happyToday is the first of October, the last month of the year (as reckoned by some calendars, including the one I elect to keep). The leaves are turning; the heat is fading; the migratory birds are moving on. The monarch butterflies have already left for their long trek down the California coast to Mexico, where they'll spend the winter on sunny beaches, dreaming of Santa Cruz. In the fields, the corn and pumpkins are coming in, along with the late-season tomatoes and the sweetest apples. The cats are putting their warmest coats on, preparing themselves for frozen nights ahead. Fall is finally here.
I am delighted beyond all measure.
I've always been an autumn girl. I love the smell of fallen leaves, the smell of rain either coming or just barely past, the smell of bonfires burning in the near distance. I love the cries of the crows as they call each other to treasure, and the mournful wail of the coyotes in the hills, singing summer to its rest. Persephone has taken off her summer dresses and hung up the apron she wears when she works her summer job—I always assume she works at an ice cream parlor, I don't know exactly why—and is making her way back to Hades, back to her husband, back to her home. The seasons are turning, and for a little while, I get to go as Persephone goes, because this time of the year...this time of the year is my home.
Many of my friends are summer girls. They like the heat and the green and the flowers everywhere. I like a lot of things about the summer—I like strawberries and lizards and the ability to walk for miles without carrying an umbrella—but summer's not my home. A few of my friends are winter girls. They like the cold and the white and the taste of frost. I like a lot of things about the winter—I like cocoa and warm blankets and the taste of peppermint in everything—but winter's not my home, either.
The first of October is always wonderful, because it's like opening a book I've read before that still manages to be different every single time. Welcome back, October. I couldn't be happier to see you.
Welcome to the fall.
October 1 2010, 17:24:16 UTC 6 years ago
I'm beginning to suspect I might be an autumn girl, too. I like summer better than spring, and spring better than winter, but none of those have the harvest traditions and the marching bands, and the beautiful foliage. The foliage isn't quite as gorgeous in Connecticut as it is near my home town in northern Mass, but there are still gigantic apples, apple cider, apple pie, turkey, fall decorations, and oh my yum more hot apple cider, and apple crisps. I'm not in high school any more, so I no longer have marching band, but I can still watch marching bands. I'm not a football fan, but I can still sit in the stands in pep band, playing, and having a great time.
My class organized "Fallapalooza" last week, in which we got all the yummy harvest food (which was delicious, even cold, since I carried it to the other side of campus to eat) and music, and general festivities.
And every year it's like I rediscover how much I love when the apples come into season.
October 1 2010, 22:34:05 UTC 6 years ago