It is now officially fall according to the United States government. Today in the southeastern part of the country, it sure doesn’t feel like fall! Yet the mood of the season has caught me. Fall is my favorite season and even though we don’t have leaves changing color yet, we have soccer games, days with open windows instead of air conditioning, strong breezes, pecans falling from the trees, and gardens drying up.

Because the leaves haven’t changed color or fallen yet, we can’t quite do leaf-collecting walks or autumn leaf crafts. My toddler and I were out picking a few items from our garden yesterday: a couple of miniature roses, a couple of marigolds, and a sprig of rosemary, along with a small green pepper and marigold bud as my son's contributions. I decided that this would be our authentic fall centerpiece for now. Anything coming out of our garden at this time of year genuinely reflects the season here.

That’s true of each region. I grew up in an area of the country that is now in the midst of leaf color changes; last year my mom sent us some samples of autumn leaves through the mail. We enjoyed those leaves in our dining table centerpiece. This year we will be showing off the things that are happening right in our own backyard.

Enjoy your fall, and glory in those changing leaves and crisp nights if you have them. I can’t wait to see and feel a little of that here – in a few months.

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