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And Just Like That….It’s Fall

September 14th, 2011

Monday I spent the day cleaning out the closets, pantry, the floors and doing some general cleaning. It was quite nice outside, warm and sunny in the morning with thunderstorms in the afternoon, but I needed to get a few chores finished inside. By early evening, it was quite breezy while we were out on our evening walk. It felt like a beautiful late summer evening. Tuesday morning we woke up to a cool crisp morning and leaves scattered around the lawn. It no longer felt like late summer, it felt like fall.

It’s funny how that is, one day feels like one season and overnight it changes. There comes that day in spring, when you walk outside and you can smell the earth, winter is gone. A few months later you wake up one morning and it no longer feels like a damp cool spring day, it’s hot and humid, summer has arrived. Summer is replaced with the refreshing coolness of autumn and the winding down of the garden. Winter replaces the musty smell of fall on that day you notice there is no longer any distinguishable scent in the frosty air that burns when you take a breath.

It’s usually a feeling or a smell that triggers the change of seasons for me. It certainly feels like fall here at Chiot’s Run. The mornings are cool, the days are bright and sunny, the dying plants make a very specific rustling sound in the breeze, the air is filling with the smell of damp decay, signaling a time of rest and renewal. The coming of fall is filled with satisfying garden chores: clearing out the gardens, building compost piles, mulching, wrapping hydrangeas, planting cover crops and maybe a few last winter vegetables. I’m happy that it’s fall, even if it’s not “official” yet.

What things signal a change in the season for you?

17 Comments to “And Just Like That….It’s Fall”
  1. daisy on September 14, 2011 at 6:28 am

    Lucky you! We’re still awaiting fall as it’s hot and humid here in FL. Can’t wait for that first burst of fresh, crisp air!
    Enjoy!

    Reply to daisy's comment

  2. goatpod2 on September 14, 2011 at 9:22 am

    Nothing really signals the different seasons here for me.

    Amy

    Reply to goatpod2's comment

  3. Sarah Jane on September 14, 2011 at 9:32 am

    Here in Sacramento, a Mediterranean climate, it’s still summer. I love reading about your season changes in Ohio. We’ve had a weird year, a thunderstorm in June, the heat has been mild. Hardly any days in the triple digits (Sorry, rest of the country, it’s not hot until it’s 3 digits) Here, the seasons are usually more split into the dry months and the rainy ones. Whether or not we get a transitional period between the two varies. Sometimes it seems like it’s up to the whim of the weather’s mood whether or not fall is two weeks in October, it skips it and goes right into pouring down buckets, or years when it’s getting into October and November and I’m still wearing my shorts and flip flops. Usually I pay attention to the turning of the leaves to signal the arrival of fall. Sometimes the weather confuses the deciduous trees, and they drop their leaves even though it still feels like summer. I believe most deciduous California natives are summer deciduous rather than winter deciduous.

    We experienced a “normal” spring this year, so maybe we’ll get a nice long fall. Actually, up until now, the weather this year seemed to be probably more like Ohio than California.

    Reply to Sarah Jane's comment

  4. Annie on September 14, 2011 at 10:23 am

    Definitely smell! Also the angle of the light.

    Reply to Annie's comment

  5. MAYBELLINE on September 14, 2011 at 10:32 am

    My spirit lightens with the departure of the heat.

    Reply to MAYBELLINE's comment

  6. risa on September 14, 2011 at 10:36 am

    Usually we get a storm from the vicinity of the mountains in late August, with lightning (which is rare in the Willamette Valley), then the next morning it’s fall. This year, though, our heat wave was in September, and it’s gently transitioning with morning clouds.

    Other signs — big orb weaver spiders, geese flying south, pumpkins turning yellow (some years the season is too short), putting away the canning kettle.

    Reply to risa's comment

  7. Dinah on September 14, 2011 at 11:22 am

    I love the day when summer is over… the crisp smell of fall signalling my favourite season.

    Reply to Dinah's comment

  8. Lona on September 14, 2011 at 11:33 am

    It does have that smell and feel about it now. I hate to see those shorter days that come with the change into Fall. I need light. LOL!

    Reply to Lona's comment

    • Susy on September 14, 2011 at 11:47 am

      I hear you – those shorter days are a killer. This time of year I start taking every advantage to be in the sun that I can, stocking up on vitamin D for the long dark winter months!

      Reply to Susy's comment

  9. Miranda on September 14, 2011 at 12:39 pm

    Here too!
    Wowee, it’s been a lot of years since i lived in a place where Fall started up at the same time as in your climate! For the past five years i’ve been whining that ‘it should feel like Fall now, not be the hottest month of the year!” Well, i’m back up north, and the leaves are changing and the nights are cool.

    I think i might be missing late Summer in Austin, hahaha. Nah! I love Fall!

    Reply to Miranda's comment

  10. Joy Giles on September 14, 2011 at 3:50 pm

    Here in Austin, Texas, it feels like fall when it’s not 100 degrees plus. This year when we finally get down to 80 or so, that will be our beginning to Autumn. Trees are turning . . . not sure if it’s normal leaf drop or they are dying. Looking for cooler weather for the weekend . . . 95-98. Brrr.

    Reply to Joy Giles's comment

  11. KimH on September 14, 2011 at 6:42 pm

    lol Joy!
    For me, its a feel.. Its subtle, but its a change somehow.. For me, it was quite a few weeks ago here on Lake Erie. Its been hot & humid again since, but I could tell, my favorite season is right around the corner! YAY!!

    I love the fall and how it gets darker earlier.. I get more much needed sleep that I dont get when it stays light so long into the evening. Yes, I love Fall & Winter!! ♥

    Reply to KimH's comment

  12. mistresseve on September 14, 2011 at 9:18 pm

    Cooler nights, shorter days, and all the leaves are loosing that bright green color.

    Reply to mistresseve's comment

  13. Jace on September 15, 2011 at 8:28 am

    The reward of living somewhere with 4 distinct seasons for sure.

    Reply to Jace's comment

  14. Rick on September 15, 2011 at 11:29 am

    For me the first thing that tells me it is fall is the sound of geese flying over in the evening. We live less than a half mile from the only real river in our area. That means as soon as September arrives we get to see and hear the geese fly by all evening long. It is one of my favorite parts of fall. I’m glad to live in a part of the country that has very distinct seasons to give a little variety to life.

    Reply to Rick's comment

  15. Jaspenelle on September 15, 2011 at 12:00 pm

    I just blogged about Autumn this morning, it has certainly arrived here, with a bang. 90F yesterday, 72F today with the long forecast looking the same. It rained for the first time in months this morning too. That smell, of rain of wet fallen leaves… it is so Autumn to me. As well as the intense blue sky that seems more prevalent this time of year.

    Reply to Jaspenelle's comment

    • Susy on September 15, 2011 at 12:10 pm

      I agree the sky always seems so blue this time of year.

      Reply to Susy's comment

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This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

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