My favorite season is finally here, but it’s a mixed bag so far. I spend the whole year looking forward to Autumn. When asked what my favorite holiday is, I usually say “Autumn,” and then I’m told that it isn’t a holiday. I then tell them “October,” just to keep them guessing. So far this year is a bust for leaf lookers, as the leaves are running way behind, I suppose in part due to the almost ninety inches of rain we’ve had this year. Not to mention the warm weather.
Looks like that has finally changed. I broke out a hoodie yesterday morning, and last night I built the First Fire of the Year in the wood heater. Yesterday was warm, but after running The Girl to a basketball team thing, and then going back to my office to work, it was eleven o’clock when I got home. It was a chilly fifty-nine degrees in the house as I refuse to turn on the central heat this early in the season. And I have three cords of wood already split by hand with a go devil. No sissy log splitter for me. Of course I have a pile of almost fifty logs waiting to be cut and split. The log splitter moratorium might be lifted.
Every year I start getting antsy along about mid-September trying to guess when the First Fire will be. It seems like no matter the weather throughout the year, it’s always around the third week in October. And last night was the night. I purchased a fancy modern wood heater a couple of years ago to replace the aging Buck stove my parents purchased in the late ‘70s. The new Quadra Fire heater is ridiculously efficient, using only one-third of the firewood the old Buck consumed.
Speaking of bucks, this coming Saturday is also opening day of deer season for firearms. While I mostly gave up deer hunting well over twenty years ago, Daddy has been out in the woods (as best as he can) as much as possible since early September looking for sign. I’m happy that he’s excited and has something to stave of boredom, but lord help us if he kills anything. He’s seventy-five, has emphysema, has undergone a quintuple bypass and an aneurism repair, both in the last two years. Hopefully he won’t go too far from the truck.
And pumpkin flavored and scented items. Yep, I’m that guy. I eat everything pumpkin that I can get my hands on. I’d use pumpkin toothpaste if they made it. Do they make it…? I love all things pumpkin. Luckily, I also love to be outdoors in the fall, trail running, hiking, and mountain biking, so I don’t get fluffier than I already am. I would stay outside all day, every day, soaking in the weather and the beauty, especially once the leaves begin their glorious show. I take a camera everywhere and try my pathetic best to capture the season through the lens.
Hopefully this Autumn will have some camping trips in store. I used to spend every second possible camping this time of year, camping on my motorcycle or mountain bike, or going with Daddy to deer camp. Life got in the way for the past several years, but maybe this will be the year. I keep my gear packed and have a brand new roof top tent ready to go. Daddy is begging to go on a trip, so maybe I’ll take him camping somewhere and pretend to deer hunt with him.
While many see Autumn as the end of the year, a time for things dying and all that, I simply use it as a time for quiet reflection on all the fine things I have, and for experiences I want to savor. It’s a great time to stock up on memories of family, friends, and the beautiful outdoors before Winter sets in.