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I have a love-hate relationship with autumn, I must confess. I do enjoy these colder nights, grabbing a sweater on my way out the door, the first brush of color on the maple leaves, the way the field grasses turn gold in the slant of fading light. I enjoy snuggling in with the hubby and my softest blanket and watching the brand-new seasons of a few favorite shows captured on the DVR. I love football and the scent of woodsmoke from my neighbors’ fire and crunching through fall leaves.
Don’t even get me started on the delights of the harvest. Fresh apples (Honeycrisp. Try them. Trust me! You can thank me later). Russets tossed from the ground to the oven to bake. The adorable Jack-be-Little pumpkins I’ve already scattered around my house for decorations (the only thing that really grew well for me this year, for some strange reason!).
The kids are back in school, the days seem more settled, we’re finding our routine for the year. Good things, right?
But fall also tends to turn me pensive. I think about all the beach time we didn’t log, all the camping trips we planned to take but couldn’t quite manage, the perfect summer evenings I wasted stressing about the work I had to do or the appointments I needed to schedule when I should have been sitting out on the patio savoring the first glimmer of stars in a warm cloudless sky. As the days grow shorter, I am always haunted by more than just the cute white kitchen garbage bag ghosties hanging in my neighbor’s tree. I am filled with regret for another summer I didn’t enjoy as much as I should have.
While I do love the scents and sights of autumn, there is also always this vague sense of impending doom <g>. I really dread winter. Okay, not quite true. I love November and December, with fresh snow and my giggling kids and the fun and craziness of the holiday season. January and February, on the other hand, have me wishing I home-schooled and my husband also had a portable job so we could pack up and head south somewhere and escape the cold. It doesn’t help that I live in what is perennially the iciest spot in a state known for its spectacular snow!
What about you? What’s your favorite part of autumn? Bobbing for apples? Curling up by the fire with a good book? I’d love to know what you’re most anticipating … or dreading too! I’ll give away a copy of my latest release from Silhouette Special Edition, A COLD CREEK BABY, to one respondent.
Filed in: Jaunty Post
Sep 30th
2010
1:10 am
Nancy Robards Thompson Said:
Thanks so much for joining us today, RaeAnne! Congratulations on the new release. I can’t wait to read it. Fall is my favorite season. It brings a much needed break from the punishing Florida summer, and there’s always so much going on – back-to-school, football, Starbuck’s Pumpkin Spice lattes. I savor every moment of it.
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Sep 30th
2010
4:33 am
kris Said:
I like fall for the sweet relief of the heat and the start-up of school for the routine that my house desperately misses in the summer. but, the fall segue’s to winter and I hate the bitter cold and the snow.
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Sep 30th
2010
9:32 am
RaeAnne Thayne Said:
Kris, that’s one of the things I love most too … that return to routine. Summer is so hectic. It’s definitely a misconception that it’s all lazing by the pool and easy vacations! It seems so nice to have the kids back on a schedule
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Sep 30th
2010
6:18 am
Kristan Higgins Said:
I love fall, but I dread that big rainstorm that sweeps them all away (like the one we’re having now). Congratulations on your new book, Raeanne! It’s nice to have you here!
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Sep 30th
2010
9:37 am
RaeAnne Thayne Said:
Thanks for the welcome, Kristan. I love a good rainstorm. We get so few here in the high desert that every one seems dramatic and exciting.
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Sep 30th
2010
7:34 am
CrystalGB Said:
What I like about fall is the vibrant colors the leaves have and the comfort foods you make like chili and soups.
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Sep 30th
2010
9:36 am
RaeAnne Thayne Said:
Ahh, Crystal. You’re so right! I can’t wait for that first day of soup weather. Cream of potato, chicken noodle, chicken tortilla. Yum! There’s nothing like spending the day in my office, anticipating enjoying all those yummy soup smells coming out of my crockpot. Nobody’s in the mood for soup around here yet … our hot weather has lingered much longer than usual here in the Rockies (it’s going to be 85 today. Oy! It’s almost October!). Soon, though!
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Sep 30th
2010
8:26 am
eap Said:
Pumpkin pie or cheeseccake(especially from Olive Garden)
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Sep 30th
2010
9:38 am
RaeAnne Thayne Said:
Yum! My neighbor brought over pumpkin spice chocolate chip muffins the other day. Delish! They were gone in about fifteen minutes.
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Sep 30th
2010
9:20 am
Laurie G Said:
I love taking hikes in the woods to be surrounded by the vibrant fall color. We also take drives especially to the Holy Hill area in Wisconsin. GORGEOUS!
It’s fun to get out the old sweaters, jeans and gloves.
I love making apple pies. I like macintosh apples for baking. Making stews and pot pies, roasts… yummy stuff that’s too hot for the summer months.
The beauty and smell of roasting fires romantic!
FOOTBALL! GO PACKERS! BADGERS and GATORS!!
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Sep 30th
2010
9:39 am
RaeAnne Thayne Said:
Lovely, Laurie! Note to self: Go take a hike this weekend! (And I mean that in the best possible way )
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Sep 30th
2010
10:47 am
Minna Said:
Apple pies! And after over a month of unbearable heat, relief of it is certainly welcome.
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Sep 30th
2010
1:13 pm
RaeAnne Thayne Said:
Okay, Minna, now you’ve got me craving my divine recipe for apple pie, which has a butter and brown sugar crumb top and then caramel sauce drizzled over that. Mmmm!
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Sep 30th
2010
10:56 am
Karen H in NC Said:
I love fall but only for the color. Oh yes, and the Caramel Apples too! I don’t like fall because it ushers in winter. But then, that’s why I moved to NC….to get away from the long and harsh MI winters! I only go back there once each winter to visit my kids at Christmastime…but it also reminds me exactly why I left! LOL I’d have to say my favorite season in summer. I’m a warm weather girl.
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Sep 30th
2010
1:17 pm
RaeAnne Thayne Said:
I’m already scoping out warm-weather condos to spend Januarys and Februarys after my husband retires (okay, we’ve got 20 years. But I can plan ahead, right?)
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Sep 30th
2010
11:36 am
Shana Said:
So glad to have you guest blog with us today! I live in Houston, so I like the cooler weather. It’s 88 today, so it hasn’t really come yet!
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Sep 30th
2010
12:23 pm
Mary M Said:
It’s nice to turn off the air conditioning and revel in the natural weather. And I agree with Nancy that Pumpkin Spice Lattes brighten the season! Congratulations on A Cold Creek Baby! The cover looks sweet.
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Sep 30th
2010
1:15 pm
RaeAnne Thayne Said:
Thanks Mary. It is a darling baby on the cover
The hero isn’t quite like my wounded, dangerous, tattoed guy (this one looks more like Brad Paisley), but I was happy with the way it turned out. And thanks for having me!
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Sep 30th
2010
1:24 pm
chey Said:
I love the apple pies!
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Sep 30th
2010
1:53 pm
Sherry Lewis Said:
Ah, RaeAnne, your post described a Rocky Mountain autumn so vividly, I got a little homesick. Last year, I moved from Utah with its spectacular autumns to Florida where autumn is very different. After a full year, I’m still learning about the seasons here. I’m used to autumns with warm days and crisp nights, of a uniquely autumn spicy scent in the air and splashy, vibrant displays of colorful leaves on the mountainsides.
My new autumn includes incredibly huge dragonflies and butterflies dancing through the air just outside my window. Blooming flowers and green grass, but also the first drop in temperature at night after a very long, very hot and very humid summer where the nights were almost as hot as the days. I drove into Pensacola last night to pick up my daughter from work, and I was shivering in 73 degree weather!!! Crazy!
So maybe autumn to me now means being slightly chilly in my shorts flip-flops
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Sep 30th
2010
5:33 pm
RaeAnne Thayne Said:
Sorry to make you homesick, Sherry! Wish you were coming to the conference next week. I’m LOLing about your chilly 73 degrees. Reminds me of a time we went to Hawaii over Christmas when my in-laws lived there. We left 10 degrees below and arrived to mid-70s. We were at the beach loving life but everyone in Hawaii kept asking us if we brought the cold weather. We actually saw kids waiting for the bus in sheepskin-lined jackets!
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Sep 30th
2010
3:43 pm
Karyn Gerrard Said:
I love the smell of apple pie in the oven, the cool crisp air coming in through the window, the leaves turning color, the whole enchilada! It’s my fav time of year, oh, and don’t forget the beef stew in the slow cooker!
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Sep 30th
2010
5:35 pm
RaeAnne Thayne Said:
Ooh. Beef stew. Sign me up! I’m adding that to the menu for next week when the weather here is supposed to drop 30 degrees! I’ve been dying to make homemade bread boules too. Might have to mix those too things. Thanks for the idea!
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Sep 30th
2010
4:45 pm
Linda Henderson Said:
Fall is my favorite season. I love the beautiful foliage of fall, the smell of woodsmoke, pumpkins and my favorite holiday, Halloween. The only thing I don’t like about Fall is the upcoming winter. I use a walker and getting around in snow and ice is not fun. I spend a lot of time inside during the winter. I’m kind of a homebody so I really don’t mind. I sit in my favorite chair and drink hot drinks and read, read, read. It’s beautiful here today, a typical Fall day. I live in Southwest Missouri so our weather changes pretty quickly. Even though my allergies are killing me, I’m enjoying the Fall.
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Sep 30th
2010
5:37 pm
RaeAnne Thayne Said:
Linda, I have a feeling we’re going to go straight from summer to winter. Which I guess is appropriate since we pretty much skipped spring this year and went from unusually heavy snow showers in late April (yuck!) to the hot weather.
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Sep 30th
2010
10:39 pm
Quilt Lady Said:
I love the cooler temps, and the leaves changing color but am not looking forward to winter, hate the cold and the snow. I also get more reading done in the fall and winter.
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Sep 30th
2010
10:58 pm
Rainy Said:
I understand what you mean by a love/hate relationship with autumn. I remember my husband’s grandmother looking out at the festive and falling leaves and remarking how for her it was a sad time of year because it gave her a sense of the end of something, namely summer. To her it seemed to signify how shorter her days on earth were.
And certainly in November when the last of the leaves are gone, there can be a sort of uneasy, in-between times.
But it’s at the start of autumn when a palpable Change occurs that is felt both internally and externally. It feels like a season of possibilities to me. The air is crisp and alive and I begin to think of projects and just want to DO something.
And, now don’t hate me, but winter is not something to be hated because I leave my beautiful Vermont and head south to see what Mickey Mouse is up to.
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Oct 1st
2010
11:29 am
RaeAnne Thayne Said:
Rainy, you’re the winner! Email me at rthayne@xmission.com with your contact info so I can send you a copy of A COLD CREEK BABY. Thanks, everyone, for letting me join in the fun here.
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