It creeps up on you.  The first sign, the sound of leaves crunching under your feet in the grass.  The tips of maple trees showing red, and gold.  Then one day you realize the sun sets at 8:45 instead of 9pm, and then 8:30.  A chill creeps into the mornings, and returns in the evenings; an unwelcome guest.  The sunshine takes on a warmer quality, even it realizes time runs short in this part of the world this time of year.

 The joyful sounds of children playing in the street become quieter as they walk next to their parents on the way to school.   You start dressing in jeans, then sweaters.  The summer barbecues and pool parties become fond memories.  You begin thinking about comfort food, tea, and good book as a preferred pursuit.  You pull the final vegetables from the garden, covering the beds with leaves, and pull the plants in to escape the frost.

You fight it at first.  Deny that it’s happening with the full knowledge of what comes next.  And then you relax into it, almost before you realize it.  Fall has its own beauty; the leaves changing colours, and a coziness that doesn’t come with any other season.