The Autumn Mood

It's that time of year again.  The nights are crisp & cool.  The air conditioners aren't roaring nonstop in our house (we can actually hold a conversation using our inside voices!).  I can enjoy a drive with the windows down & it doesn't feel like I'm trapped in someone's hair dryer.  The sun still feels warm on my skin but it doesn't burn.  That's nice.

I'm trying to enjoy this change in season.  I love to watch the leaves trade in their green for red, yellow, & orange.  It seriously doesn't get any prettier than the Midwest in the autumn.

But there are images of the howling wind, driving snow, & icy temps lurking in the back of my mind.  The long nighted days when it seems we have just moments of sunlight.  Not to mention scraping the windshield every morning, constant searches for gloves, & feeling the need to hibernate until spring.

Yes, in my mind the beauty of autumn is sometimes overshadowed by the dread of winter.  So I decided to be proactive about it this year.  I'm really trying to get into the spirit of the season.

We have Indian corn on our door!  And since it was time for
a new 'welcome' mat I choose one has some mum-ish type flowers.
My parents have this 3-tier Jack in their front window.

I've been noshing on some fallish treats.
Gotta love candy corn & peanuts & caramel apples!

I've traded in iced coffees for an ever-present steaming cup o' joe.

I've been howling at the harvest moon.
Not really.  Just snapping pics of its beauty.

And I've been enjoying the foliage whenever I can.
The beauty of back country roads in autumn just
can't properly be captured by a camera.
But I'm gonna keep trying!

Some other things I'd love to do to celebrate this time of year is go apple picking, hit the Covered Bridge Festival (or really any festival; fall festivals are the BEST!), go to a hot dog roast & eat my requisite one hot dog a year, sit around a camp fire, wear an old flannel shirt, rake leaves, carve a pumpkin, make every sort of baked delicious pumpkin flavored thing I can get a recipe for, watch "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" with Bing Crosby narrating...I've still got lots of autumn celebrating to do!

What are your autumn traditions?