I enjoy the fall again...

There are so many reasons to love having to pull out the heavier wardrobe and waterproof shoes.

An Arizonan for most of my life, it is refreshing to finally be in a place that boasts the four seasons in such absolution as they do in upstate New York. For two years I have been privileged to watch the whispers of the seasons find me before bursting with the finality of finally submerging the landscape in its brilliance only available to the owner of that time of year. The four owners of course are spring, summer, winter, and fall.

And now latter, Autumn, is upon us. I knew it was here with that first nip at my nose during my morning walk a few weeks ago. A nip like that would have meant winter in Arizona. Now it is just a promise of what is to come with two full seasons not yet represented this year. After roasting in the hot sun for decades, I am relieved to feel such comfort throughout the year in my new home. I enjoy the cold, and a new experience, snuggling in the cold. I never would have dreamt that I would seek the comforts of blankets to help me feel good, but I am grateful as I seem to have more time to read when there aren't many outdoor activities to call to me.

My favorite are the magnificent colors that this season flaunts so surreptitiously until shown in vibrant radiance on the day it decides to fully make itself known. Indeed the season creeps in overnight it seems. Reds, golds, yellows, lime greens, and oranges throw their colors against the dark greens of the never changing evergreens around them as if showing off that they boast more than the one color of their quiet neighbors. These neighbors bow humbly in their friends' grandeur ingeniously knowing that they will have their own season to boast their own splendor in the dead of the next season.

And of course with the fall comes Halloween.

Fat pumpkins, beautiful squash, apples of every kind, and the harvest of summer's hard work comes out in colorful abundance this time of year. It is very hard indeed not to find myself singing happily with the cornucopia of such a bountiful harvest around me. I share the wealth as it gets shared with me. Presents appear on doorsteps and shrill exclamations reach hiding ears as people let others know they care. I enjoy both sides of this clandestine tradition and many people benefit from my escapades among thick bushes in my eager anticipation to see them exclaim their audible jubilation.

It leads me to this conclusion; with bounty brings open hearts. Mine grows every fall. Truly I seek opportunities to continue to let it grow all year, but never do these opportunities seem to be everywhere as it does in the fall and start of the holidays.

This is truly a season to revel in.

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