Having been overseas for the last three autumns, I have reveled in every shopping trip that has taken me by a seasonal display. Even back in August, I turned a corner in the store and grinned at the rows of fake pumpkins stretching down the aisle, reassured by the seasonal decorations that I was truly back in America. In the grocery stores, I nod approval as I pass by seasonal displays of “fall” foods and occasionally drop a seasonal treat like a Reese’s pumpkin into my shopping basket. (Logically, I know that Reese’s pumpkins are the same as Reese’s cups, but illogically, I believe they taste better.)
And now in October - the epitome of autumn, I find walking a far safer mode of transportation for me as my eyes are drawn to the yellow and orange stands of trees lining the freeway or a spray of red leaves in the middle of clump of green. One morning, with the fog still sleepily clinging to the fields, a blip of orange off to the right snagged my mind as I sped by. A half a mile later, my mind realized what I had seen as I blurted out, “Pumpkins!” like an excited seasonal greeting. Only my sense of duty (okay, fine, and my sub par driving skills) kept me driving on to school instead of backtracking to visit a sleepy pumpkin patch. I know that small, woodland creatures exist year-round, but as I walk through the park’s bike trails, I feel as though each bunny, mouse, chipmunk, and chickadee I see is another example of October’s wonder. And after three years of seeing no other animals except for ubiquitous magpies, I consider spotting even a squirrel as proof that October is amazing. (After my instinctive Doug-like reaction of “Squirrel!” I remind myself that squirrels are normal in North America and that the other people enjoying the path didn’t hear my internal excitement so I won’t go down in their histories as “the weird bike-path squirrel lady.”) The last three years, spring has been indescribably beautiful with the lazy cherry blossom “snow” that drifts down with each puff of wind and lines the streets. A part of me felt disloyal to autumn as I reveled in those displays of spring’s beauty. But this week, I got to experience the autumn equivalent to that. A blustering wind kicked up as I was leaving school Friday, and the yellow birch leaves lining the road fluttered down in an autumnal flurry that rivaled any cherry blossom snowfall. I’m not sure which of L. M. Montgomery’s characters said, “I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.” Even if it were the insufferable Josie Pye, I’d still heartily amen that sentiment. And this year, I’m so glad I live in a region where Octobers are a wonder.
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