Hello, September (It’s About Time)

Everyone talks about how short the summer has been and how they can’t believe August is already over. As a person whose summer has dragged and feels like August was nine weeks long, I am so excited to write these words:

Welcome September!

I tolerate summer. I don’t enjoy it no matter how hard I try. It’s an annoying season and, at times, oppressive. It’s too humid and hot to actually enjoy the outdoors. People I know who say they love summer don’t spend nearly enough time out in it to justify actually liking it.

The humidity makes my straight hair curl and frizz in ways that I don’t approve the minute I walk outside . Summer clothes are ugly. Plus, because the days are longer we are expected to keep pace with the sun and be active longer so as not to waste day light.

What’s worst though is that I do suffer from Summer SAD. It’s the same as the kind of seasonal depression others experience in the winter only mine is because there is too much light. I can feel this loosening its grip a little more every day and I look forward to the more balanced days of September and October.

In southern Ohio, September is still very much summer but it’s usually less intense than August.

So, bring on September with its cooler mornings and somewhat more moderate days. Hello to the month that gives us fresh apples, pumpkin spice and an excuse to indulge in all things maple. Let’s all breathe a little better with humidity levels starting to recede. Let’s stand in the woods and drink in the smells and sights as leaves begin to turn and as the start of Fall approaches.

It comes but once a year and I will rejoice!

The photo above is from last year at this time on Presque Isle in Lake Erie. That place is a little slice of paradise if you ever get to visit.

Hello, September!

“Ah, September! You are the doorway to the season that awakens my soul…but I must confess that I love you only because you are a prelude to my beloved October.”

Peggy Toney Horton

Fall is my favorite season.

Warm but not hot days followed by cool evenings. Blue skies punctuated by fluffy white clouds. Fall showers and colorful umbrellas. Leaves of yellow, orange, red and brown drifting aimlessly through the air. Pumpkin goodies and tasty soups. Hot chocolate and cold apple cider. The smell of smoke and the feel of a soft sweater on your skin. Jaunty hats, plaid scarves, boots that click when you walk and jackets that pull together an outfit. Pumpkins in a field and apple crisp in the oven.

Fall doesn’t officially begin for a few more weeks but I’m busy preparing. There are adventures to be planned and recipes to try.

Right now, my focus is on prioritizing all the many things I want to do and the many places the Nerd Mobile and I will go. I want to go to fall festivals, pick pumpkins and buy mums for the porches. I want to visit Jack Pine’s exquisite glass pumpkin patch again this year and spend a day and an evening wandering through the Franklin Park Conservatory’s Pumpkins Aglow Exhibit.

There’s so much to see and do in this big world of ours and fall is an excruciatingly short season.

The above picture was taken near Thomas, West Virginia while I was coming home from the Shenandoah Valley area of Virginia. It was the single most beautiful drive of my life through mountains and fall leaves with very few cars around to disturb the peacefulness of it all.

This is the day that I passed up a fantastic photo op just a few miles up the mountain. I will always regret that decision but it has taught me to embrace all the pictures, all the pumpkin stuff, all the fun of the season. The opportunity may never come again!

So, Hello September! Let’s get ready for the most exciting season of them all!