I'm a fall kind of girl anyway but this fall has been amazing! I've got to say that I have absolutely been loving fall here. I can't believe how different it is from Utah. I mean superficially it seems the same but there are a lot of small things that I've enjoyed. One example would be the whole leaves changing color thing. I've always enjoyed this immensely but I've never really appreciated the orange/brown trees as much as the more vibrant reds and yellows. While I still loved those colors this year I gained a news sense of joy from the aforementioned oranges and browns. The thing about orange and brown leaves here was that the variety in shades (moving from orange to brown) was so perfectly blended that the landscape looked like it was covered in gold. Honestly it was amazing. Every time I went out driving I couldn't get over how beautiful it was. The change in colors made every drive seem new and different. (One time so much so that I missed my turn and drove into another county - all the while literally thinking 'I still can't get over how much the change in colors makes every drive look completely brand new - like I've never been on this road before.' Seriously my exact thought. Sadly it was another five minutes after this thought before I started thinking 'wait a minute...have been on this road before?'. Just for the record I timed myself after turning around and it turned out I was fifteen minutes past my turn. Still it was a lovely drive.)
Another thing I've enjoyed about fall here is how long it seems to last. In Utah it only seems that the colors are really there for a couple of weeks. Even the weather transitions rather quickly from summer to winter. Sure we might get lucky and have a few beautifully warm days after the chill has set in but one must endure a snow fall or two to get them and even still they are too few to really make up for snow in October. (I'm convinced those beautiful days are only thrown in to keep us fall enthusiast from revolting entirely...if there's one thing mother nature doesn't want to deal with it's a picket line...) Here fall has been an actual process that one can take in and enjoy. The leaves slowly changed colors providing ever changing and enchanting views for at least a month and then just as slowly the leaves fell (there are still quite a few hold outs...and they don't even all look dark and dead - they've still retains vibrancy). There have been a lot of rainy days (it's apparently been a very rainy year) but we've also had many gorgeous fall days. I don't know how to describe other than a legitimately paced autumnal season. I'd never realized how sorely lacking Utah was in this department (rushing from summer to winter and all...) but the difference is now glaring to me.Another difference is that nobody around here rakes up leaves then stuffs them in bags. Honestly nobody. Everybody rakes their leaves up (generally into the ditches that run along both sides of the road) and burn them. This adds to the fall atmosphere by adding that gloriously smoky/earthy smell. I don't think there is any better way to describe it than Autumn.
