Let Fall Begin!

With August in the double digits, schools in session, and the orange flying again, it must be the beginning of Fall.  Fall or Autumn marks the transition from Summer into Winter.  Where we live, Fall is usually considered to start with the September equinox.  Autumn or Fall runs from the day after Labor Day through Thanksgiving, marking the unofficial beginning of the holiday season and Winter. However, according to the Irish Calendar, Autumn lasts throughout the months of August, September, and October, or possibly a few days later, depending on tradition.

So, what does my memory say about Fall?  If school starts and UT football fills the air, it is certainly the beginning of Fall.  I always had mixed feelings about this time of year.  On one hand, I hate to see the carefree days of Summer disappear.  I always hated when my children returned to school.  I missed them during the day.  I loved our Summers together, laughing and playing.  I also dreaded the cold weather of the Winter that follows Fall.  I love the green folage and hate to see the trees striped of their canapies during the Winter.  In the past, I considered Fall to be a time of dying, and like many of the Poets associated it with decay and decline.

But, I have since discovered that Fall has a face of it’s own, and not just as a prelude to Winter or a death to Summer.  It has a beauty that rivals the Summer flowers.  The Fall colors are breathtaking and remind me of the master painter’s works. It has a calmness about which Summer can only hope for.  It brings forth smells that compete with the Spring’s new birth.  Apples are fresh off the tree, figs, pumpkins, and many, many more harvest delights abound.  Kitchens are filled with these aromas, as the fields give forth their crops, to please man.

I love the gathering of people with the multitude of harvast festivals throughout the state. And speaking of gathering, ow about those Vols?  Football time is fast approaching, and we Tennesseeans are in hog heaven. Let Fall begin!