Monday, October 25, 2010

Signs of the Season

University Avenue It's amazing -- autumn is here in Montana in full, splendid force. Yards are littered with fallen leaves waiting to be raked, pumpkins adorn front porches, and the skies are gray and windswept.  The locals are going nuts over collegiate football, the hunters are out and about, and I'm busting out my stock of sweaters and scares.

And we're expecting snow on Wednesday.

Yep, this is definitely Montana.  As beautiful as our autumn is, it is also far too short in my opinion.  

While I'm not too psyched about the impending early snows, there is something delicious about fall.  Maybe it's air's aroma of decomposition and burning leaves.  But that doesn't really speak to refreshment of the soul.  Perhaps it's the pumpkin spiced everything that is being sold at coffee shops, grocery stores, and more.  Then again, cuddling up with a warm cuppa is more cozy than exhilarating.

So what is it? 

Honestly, I have no answer.  I'm kind of hoping that maybe you can let me in on what excites you about autumn, if anything.  But even while I can't explain it, I still feel it -- the expectancy, the sense of crisp happenings just around the corner, the stark and beautiful sense of unlooked for hope.  Maybe it's God.  Maybe I'm crazy.  But whatever it is about this delicious season that we're in, I like it. 

What do you think is the behind the magic of fall?

7 comments:

  1. It's got to be the colors! Something about all the red and gold makes me feel alive and vibrant, despite the impending winter.

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  2. Sarena Shasteen - ThOctober 25, 2010 at 6:02 PM

    The smells and the color! I love the crisp fresh air!

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  3. Stephanie (dancingwaOctober 25, 2010 at 6:02 PM

    For me, it's the transition. I feel more alive when I notice changes going on all around, the crispness in the air, the crunch of the leaves, the brilliant sunsets I'm actually awake for these days. Everything seems to be in flux, heading toward brilliance, then slumber.

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  4. you've definitely captured a lot of the feelings that fall gives us and why i love it so much. most people think of autumn as a physical changing season, but i always think of autumn as more of a "feeling" season.. its all about the sense of regeneration and child-like quality with stillness and nostalgia. even tho it tends to be physically colder, i find a warmth to Fall. And yes, the coffee and bakeshops among the colored leaves is really breathtaking!! <3

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  5. My 2nd grade teacher told me leprechauns went around painting the leaves gold, so of course that makes it more magical than all the other seasons! Seriously though...nothing smells quite like autumn...even the leaves smell spicy! (Also...people finally start turning the heat on : ] and my fingers start begging to knit!)I am really trying not to be jealous of your fall...but that picture isn't helping!

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  6. Well of course its the apples and pumpkins!Seriously though, I'm with Stephanie. Transition can be exciting. For us in the colder climates, it can be daunting to look ahead to the loooooong cold winter...but in my heart each fall are the memories of moments that I've had in fall and winters past...leaf piles, jack-o-lanterns, snowmen and sledding, and I think a LOT of family time. A lot of warm family memories warm me this time of year.

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  7. Crisp air, lower humidity, highs in the 80s instead of 100s, more than two varieties of apple in the grocery store, pumpkins and fall/winter squashes becoming available, cinnamon and nutmeg showing up in baked goods, photos of turning maple leaves (we have mostly telephone pines here), the occasional splash of red from a deciduous tree. These are all part of fall's allure to me. :)

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"I am glad you are here with me."
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King