Seasonal Changes

1. Colorful leaves – Whether you prefer the red and orange maples in the northeast or golden aspens in the Rockies, autumn brings dazzling displays.
2. Cooler weather – and no bugs!
3. Sweatshirt hoodies and cozy sweaters – pull them out of storage, or buy a few new ones, it’s time for long sleeves again!
4. Watching for migrating birds – geese flying south, warblers passing through
5. Crisp mornings and foggy beginnings to the day – one of my favorite childhood memories is gathering up the cows for the morning milking in a night pasture so foggy I couldn’t see the cows until I was upon them.
6. Putting the garden to bed – most of the vegetables are waning, and it’s time for extra mulch and pulling dead plants so the garden can sleep.
7. Slower pace – Summer always seems so busy with activities.  Fall usually slows down, and life is not so hectic.  In our household, anyway!
8. Fire pit evenings and flickering fireplaces to take away the chill – we’re spending time with good friends and family around the fire pit, with a glass of wine in hand, well into the evening.
9. Flannel shirts – like sweatshirts, the flannel comes back out too!

Fall Foods

1. Cold weather soups and stews – summer is too hot for soups and stew …  but fall!  Colder weather makes us really appreciate a bowl of hot soup or chili, and stews, roasts, and meat pies are back on the table!
2. Fall baking – means apple & pumpkin pies, and apple cider donuts! The house will smell of cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg.
3. Warm drinks – hot chocolate and mulled wine, steaming coffee on the deck in the morning, hot cider with a bit of an alcoholic kick in it!
4. Buy fresh apple cider from a local mill (and sometimes watch it being pressed) and make homemade applesauce from a big box of apples.
5. Local Harvests include squash, apples, pumpkins, cool weather crops like cabbages, leeks, and Brussel sprouts. We have a vegetable farmer who puts out wagons with huge butternut, Hubbard squash, and cabbage a foot in diameter – no kidding! And for sale so cheap.
6. The symbols of abundance- and the contrast, at the same time, of the loss:  summer flowers and vegetables will disappear as gardens start to sleep.  Tomatoes come to an end, but potatoes are dug; Brussel sprouts and carrots are sweeter when left for the first frost.

Fall Beginnings & Travel

1. New beginnings – school, for me, symbolized a new year, more than January 1 and New Year’s Day.  School was a fresh start in a new grade: new clothes, seeing friends again, new shoes, and a new winter coat. Fresh school supplies like brand new notebooks and pens inspired me. On the farm, most of our dairy calves were born in the fall; fall babies meant a new burst of life and the promise of new milkers entering the farm life cycle.
2. Fall trips – Do a stay-cation with local trips: apple picking, fall festivals, corn mazes, farmers markets, and hikes in the woods. Visit a local state park or historical landmark.
3. Camping and vacation – everything is less crowded now that school is back in session.  Breakfast over a campfire!  Just make sure where you are going has local activities open.  Maine, for instance, will have many coastal restaurants and harbor activities closed once school starts.  Often, state parks will close campgrounds between early September to early October.
4. Ghost tours – Cities, graveyards, and special buildings all over the country have guided ghost tours. Maybe you’ll see the headless horseman in Sleepy Hollow, NY!

Around the House

1. Fall flowers – Mums are on sale in late August and early September – plant some around the house for a colorful display.  They often overwinter and come back in the spring!
2. Putting a quilt or comforter back on the bed – so warm and cozy!
3. Starting Thanksgiving and Christmas crafts as gifts and decorations – pine one fire starters, handmade cards, sewing projects, jewelry, gift baskets and cookies, door wreaths, table centerpieces; really think creative and gift anything you are good at doing. Or attempt new things you always wanted to make!
4. Halloween and all that goes with it – costumes, cookies, candy, trick or treat, pumpkin carving, haunted houses.
5. Stargazing on a cool, clear night
6. Plant new bulbs and seeds for a spring surprise!  I often forget what I planted where, so I am surprised by my flower’s appearance!
7. Rake leaves into a big pile and let the dog, or kids, jump in!

I’m way over 25 things … what do you put on your autumn list to do, love, see or explore?