It’s fall again, my favorite season, the one that never seems to last as long as the others. It’s always upstaged by winter which sometimes refuses to go. Spring is another season that often gets crowded out by summer. And we all know it’s been a long summer, not long enough some might say but it will still feel like summer here for a few more weeks even though the calendar tells us something differently.

The 10 day forecast still has us in the 90’s at least until Sunday, and then next week we slowly taper down to a high of 70. Won’t that be nice? September will be wrapping up and October will arrive. As I like to say, it’s when pumpkins grow faces.

I much prefer cooler weather when I can still wear short sleeved shirts to work but might need a light jacket to get there. I like to light candles when I get home and fill the house with the scent of cinnamon. I like drinking an extra pot of coffee on the weekends while sitting outside in the morning, watching the leaves fall thanks to the brisk chill in the air. I like to make one pot meals of soup and chili; comfort food.

I enjoy October because my family makes their annual trip to St. Louis to visit for a long weekend. We enjoy four days of food, farmers markets, and shopping. Then I don’t see them again until Christmas so their early October visit sort of ushers in the season for spooky decorations, fall harvest, and pumpkin spiced things for me.

Then it will be Thanksgiving, which means extra time off from work and an extra big meal to enjoy. But then it’s time for Christmas and winter, which isn’t so bad here in the Midwest if we get spared the bad winter weather.

But for now, it’s autumn, my favorite time of year. What’s yours and why?