Hello, Autumn

Just a few days ago, Darlene asked the question "What makes Autumn official for you?" My reply to her was this: "What makes autumn official for me isn't any one thing, it's a combination of several things - when we have the first fire in our fireplace, when I switch the sheets on the bed from plain cotton to flannel, when I make soup for supper after a summer of grilling and salads, when I start wearing socks and close-toed shoes every day instead of wearing flip-flops." At the time I wrote that comment, I hadn't done any of those things yet. At the time I wrote it, we were still having the sort of glorious early autumn days where the sky is an almost unbelievably intense shade of blue and the leaves are just barely starting to change color, where the days are warm and dry, the nights are cool (not cold), and the breeze has a little bite to it that tastes of Granny Smith apples. At the time I wrote that, October in Kentucky looked like this (today's D.A.T.): "The Hunt for Red October" (Hey, y'know, that would make a helluva good title for a book or movie! Someone should totally use that. You're welcome.) (Clickable if you want to see it larger in a new window) (Triple parenthetical asides used by a trained professional on a closed set. Do not try this at home.) But in the last few days, Autumn has stomped her little foot and decided to show us who's boss around here. I tried on boots earlier this week (although I didn't buy them) and I haven't worn flip-flops since Tuesday. I wore a heavy jacket and hat on my walk yesterday and was grateful for them both. We had homemade vegetable soup and grilled cheese sandwiches for supper the last couple of nights (yum!). So far we still haven't had a fire and I haven't switched the sheets to flannel, but it's only a matter of time, and not much time at that. Hello, Autumn! Looks like you're official.