Drifting Leaves: Autumn Tag Challenge

My niece Autumn tagged me to write about Autumn!

Q. If autumn isn't your favorite season, what is? And if autumn is your favorite season, why?

Autumn is definitely one of my favorite seasons, and I think October is arguably the most beautiful month of the year. The sky is a such a pure sapphire blue with orange-red leaves waving goodbye in the brilliant sunshine and velvety air. There is a certain slant of sun that seems timeless and breathless in its yearning to stall the oncoming changes drifting into winter. And all the colors of autumn are my favorite colors. I use them around the house all year long. To me, there is nothing warmer than yellow, orange, red, brown, burgundy and olive green.

Also, nothing compares to the sounds of autumn for me. I love the crisp swish of squirrels in the fallen leaves and sometimes the sudden rush of rain at night when I know leaves are falling to their death. But there is another sound I have loved ever since my Michigan days growing up through middle school, high school, and college. The practical yet melancholy calling of Canadian geese overhead as they migrated south filled me with a wish to hold back the cold, bleak winters I knew the north would bring with days on end where we never saw the sun. I loved that "hocket" sound of overlapping voices as the geese warned of coming change.

Q. What is your favorite thing that you do each autumn?

Well, that's a harder one, now that I don't rake leaves much. I guess it would be scouring antique stores for inexpensive doodads to decorate my classroom with. I also like pulling out my vintage Ideals magazines for fall and reading the poems from yesteryear as I pore over the gorgeous white frame New England homes tucked against green hillsides streamed with autumn colors.

Q. What are a couple of your favorite autumn memories?

This will sound silly, but I remember one dark night in Michigan when I was around twelve years old. My church youth group went on a hayride at the farm of one of our members. I hadn't been around a farm much or hay, for that matter, so the ride was picky and itchy and also quite suspenseful, not knowing if we would fall off the back of the wagon bed as we bounced around on the dark country road. But I remember to this day seeing a guy I kind of liked as he looked strong and manly in his plaid shirt, jeans, and cowboy boots. I think he turned out to be not such a good person, so I'm glad that crush didn't last much longer than the hayride!

Q. What book most reminds you of the autumn? Movie?

There's a Grace Livingston Hill book I love called The Enchanted Barn, set in the early 1900s. This young man helps a displaced family to get their lives back together by purchasing an old-fashioned stone barn that they refashion into a home. The fresh spring nearby and the colors of the landscape are so artistic and wholesome, and I can almost taste the lovely biscuits she describes. Of course, the heroine who helps to save her family falls in love with and marries the gallant young man, and they all serve the Lord together in such a cozy setting. I've seen some great Hallmark movies set on farms and orchards, but I can't recall the specific names at the moment.

Q. What is your favorite drink for this season?

Well, as boring as this may sound, it's my favorite drink for every season--coffee with half-n-half creamer! But I do sometimes indulge in hot chocolate or flavored tea.

Q. What is one new thing that you want to do this autumn?

I want to get into the habit of walking around my neighborhood like I always did where I lived in Emerywood in High Point, North Carolina. I know it would be fun and relaxing, not to mention, good for me! I walk so much at school with no windows that it would be great to walk with no walls!

Q. Do you decorate for the season? If so, how? If not, how come?

I decorate my classroom for the season and sometimes my house, but a lot of my stuff is already done in fall colors, so I don't have to change much. I just bought some stuff from the Dollar Tree to make my fall bulletin boards at school. We'll see how that goes this week! But I'm not into carved pumpkins, hanging skeletons, cobwebs, or broomsticks! Shivers!

Q. Thanksgiving is a little over a month away; what is your favorite way to celebrate?

I love being with family. I used to love being with my parents and setting the table with my mother's pretty fall dishes or with her heirloom china. Now I either spend Thanksgiving with my sister's family or by myself if they are traveling. I would love to have Thanksgiving dinner at my place one year.

Q. What color most makes you think of autumn?

Either golden-yellow or rust-orange makes me think of autumn. I love the rich, almost distressed colors in their most concentrated, weathered hue. Anything that looks like sunshine with fire is a winner for me. I know exactly what Autumn means by referring to the sky as a cornflower blue. It takes knowing every crayon in the crayon box to be able to even come close to describing autumn! And you can't forget turquoise! It's not a color on trees, but it sure looks good with all the others!

Q. Type up a list of ten words or names that encapsulate the season of autumn for you.

squash

pumpkin pie

fallen leaves

sweaters

boots

denim jackets

corduroy

chilly evenings

dark mornings

rain

I love sitting on my balcony porch on a chilly fall night and watching the moon rise to the throb of crickets chirping. In the daytime, I love having my coffee on the porch and listening to the whirr of passing traffic as the birds sing a brilliantly silly succession of songs.

I love changing out summer flowers to fall when it's not too expensive. Yellow and more yellow. Yellow has to be a color of fall, like sunshine saying a sad goodbye to winter fog and rain.