I know it’s fall in a lot of other places in the northern hemisphere this time of year. But we don’t usually see evidence of it here in Southern California until later, toward the end of October. My mom used to say that Halloween was usually when we had to start wearing sweaters outside at night, and that’s always worked for me. October (my birth month) tends to be marked by Santa Ana winds or just plain heat waves, and a couple of years ago I spent a sweltering birthday stressing over wildfires, then got evacuated.
This year we’re getting a normal (for other places) autumn, with beautiful cool weather, a few clouds, and no need for air conditioning or shorts. I keep looking at the weather forecast to see when the heat will return, but so far it’s staying away, with at least a week more of blissful autumn predicted. It’s a little disorienting, but I love it.
Autumn is my favorite season. Real autumn, like you have in other places. I’ve always hankered for the sort of autumn they get in New England with those fiery brilliant leaves. But I’ll definitely settle for this. I’m grateful to the weather gods at the moment, and I don’t want to push it, but . . . now if we could just get some much needed rain.
