Hands down, my favorite season is fall. I am writing this on the eve of the Spring Forward date, which I absolutely detest. I get it -- I'm in the minority on this one. Most people prefer the long days of spring, summer and early fall. Generally speaking, I prefer the coziness of it getting dark in the late afternoon -- to me, it means chili and hot soups for dinner, warm and comfy PJs, fuzzy blankets, the start of the holidays. Now, to be fair, none of that aligns very well with Fall Back Day in Houston or even in Texas or perhaps the South broadly speaking. But it signals to me that all those wonderful things are on the horizon, however short-lived our cold-weather season might be in Houston. Perhaps my preference can be traced to the comparative length of our hot/humid/sunny season with the more pleasant and temperate, sometimes actually cold, months of "fall' and winter that we get here.
All of that said, I suppose I also have a preference for changing seasons -- I'd sure like a lot more seasonal variation than we have in Texas. We can see all 4 seasons in a single day, mind you, but the rhythms of a gradual easing from one season to the other is largely missing in our region.
I'm thinking of retiring somewhere that will give me more of the lovely transitions into the wondrousness of each season that I crave so much. How fun it would be to have a 4-season wardrobe and to have the changes outdoors aligning with the calendar and holidays, cultural traditions and events.
Our theme asked us to reflect on what times of year we pay special attention to. Fall is my favorite (and I hope to one day live somewhere that fall will commence in roughly October with changing leaves and cool, crisp weather), but I can appreciate the changes I see around me at all times of the year. I walk 2.5 miles everyday without fail, and I enjoy watching for the small signs of change -- the shifting light and shadows, the budding plants and flowers (or the falling leaves), and the subtle notes signaling an impending change in weather in the air. For now, I will try to enjoy the positives of the longer days -- the vibrant azaleas, the bluebonnets that are rumored to be spectacular later this month -- and ignore the giant clumps of tree pollen lining our streets and the inevitable return of our humidity and the insects that thrive in those conditions! Happy Spring to all of you!
1 comment:
Eleri, you are not alone in the detesting of Spring Forward which then means we Fall Back. I'm old enough to have lived into my late teens before humans decided to play with the clocks. My first job in the administration office of the University of Oregon allowed people to flex their hours so if you wanted to come to work at 7 a.m. you could ... the caveat was someone needed to stay until 5 p.m. And that was never a problem or I was never aware that it was a problem. Many businesses allow and even encourage flex-time because they can offer services from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. without paying overtime, etc.
Since I always took my son and later my granddaughters to school, I always choose the 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. time slots. Not only was I able to have a positive encouraging conversation with them on the drive, I missed the commuter traffic both going to work and coming home.
I'll put in a plug for you to retire to Western Oregon. We do have 4 seasons and we do not have heat and humidity if you compare us to the just about anyplace east of the Rockies! We do have pollen although I do not remember clumps of it I do know we get a dusting...should be coming up in April.
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