I just love the fall! I love to feel it, hear it, smell it, see it, taste it and think about it. I love to feel the different temperatures. The nights are already cool, and the air feels crisp and dry on the skin, so invigorating. We have had summer warmth during the days when we could catch the last of the t-shirt weather. And on rainy days I love to feel the cool humidity on my face.

I love to hear the wind wooshing through the tall trees, the crispy leaves rustling under my feet, the rain drumming on the roof and against the windows, or the crackling of a fall fire in the yard.

I love the smell of decaying leaves, especially on rainy days. I love the smell of pumpkin spices. I love the smell of candles. I love the smell of wood fires in the air as people begin to light their wood burning stoves again.

I love the sights of fall. Early fall is a feast for the eyes - incredibly blue sky, deep orange, yellow and red leaves, bright sunshine, gray rainy days, piles of orange pumpkins and bumpy gourds, shiny red apples peeking out among the green apple tree leaves, triangular formations of birds in the sky flying south, and of course Halloweeny costumes.

I love the tastes of fall. Pumpkin is THE fall taste, although it's the spices that make the tasteless pumpkin taste like pumpkin, the nutmeg-cinnamon-allspice combination. But other tastes come to mind as well, like mulled cider, hearty stews (chili is the dish I make for Halloween), apple pie, or chestnuts.

And then I love to sense fall's significance. A cycle slowly coming to an end, a slight melancholy in the air, a slowing down.

Feel the fall.