Lord, I love autumn in the Midwest!!

[Skidmore]

I just walked over to the next building and back. A beautiful fall day. Sunny, but with a slight chill in the air. Trees point spiky branches toward the gun grey clounds skittering across a sky of fall blue as they doff their finery and let it drift on the breezes to the ground. Canary and flame year. Spicy, earthy odor of fallen leaves on the ground and the scent of freshly turned soil in the garden spots. A squirrel and a cardinal chatter over a speck of something in the grass. Twittering drift of sparrows lighting in the bittersweet tree to gobble berries. Mottled green-brown carpet of lawn butts up to the dry gold stubble of harvested corn fields stretching out to the horizon. The earth has yielded its fruit for another year and is gentling folding itself to rest. Here and there a little confused sprout pokes up--teasing us with gentle promise of a distant spring.


Sigh...

Did I tell you I love autumn in the Midwest?

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. Beautiful word picture

Reminded me of my commute this morning-going down from the mountains into the valley-the Ozarks are "on fire". So I know what you are talking about.

[flowomo]

2. and I love it here in Pennsylvania, too, but.....

the heat, which was set on 55 sometime last spring, kicked on for the first time since then this morning. Sigh. It's beautiful out, but it's chilling down and I don't want to see those heating bills.

[progressivebydesign]

3. It's amazing here in the Pacific Northwest in the autumn as well..

My favorite season... all the bronzes, and golds, and reds. The Puget Sound is so blue right now, as is the sky. Some of us are just autumn people, aren't we??

[Blue_Roses]

19. yes we are!

:hi:

I love the autumn season too. It's my favorite time of the year. Too bad it only last a short time here in the south.

[tatertop]

4. Autumn always makes me sad

Cold weather. Everything dying. Winter next.
(I think you may be a romantic at heart, I
wish I could be that way.)

[meganmonkey]

6. Think of it as the earth inhaling,

Spring is the exhale. Mama Earth needs a rest, too, you know.

I spent a couple years on a farm in PA and that's how I started to understand winter.

I still have a hard time with it dragging on and on through March and even April sometimes, but I have learned to love fall and early winter.

[tatertop]

12. I'll have to work on that

You may be right
(Or you just might be another hopeless romantic :)

Brrrrr... here comes the big chill.

[deadparrot]

5. It is gorgeous...

Definitely a perk of living here. Simply beautiful.

[ewagner]

7. How beautiful

My favorite line:

"The earth has yielded its fruit for another year and is gentling folding itself to rest."

:applause:

[jayfish]

8. Very Taboo, But...

I absolutely love the smell of burning leaves. Not a think acrid nose-full, mind you,just a hint of if wafting through the air. Since it's basically outlawed here I might be lucky to smell it twice a year. Back in the day though you could count on it all Fall long.

Jay

[ewagner]

9. I miss that too

I remember the chill in the air, the early darkness and the aroma of the burning leaves while the wind made my eyes water.

[jayfish]

15. Where I Grew Up...

there was a local company called Butternut Bakery and, during fall especially, the air was filled with the smell of baking bread and various other confectioneries. Something about that fall air lets everything hang just a little longer than normal. It's a delight to the senses.

Jay

[Skidmore]

11. We burn the remains of the veggie garden but the leaves

we mow and use for mulch. Lots of our neighborns burn them in the ditches in our little town (204 souls collected in one spot when everyone is home).

[tatertop]

13. I used to love burning leaves as a kid.

I have always been a firebug.

[Skidmore]

14. We would jump in them and they'd stick in our hair and

on our sweaters. We'd hide under the leaf pile and see how still we could be. You'd get caught if they rustled.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

18. While they were burning?

Tough neighborhood.

[Skidmore]

20. No.

I think the jumping and play time in the leaves was our parents' reward to us for helping with the raking. It was tons of fun.

[tatertop]

23. We did that as well. I had forgotten all about that.

[LisaM]

10. I miss fall in Michigan, the haze of Indian summer

Seattle is pretty right now, but it's really not the same.

[knitter4democracy]

24. Nothing's prettier than Michigan.

;) I am so very biased.

It's a gorgeous fall day here in Battle Creek with the sun shining on the golden leaves (our maple flamed up bright red this year) and that tang in the air saying snow's not too far away . . . Mmmmm. I love my state. :D

[LisaM]

28. I agree; I think that Michigan is the most beautiful state there is

southwest Michigan, near the lake, is really stunningly beautiful, and of course, the UP is something else. Last year I was there in the winter for the first time, and crossing the bridge and seeing the lake frozen into glistening points was a sight I will never forget.

[knitter4democracy]

33. I love the lakes.

Those are my favorite things about Michigan and all the Great Lakes states. For some reason, everything seems better when I'm on Lake Michigan.

[stanwyck]

29. Indiana is pretty amazing, too

I grew up in Illinois and we used to go camping every fall in Indiana. The sugar maples are spectacular. We'd canoe and be totally surrounded by hills blazing with color.

[walldude]

16. A couple Colorado shots

Colors here are exceptionally good this year..

[stanwyck]

27. Thanks!

stunning visuals.
Makes for a nice, little break here at work.

[DJ MEW]

17. Autumn this year has been really nice hasn't it.

The weather has been wonderful, no surprise early snow storm, no surprise heat wave.

The perfect time to have a glass of warm spice apple cider while you sit back and watch the kids carving pumpkins and going nuts for free candy at the end of October. Watch the World Series, talk about the big football game with your neighbors, celebrate the first Hockey season in 2 years, get geared up for the Basketball season.

The amazing color show provided by mother nature is always wonderful. In our back yard there is this tree where all the leaves turn this wonderful red color that is just spectacular.

If I can quote Dave Matthews for a minute.

One sweet world
Around this star is spinning
One sweet world
In her breath I'm swimming
And here I will rest in peace

So let us sleep outside tonight
Lay down in the mother's arms
For here we can rest safely

[ewagner]

21. Yes, It has

[Kolesar]

22. Last year was beautiful. I thought it was a harbinger of a Kerry victory

then I had to remind myself that I am an atheist and supposed to be a skeptic.

[DJ MEW]

31. actually in Michigan

Last year wasn't as great as this year.

I remember some days canvassing for Kerry in the cold rain on weekends.

[Zynx]

25. I don't particularly care for autumn except for early morning.

I like to get in a crisp walk during the early chilly hours of the morning.

As for the changing colors, I don't like that very much. I am a big fan of everything being green and blue so I don't much care for yellow, orange, and brown.

[NancyG]

26. I moved from Chicago to N California for year-round fall.

My husband, a native here, calls this time our Spring, as we get the first rainfall in 6 months and new growth pushes up. It's about to get greener here.

So it rains all winter, but I don't have to shovel it.

[unhappycamper]

30. It's kinda pretty up here in Boston also

Haavahd Yahd



Charles River







John F. Kennedy Park





on edit: forgot a pic

[Fox Mulder]

32. Fall is beautiful here in Minnesota.

What makes it even better is the smell of burning leaves.

I love it. :)