Hello, old friend

I am finally feeling a return of the autumn love, my friends, and today I want to share some of the things I like best about it:

Crisp nights.

Jeans.

Pears and apples.

Stacking firewood. (It has its own zen rhythm.)

The bounty of the farmer’s market.

Little kids getting excited about Hallowe’en costumes. Already.

Fall colours, of course.

The last of the crazy-sweet cherry tomatoes. We had some fabulous yellow gourd-shaped ones this year that were, honestly, better than candy.

Also, my uncle emailed to ask if I’d seen any moon cakes or lanterns in Kingston, which are part of a traditional Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival. It’s on September 30 this year, and I hadn’t even thought to look yet! (I’m not a moon-cake girl, but they are beautiful and I always want to trace them with my fingers. And who doesn’t love a paper lantern?) So there’s the Mid-Autumn Festival, too.

The rapid descent into winter. Maybe fall’s real appeal, for me, is its brevity. I cherish it because it’s such a brisk, idyllic time.

What are you looking forward to, this autumn?