As I may have mentioned 100 times before, fall is my favorite season. I seem to still operate on an academic calendar and, for me, the year begins in September.
While the autumn equinox isn’t until 9/22, I am seeing hints of fall already.
I think my love of fall started with my love of returning to school in early September. I liked wearing my new school clothes, reconnecting with friends, my classes, and all the school rituals.
As a grown-up, I still love this time of year.
College football is getting underway. We are big University of Washington Husky fans and watching the games is a treat. That being said, we aren’t happy with the whole sports network ‘Pac 12 After Dark’ deal. With games starting at 7:30 PM, I am lucky to still be awake by the 3rd quarter!
Pumpkin Spice lattes are now available, but I am not a fan. But I do like to eat and drink seasonally. Hot tea in the afternoon now has some appeal, as does red wine at 5. New fall apples, pears, and red grapes are starting to show up and are slowly replacing stone fruit like peaches and plums. I also love squash and mushrooms in the fall (as does my friend MB). And I predict my husband will be making an apple pie before long 😊!
September wouldn’t be complete without getting our senior flu shots! We got them earlier than usual this year because I have some travel coming up later this month and we wanted to beat the ‘new COVID booster rush’. Our pharmacist said there will be a short supply of the booster initially. I will be holding off on my next COVID shot until mid October (or so} because I had a recent booster.
On another September ‘note’, we’ve been reminiscing about a favorite early fall ritual from our California years: attending the Monterey Jazz Festival. This year’s festival is 9/23 – 9/25.
The Monterey Jazz Festival is the longest continuously-running jazz festival in the world and is held annually on the 20-acre, oak-studded Monterey County Fairgrounds in Monterey, Calif. Since 1958, the nonprofit Monterey Jazz Festival has been committed to celebrating America’s creativity and cultural heritage by presenting legendary jazz musicians, composers, and young rising stars.
Monterey Jazz Festival website
And finally, I love the early September weather! Our morning marine layer is back. We even had some drizzle recently. I love cloudy mornings followed by mellow sunny afternoons. We will likely still have some warm days this month, but the sun feels different…..there is a hint of fall in the air!
There is something so special in the early leaves drifting from the trees–as if we are all to be allowed a chance to peel, to refresh, to start again.”
– Ruth Ahmed
Allene
BTW, Halloween candy has been out since July 6th so it doesn’t really count as a ‘HINT of fall’, at least in my book!
Travels with Allene 
It’s been so hot here -106 yesterday! I’m anxious to see hints of fall. Tom and I got our new booster with the flu shot yesterday. We had our last booster in late March. So far no major issues. I have a bit of a sore arm but much less than previous vaccines. It’s somewhat surprising we have not gotten Covid but we are cautious and still are often the only ones wearing masks going grocery shopping. We are still eating outside and are hopeful with this new vaccine we can venture inside on occasion. We should have very amenable weather through most of November to stay outside however.
Here’s to fall- hoping it comes here soon!
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106!! Yikes!
Glad you did well from your shots. I just have a mild sore arm from my flu shot. We are also feeling increasingly alone in our mask 😷
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This “Travels “ brought a big smile to my face. You verbally expressed all that I felt about this time of the year. We’re still having intense heat but this to will pass.
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Fall is coming.. I’m counting on it! ❤️
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