Every year there’s one morning in early fall (or occasionally late summer) when I go out to my car on the way to work and notice something different. Either the air is a little dryer, cooler or both. It’s not usually a big difference; just the barest of hints, a little promise that the long summer will eventually end. That morning came yesterday, and it was a nice surprise. It heralds my favorite time of year in Florida… the time of year when we start to enjoy the outdoors again.
There wasn’t a whole lot of gift giving yesterday, especially with the big computer purchase coming earlier in the week. I’m not complaining. A new computer is a great birthday surprise… even if we were planning to get one later in the year anyway. Still, a pinch of cooler air on the first day of birthday season* made it nearly perfect.
The high is only supposed to be 87 today! If I close my eyes and ignore my calendar it could feel more like November than September, with the holidays close by, the kids getting excited (infecting me with their enthusiasm), and the first blasts of cooler, Arctic air just around the corner (though quite a bit warmer by the time it gets here).
Most of the next four or five weeks will be back in the 90’s again, but it won’t be long before cooler air brings all of our yearly visitors with it. We’ve turned a corner.
I love this time of year.
*Me, two sisters, mom, dad, my son, a nephew, a father-in-law, a brother-in-law, and an aunt all have birthdays between now and the third week of October; and that’s not counting anniversaries. If you have a large family that may not sound like a lot, but that’s almost everyone in my small family. I guess January was a particularly fertile time in my family.
My wife thinks I’m kinda crazy, but I wish it got cold enough here to have a fireplace. It will get cold enough for an outdoor fire a few times a year, but we could go most of the year without turning on the heat, and it wouldn’t drop much below 68F inside. I suppose we could open up the windows when it gets “cold,” (those two weeks of bitter cold in February when the thermostat dips below 50F for five minutes just before sunrise ;-) but something seems wrong about cooling it down so we can heat it back up.
Hi!
I was just commenting this morning about how I miss the sound of Canada Geese migrating south, heralding the new season. They don’t fly over this part of the country, it seems.
It has been a damp summer and September has been quite chilly already although we’ve had a lot of sun. We’ve been flicking on the fireplace to get rid of the morning chill already! But it gets warmer in the afternoon — high 60s to low 70s. Quite a difference from where you are.
Autumn really is wonderful in the Maritimes — easily our best time of year. The leaves are just beginning to change and will be in full riot in time for Thanksgiving (ours is the 1st Sunday in October.)
I hope you enjoy your cooler days — I’d have a ard time in your heat!
Happy Autumn Equinox!