It is my considered opinion that Autumn is the best of all the seasons. I’ll give my reasons why I believe that in just a moment, but we need to get the downsides of autumn out of the way first.
Autumn is for many of us a season of uncomfortable reflection. Something about the season causes us take stock of our lives and makes us aware of the brief moment of time we have on this planet. The rapid transition from summer to fall can seem quite jarring. We have such high expectations for summer; expectations that are difficult if not downright impossible to meet. When we realize that the clock is winding down on summer there is a sense of letdown and disappointment. A common refrain around Labor Day is “I can’t believe summer is almost over”. The passing of summer is perhaps the only season that causes us to feel that way. I don’t think I have ever heard anyone, ever, say “I can’t believe that winter is almost over”.
Another reason we get so contemplative around the autumnal solstice is because we so often associate autumn with death. If spring and summer are the growing seasons; then the harvest season must be the “death” season and is a reminder of our own inevitable mortality (there’s a reason Death is called the Grim Reaper, and why he carries a scythe; he be the harvester of souls). The trees shed their leaves and become bare. The garden collapses and turns ever more sparse. The air grows quiet as many of the songbirds migrate to gentler climes. The world seems to take on the stillness of a grave.
An additional downside of fall is that the days grow increasingly shorter, which means less time for us to enjoy outdoor activities. The shorter days trigger a binge-eating debauchery, as our bodies try to fatten up for the long months of winter ahead. So all that effort to get your body ready for summer goes right down the toilet when autumn rolls around.
Finally, if you are of a school age, autumn is synonymous with Back to School.
The leaves are yellow, red and brown,
A shower sprinkles softly down,
And the air is fragrant, crisp and cool,
And once again, I’m stuck in school.
Fall by Jack Prelutsky
With the downer stuff out of the way, let us now move on to why autumn is in reality the best of all the seasons.
It’s not so frickin’ hot anymore: summer starts off in June with such heady optimism, but swamp-ass temperatures arrive in July and by late August summer begins to feel tiresome. Everything appears worn and tattered: the lawn looks dead, the plants and trees look wilted and shabby, the people look wilted and shabby as well. The moderate temperatures of autumn bring such sweet relief.
No more frickin’ mosquitos: with the cooler temps, the annoying bugs go away. We can now sit outside on a pleasant evening without having slather a thick layer of OFF on every square inch of exposed skin.
Foliage: for a brief few weeks, the world is bejeweled with hues of yellow, red, orange and purple. As Albert Camus said: “Autumn is a second Spring, when every leaf is a flower”. (Wait. CAMUS said that!?! Must have been an off day for him).
Autumn gardening: working in the garden in autumn is pure joy. The temps are
comfortable, the skies are a cobalt blue and the weeds are no longer growing like, well, weeds. In my own garden, the asters and sedums are in full bloom, the ornamental grass seed heads tower above me and my lawn briefly turns back to a vibrant green. My favorite gardening book of all time, “The Garden in Autumn” by Allen Lacy, taught me how to make my own garden look awesome in the fall. It’s out of print, but you can find used copies on BN.com or Amazon.
Football is back: ‘nuff said.
The Fall Classic: baseball’s grand finale.
Festivals: the coolest festivals happen during autumn. Oktoberfests, corn-mazes and pumpkin festivals galore. When the VintageChildren were younger, going to the Aurora Pumpkinfest was an annual family ritual. We enjoyed the musical acts, the arts-and-crafts and picking pumpkins from the pumpkin patch. The high point was always the Punkin Chunkin competition. Good times that are much missed.
Holidays: as a child, I felt that Halloween ranked right up there with Christmas. Heck, I still do. A day devoted to turning the ol’ homestead into a haunted house, carving jack-o-lanterns, getting into a costume and pretending to be something you’re not and then going out in public to extort strangers for candy. What an awesome holiday! Then there is Thanksgiving, a holiday where stuffing your face with food and watching football all day is not only encouraged it’s actually a tradition. Let us not forget Christmas. Yes, Christmas. The holiday itself is in winter, but a lot of the fun stuff happens in autumn: Black Friday, holiday TV specials and decking the hall wills boughs of store-bought decorations all take place in late fall.
The bike paths are not as congested: with cooler temperatures and the kids back in school there are fewer folks on the byways. Means more room for me.
Comfort food: chilis and stews are back baby! I have a beef and two-bean chili recipe that is pretty good. I’ll have to post it one of these days.
Beer! awesome Oktoberfest beers and other autumnal brews.
Travel is better: shorter lines, cheaper fares. I once took the VintageFamily to southern California in October. We had the beaches to ourselves and the lines at Disneyland were practically non-existent.
So there you go, a veritable plethora of reasons why autumn rocks. I could easily find dozens more, but I’m sure everyone has there own reasons for why the love fall. Just get out there and enjoy the season while it lasts. Because winter will be here all too soon. And winter is just three months of total suck.
