Fall is coming.
I know because I wore a three-quarter sleeve top to work today instead of a short-sleeved one.
And because even though it warmed up into the 80s midday today, by the time I left the library around 5:30 the air felt pleasantly cool, and shadows already stretched long across the campus.
And dusk seems to fall earlier every evening, and I found a crinkled-up leaf faintly blotched with color the other day.
Autumn comes to California later than to many places in the States. We don’t get full-fledged fall until November, and December still sees a lot of autumn leaves.
But though we had 100-degree temperatures last week, the past few days have held a hint of change. And on my evening walk tonight, I smelled something—drying leaves, perhaps?—that reminded me of my walks last fall to tutor twin high school boys down the street, when I helped them with essays and we delved into Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Sherlock Holmes. Those were the kind of classics I could get reluctant teenage boys to read…though I think I enjoyed the books more than they did. ☺
I love each season in its time, but I think fall is my favorite—though our present home lacks the autumn splendor of the East, or even the gold-torched cottonwoods, brilliant blue skies, and snapping frosts of northwest New Mexico where we used to live, I still love the changing of the seasons. And I think they somehow remind us of God’s faithfulness.
“While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.” Genesis 8:21-22
Is it fall where you are yet?
It’s definitely fall in Alaska and winter is right around the corner. The birch leaves are a brilliant shade of yellow, with an occasional orange or red tree standing out on a hill. The ground is littered with these changing leaves and the fireweed stays true to it’s name with it’s glowing fire-red leaves. Our mornings are in the 30s and 40s and midday doesn’t exceed the 60s. Sweaters are a necessity, though I won’t break out the winter coats until snow is on the ground. But I hope the first snowfall holds off until after the conference because I don’t want to miss the excitement.
How beautiful that sounds! i hope the snow holds off for you too. 🙂