Fall

I love the change of seasons.  The newness is always such a relief after a long stretch that has inevitably turned what started as lovely into something ugly and taxing.  The fresh snow of Christmas turns into the gray and brown slush of March.  The welcome sunshine of June morphs into the scorching heat of August.  My favorite change by far is into Autumn. 

There's that blessed relief from the heat of summer.  Cooler nights for sleeping and baking.  Comfort food like soups and casseroles.  Fresh apples and pumpkin and spice. 

And the remarkable changing of the colors around us from green and brown into brilliant reds, yellows, and oranges.  The air changes and smells fresh again.  Soon we might be smelling wood smoke. 

Days are warm and sunshiny and perfect for walks and the park.  And making the apple trees smell so apple-y. 

There's the swarm of gnats that congregates by the pine tree outside our windows trying to move in.  Gnats surrounding the lamps that are turned on in the evenings and on all the window screens. 

TV ads for back to school are long gone and now we're onto turkey, stuffing, pie, and all things Thanksgiving.  Accompanied by a slight panic attack before remembering that Canadian Thanksgiving is a month and a half before American Thanksgiving.  That means no Columbus Day sales but double the cranberry sauce. 

A new season of NCIS :)  Nope, not much better in the world than that. 

And then there are the children who are up half that night barking like seals. 

Ahh, the lovely change of season.  Now we're off to find a humidifier and replace the windshield.  I suppose we have to take the good with the not so good.  And we might as well enjoy what we can because it's not like we get a choice in the matter.