times than I can count. Snowshoeing, while I don’t enjoy it as much, is easier on the knees…
Beautifully written. I'm trying to embrace fall more. It's been a season of sorrow in the past, but there's so much to enjoy, too. As with many things about this life, I suppose. :)
You are so right, Melissa. Life has it fair share of crappy-ness (is that a word? I don't think that's a word), but it helps if we look toward the good.
I feel about fall the way I do about all of the seasons: a mix of anticipation and foreboding. I love some things about each season and dislike some things. (This is why I didn't vote in your poll--I would have checked "none of the above". Of course, living in San Francisco, I miss the seasons altogether, because we don't have any. Well, we actually do, but they are Fire, Flood, Earthquake and Fog (at least I like the fog).
I’m not sire I would like all those seasons, Charles, but we do have Hurricane Season here, which brings its own special kind of foreboding. Thankfully we were spared this year!
I'm a big fan of fall, though lately ours starts out with a healthy dose of smoke from wildfires. It's been so hot and dry up here in the PNW this year, the arrival of fall is very welcome! Halloween is my favorite holiday, so that's a big bonus in this season.
Thanks! As is often the case here, the weather is probably going to be pretty dreadful. No matter though (for me), my kid is grown and we never get trick or treaters. I've been enjoying the season and everyone's decorations for weeks!
Thanks for the shout out Holly. It really has been more than unseasonably hot- even in Tulsa. As for capitalizing the seasons, I agree. We name things we love and we honor them with an initial cap. 🧡🤎🍂
So interesting--when I was in Little Rock for my stem cell donation, I couldn’t believe how hot it was! A full 10 degrees hotter there than in our town 5 hours south. This is why I love hearing from folks all over the planet--you just never know what it’s like outside your small space in the world unless you learn from others.
I ADORE September - it's second only to May, in my opinion. Where I live it's stayed pretty warm so far. I live near the bottom right-hand corner of the UK, where the weather's not bad anyway, but yesterday, on a mountain in a part of the country which I have in the past rather unkindly called 'The Frozen North'. we had an unexpectedly warm, sunny t-shirt-and-should-have-worn-shorts day.
The scent of the new autumn always reminds me of the first day back at school, when every year my brother and I would be photographed on the front doorstep of home by my dad. I wonder where all those pictures are now?! We don't have any children so generally the start of the new school year passes me by - the only change for me is that I get stuck in more traffic more often at school drop-off and pick-up times in town!
I’ve lived close to the equator all my life. Now, in North America, I dread and curse the coming of Winter. Fall is a depressing reminder of what is to come. It’s already 10 degrees Celsius outside! 😰
Very mixed feelings on Fall. On the one hand, it's shorts-and-a-hoodie season, so that's my time to shine, fashion-wise. And I live in a college town, so the start of the school year brings it's own electrci energy.
On the other hand, I have no intertest in pumpkin spice Windex, or any of the other commercialized nonsense (I will carve out an exception for apple fritters). And it means winter is just that much closer.
As for fall, I knew I'd never by the popular kid at school when I realized how much I loved walking to school on a crisp fall morning, my backpack filled with new school supplies... Which is fine.
Protractors and liquid paper and college-ruled notebooks, oh my! (I was on the cusp of popularity only because I was pretty and would talk to anyone and everyone, but I stayed on the fringes--which was also perfectly fine with me!)
I get what you say about autumn and all that it once represented...the end of a playful summer and the transition into a new school year...the leaves turning color and falling playfully to the ground...the smell in the air...and yes, the end of baseball season - good if my team was crap during the summer, and exciting if my team was still playing when the calendar flipped into October. There was always so much to appreciate about autumn.
These days are different for me...
Like your Grandmother, I look at autumn differently now and think of darkness and decay. I wonder if the world around me and all its beauty will ever return to what I once embraced - it's sort of like a young version of me wondering if I would ever again enjoy the carefree feeling of playing at the river all day...of learning to stand on skis while jetting across a boat's wake...of mindlessly tasting hot dogs and burgers without thinking - or even caring - where that meat came from...what kind of suffering happened so I could enjoy that taste for a few seconds?
I was hiking last week through a beautiful Swiss valley. Normally the trees would be in their best autumn costume...adorned in red and orange. But this year, everything was still green - nature seemed hesitant to change fully into autumn...even though all around me there were signs of a permanent state of autumn... My first glimpse of the majestic Rosegg Glacier appeared later than it should - later even than it did the previous year. It is now half of what it was just 10 years ago...and that is surely a sign of transition - a change I feel hopeless in changing. I want the beautiful glacier to remain...to please eyes for generations...and I don't know what will emerge once the glacier drips its last drop and is no more.
I have always needed to be knee deep in fresh powdery snow to ever enjoy winter. The biting cold on my face and wind that stabs through my coats and into my bones are the worst parts of being in the northeast. The snow itself is wondrous and charming (when you get to stay home).
Fall has always been my favorite. It’s family birthdays and my birthday as well. The weather, cozy clothes, and leaf changes have always been comforting. As a plant parent now, though, I’ve come to love later spring and summer more. Watching my garden grow and treating myself like one of the plants (getting adequate water and sunshine) has become therapeutic.
I welcome Fall. Here in Florida during the summer months, it is way too hot for me. When I was younger, it was fine. I was always outside playing sports. Of course, when it is 30 degrees, I'll be saying, where is that warmer weather? :)
I selected "jumping in the leaves". That is one of the things I miss about living up north. Watching the leaves change and going to get cider at the local cider mill. I'm originally from New York State.
Unfortunately, we are in the cone for Tropical Storm Ian, soon to be Hurricane. We are hoping and praying that it doesn't come here. We used to wish that the storms would steer away from us and go toward TX, LA, or MS. Now that I know you're from there, I can't make that statement. No one should ever have to deal with a hurricane or tropical storm. Been there, done that! It's no fun.
Oh Matthew--hear I was breathing a sigh of relief that Ian will likely bypass us, but you are so right. There's always someone in the path, isn't there? We've been fortunate this year to avoid storms so far, but Mike tested the generator this morning for safe measure. We dealt with Ida last year and Delta and Zeta in 2020. I think we're due a slow season.
I can't imagine how big the transition was moving from NY to FL. Definitely different seasons! I do wish we had more leaf colors in the Fall. We quickly go from green to some yellow to brown. Very few reds and oranges, but I stop to appreciate them when I do come across them.
Good luck in the coming days. We'll keep you in our prayers.
I am not a person who thrives when it's hot -- and I define "hot" as anything upwards of 75 degrees -- so I am happy when summer is over, or on its way out. I do love fall, but it's not so much fall as it is "not-summer," so I also love winter and spring. (Okay, I REALLY love winter, but that's more of a survival mechanism, native Wisconsinite as I am.)
While I (like you) do not "thrive when it's hot," I would probably shrivel up and die in a place like Wisconsin! I love Winter (in the South), too--a very close second to Fall for me!
I mean, I grew up here, so I don't really know any different, but long ago someone advised me to "sport your way through winter," and it's brilliant advice. If you sit inside when it's cold (and dark more often than it's light, and sometimes miserable), it's going to be a long seven months. If you get out, it's usually amazing -- I look forward to it every year.
Great advice! We get about 7 months of Summer here because it could be 85 on Christmas Day--we just never know. You would not love it here. :)
This is true: I definitely would not love it there 😉
I've been in Badgerland for almost 20 years and only now have (sort of) made peace with winter.
Someone once told me to sport your way through winter and now I do — it has made a huge difference. (I didn’t know you lived here!)
Yep! transferred here for work, met a native, and that was that...
I think this year I'm going to try XC skiing again. Haven't gone since I was a kid, but if I don't do something, I might go mad. One knee is already just loose parts, so I don't have a whole lot to lose. Ice fishing is a no-go for me.
I love XC skiing, though I’ve broken my tailbone and bruised it more times than I can count. Snowshoeing, while I don’t enjoy it as much, is easier on the knees…
Maybe I’ll try that instead? We have a golf course by us that everyone uses for both.
It's different than XC skiing for sure, but still pretty fun.
Oh man, I just start thawing out at 73 degrees! I prefer a slight sizzle. 🥵
Beautifully written. I'm trying to embrace fall more. It's been a season of sorrow in the past, but there's so much to enjoy, too. As with many things about this life, I suppose. :)
You are so right, Melissa. Life has it fair share of crappy-ness (is that a word? I don't think that's a word), but it helps if we look toward the good.
I feel about fall the way I do about all of the seasons: a mix of anticipation and foreboding. I love some things about each season and dislike some things. (This is why I didn't vote in your poll--I would have checked "none of the above". Of course, living in San Francisco, I miss the seasons altogether, because we don't have any. Well, we actually do, but they are Fire, Flood, Earthquake and Fog (at least I like the fog).
I’m not sire I would like all those seasons, Charles, but we do have Hurricane Season here, which brings its own special kind of foreboding. Thankfully we were spared this year!
I'm a big fan of fall, though lately ours starts out with a healthy dose of smoke from wildfires. It's been so hot and dry up here in the PNW this year, the arrival of fall is very welcome! Halloween is my favorite holiday, so that's a big bonus in this season.
Not sure how I missed this comment, Anne, but cheers to your favorite holiday TOMORROW!!!
Thanks! As is often the case here, the weather is probably going to be pretty dreadful. No matter though (for me), my kid is grown and we never get trick or treaters. I've been enjoying the season and everyone's decorations for weeks!
“If Autumn were a person, he’d be Jesus.” Right on!
Every season has its own wonderful feeling and you really nailed the fall thing in this post.
Also, go Jonah!
❤️🍗✏️🍂
Thanks for the shout out Holly. It really has been more than unseasonably hot- even in Tulsa. As for capitalizing the seasons, I agree. We name things we love and we honor them with an initial cap. 🧡🤎🍂
So interesting--when I was in Little Rock for my stem cell donation, I couldn’t believe how hot it was! A full 10 degrees hotter there than in our town 5 hours south. This is why I love hearing from folks all over the planet--you just never know what it’s like outside your small space in the world unless you learn from others.
Another great read, Holly!
I ADORE September - it's second only to May, in my opinion. Where I live it's stayed pretty warm so far. I live near the bottom right-hand corner of the UK, where the weather's not bad anyway, but yesterday, on a mountain in a part of the country which I have in the past rather unkindly called 'The Frozen North'. we had an unexpectedly warm, sunny t-shirt-and-should-have-worn-shorts day.
The scent of the new autumn always reminds me of the first day back at school, when every year my brother and I would be photographed on the front doorstep of home by my dad. I wonder where all those pictures are now?! We don't have any children so generally the start of the new school year passes me by - the only change for me is that I get stuck in more traffic more often at school drop-off and pick-up times in town!
I do not miss the autumn traffic I used to encounter when I worked for a university! Now my commute is much easier--den to home office!
I’ve lived close to the equator all my life. Now, in North America, I dread and curse the coming of Winter. Fall is a depressing reminder of what is to come. It’s already 10 degrees Celsius outside! 😰
I can’t imagine that much cold! While I don’t enjoy our soupy, humid air (especially in the Summer), it also makes Winter temps feel even colder.
Very mixed feelings on Fall. On the one hand, it's shorts-and-a-hoodie season, so that's my time to shine, fashion-wise. And I live in a college town, so the start of the school year brings it's own electrci energy.
On the other hand, I have no intertest in pumpkin spice Windex, or any of the other commercialized nonsense (I will carve out an exception for apple fritters). And it means winter is just that much closer.
Also: Go Ducks!
Pumpkin spice Windex 🤣🤣🤣
"IYKYK" -- learned something new today!
As for fall, I knew I'd never by the popular kid at school when I realized how much I loved walking to school on a crisp fall morning, my backpack filled with new school supplies... Which is fine.
Protractors and liquid paper and college-ruled notebooks, oh my! (I was on the cusp of popularity only because I was pretty and would talk to anyone and everyone, but I stayed on the fringes--which was also perfectly fine with me!)
I get what you say about autumn and all that it once represented...the end of a playful summer and the transition into a new school year...the leaves turning color and falling playfully to the ground...the smell in the air...and yes, the end of baseball season - good if my team was crap during the summer, and exciting if my team was still playing when the calendar flipped into October. There was always so much to appreciate about autumn.
These days are different for me...
Like your Grandmother, I look at autumn differently now and think of darkness and decay. I wonder if the world around me and all its beauty will ever return to what I once embraced - it's sort of like a young version of me wondering if I would ever again enjoy the carefree feeling of playing at the river all day...of learning to stand on skis while jetting across a boat's wake...of mindlessly tasting hot dogs and burgers without thinking - or even caring - where that meat came from...what kind of suffering happened so I could enjoy that taste for a few seconds?
I was hiking last week through a beautiful Swiss valley. Normally the trees would be in their best autumn costume...adorned in red and orange. But this year, everything was still green - nature seemed hesitant to change fully into autumn...even though all around me there were signs of a permanent state of autumn... My first glimpse of the majestic Rosegg Glacier appeared later than it should - later even than it did the previous year. It is now half of what it was just 10 years ago...and that is surely a sign of transition - a change I feel hopeless in changing. I want the beautiful glacier to remain...to please eyes for generations...and I don't know what will emerge once the glacier drips its last drop and is no more.
So hauntingly beautiful, Jack.
I have always needed to be knee deep in fresh powdery snow to ever enjoy winter. The biting cold on my face and wind that stabs through my coats and into my bones are the worst parts of being in the northeast. The snow itself is wondrous and charming (when you get to stay home).
Fall has always been my favorite. It’s family birthdays and my birthday as well. The weather, cozy clothes, and leaf changes have always been comforting. As a plant parent now, though, I’ve come to love later spring and summer more. Watching my garden grow and treating myself like one of the plants (getting adequate water and sunshine) has become therapeutic.
I do like the Spring and Summer months for all the foliage and blooms!
I welcome Fall. Here in Florida during the summer months, it is way too hot for me. When I was younger, it was fine. I was always outside playing sports. Of course, when it is 30 degrees, I'll be saying, where is that warmer weather? :)
I selected "jumping in the leaves". That is one of the things I miss about living up north. Watching the leaves change and going to get cider at the local cider mill. I'm originally from New York State.
Unfortunately, we are in the cone for Tropical Storm Ian, soon to be Hurricane. We are hoping and praying that it doesn't come here. We used to wish that the storms would steer away from us and go toward TX, LA, or MS. Now that I know you're from there, I can't make that statement. No one should ever have to deal with a hurricane or tropical storm. Been there, done that! It's no fun.
Happy to hear about your brother and son.
Oh Matthew--hear I was breathing a sigh of relief that Ian will likely bypass us, but you are so right. There's always someone in the path, isn't there? We've been fortunate this year to avoid storms so far, but Mike tested the generator this morning for safe measure. We dealt with Ida last year and Delta and Zeta in 2020. I think we're due a slow season.
I can't imagine how big the transition was moving from NY to FL. Definitely different seasons! I do wish we had more leaf colors in the Fall. We quickly go from green to some yellow to brown. Very few reds and oranges, but I stop to appreciate them when I do come across them.
Good luck in the coming days. We'll keep you in our prayers.