autumn
Fall has come to Fairbanks. It's sunny outside right now, and relatively warm, but the air is different, sharper somehow.
I love fall. One reason it's the start of a new year for those of us whose lives revolve around education for our jobs and kids. Fall means new clothes, new opportunities, new friends, new adventures. It's the start of routines, that make life feel more comfortable, predictable and safe.
I love fall because it's the perfect weather for me. Too cool for bugs, yet warm enough to get outside. Camping in the falltime is one of my favorite things to do. I love to wake up and slowly peek out from my sleeping bag, letting the cool air become my breath and feeling my nose get chilly. The morning's cold enough to require a nice mug of coffee, yet I don't have to bundle up too much with heavy coats and gear. By lunchtime the air is warm, short sleeves emerge, and I can play outside all day without suffering from heat exhaustion or having to suck in hot air while I work.
I love the beauty that is fall. Right now the high bush cranberries are ripening and their leaves have turned a deep red so that the woods behind my house are carpeted in crimson. The smell of the berries is amazing. I once heard that birds who eat the berries late in fall or in the spring when they've had time to rot can get drunk off the fermented sugars in the berries. I love the visual picture of debauched drunken sparrows and robins stumbling among the bushes in an intoxicated frenzy, living the high life until the hangover kicks in.
Our leaves here are turning yellow quickly and the fireweed is bloomed to the top (that's 6 weeks until snow, right?). The flowers had their last hurrah and are now looking almost too intense as their colors blaze before dying away. Jed is starting running club, little white legs leaping joyously down the trails while the leaves fall beside them.
I love fall.
I love fall. One reason it's the start of a new year for those of us whose lives revolve around education for our jobs and kids. Fall means new clothes, new opportunities, new friends, new adventures. It's the start of routines, that make life feel more comfortable, predictable and safe.
I love fall because it's the perfect weather for me. Too cool for bugs, yet warm enough to get outside. Camping in the falltime is one of my favorite things to do. I love to wake up and slowly peek out from my sleeping bag, letting the cool air become my breath and feeling my nose get chilly. The morning's cold enough to require a nice mug of coffee, yet I don't have to bundle up too much with heavy coats and gear. By lunchtime the air is warm, short sleeves emerge, and I can play outside all day without suffering from heat exhaustion or having to suck in hot air while I work.
I love the beauty that is fall. Right now the high bush cranberries are ripening and their leaves have turned a deep red so that the woods behind my house are carpeted in crimson. The smell of the berries is amazing. I once heard that birds who eat the berries late in fall or in the spring when they've had time to rot can get drunk off the fermented sugars in the berries. I love the visual picture of debauched drunken sparrows and robins stumbling among the bushes in an intoxicated frenzy, living the high life until the hangover kicks in.
Our leaves here are turning yellow quickly and the fireweed is bloomed to the top (that's 6 weeks until snow, right?). The flowers had their last hurrah and are now looking almost too intense as their colors blaze before dying away. Jed is starting running club, little white legs leaping joyously down the trails while the leaves fall beside them.
I love fall.
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