Though it’s not officially autumn yet, it is certainly starting to feel like it.
Temperatures over the last week or so during the day have been in the 70s and low 80s, while at night they’ve dipped down at points to the high 50s. The humidity also seems to be tapering off some, which is very much welcomed after a very sticky summer where it clung to you like molasses.
We’re not even close to the point in the year where it’s time to turn the air conditioning off, but we’re already starting to break out the soft and cozy throw blankets for the cooler nights, and the light jackets for the crisp breezes when we go outside.
Yes, fall — one of my favorite times of the year — is definitely in the air.
Even though the grass is still green and requires biweekly cutting, the leaves are starting to turn. We’re already starting to see some yellows and oranges on our dogwood trees, a sure sign that autumn is just around the corner.
Minimal and partial changes in leaf colors are being reported in the North Carolina mountains, which is absolutely the most beautiful place to be in the fall months.
In another sign that fall is upon us, the first regular season NFL game was played last Thursday, featuring the Baltimore Ravens at the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs won 27-20.
Meanwhile, as another reminder of fall, the Carolina Panthers started their season with a blowout 47-10 loss to their division rivals, the New Orleans Saints, in what long-suffering Panthers fans hope is not a sign of things to come this year (but probably will be).
At some of your favorite coffee shops, you can now get your pumpkin spice latte fix either before you start your fall decor shopping excursion or after. Caramel apples, also a fan favorite, are also returning for the season.
And speaking of, buying more seasonal decorations is definitely on the to-do list. Not that I don’t have enough already, perhaps even enough to decorate the Biltmore Estate if I wanted to, but it doesn’t hurt to add one or two (or three or four) new things to the existing stash.
Already, families are planning their Halloween and Thanksgiving festivities, with costume-, pumpkin- and mum-buying commencing along with discussions as to who will host the annual fall feast in November. Just who will be bringing what is also up for debate.
I miss my dad for a lot of reasons, among them being how he loved to deep fry small turkeys for my sisters and me at Thanksgiving so we’d have extra turkey in addition to the big one that was prepared for the family meal.
We’d see him sitting out back on the patio near the deep frier while he was bundled up in his flannel shirt, old blue jeans and hooded jacket, surrounded by brown leaves all over the ground. He loved it. And we loved him for it all the more.
Whatever your seasonal preferences are, try to make the best of the fall months. Because they tend to go by so quickly. Then comes Christmas, and all the shopping and gift wrapping and decorating, and then all of a sudden the new year begins and the honey-do lists get rewritten with things added to them…
But I’m getting ahead of myself! Enjoy the season, y’all.
North Carolina native Stacey Matthews has also written under the pseudonym Sister Toldjah and is a media analyst and regular contributor to RedState and Legal Insurrection.
