Ooh, it’s nice I got this prompt in October because this, to me, is one of the best months of the year!
What do I like about October?
The weather!
October is a month where we often don’t need to run either heat or air-conditioning. The summer humidity is not around as much, but you don’t need a jacket either.
Plus, we get quite a few sunny days (which is not so much the case in, say, January.)
The beauty
The leaves start to change in October, so the world gets really colorful. Plus, we haven’t had a freeze yet, so there’s still a lot of green around in addition to the red, brown, and orange.
The length of days
Of course, the days are not as delightfully long as they are in summer, but there’s still a respectable day/night ratio going on in October. This is not true in January.
(Can you tell that January is not my favorite? Good thing this prompt didn’t come up then!)
The change of wardrobe
In September, we pretty much just wear summer clothes. But in October, we get some days that are cool enough to make jeans, long-sleeve shirts, and hoodies appealing.
And after five months or so of warm-weather clothes, it almost feels like I’m getting a new wardrobe.
That it’s actually dark when my children go to bed. I very much dislike the sun being up past about 7 p.m. It’s so hard to get them to calm down–or even come inside–and go to sleep during the long days.
No more sandals. My feet get really hot in the summer, so I do wear sandals, but they make my feet sore after awhile. It’s always a relief when I can just wear regular shoes all the time without feeling like I’m going to melt.
We only have one tree that changes color in any significant way, but it is SPECTACULAR when it does. It’s the apricot tree right in front of our door, and the leaves turn this glowing yellow color that is especially dramatic against the startling blue of the New Mexico sky. I do miss the showy reds and oranges of the upstate New York autumn, but every year, I’m astonished at the beauty of this one tree.
Relatedly, I lived long enough under multiple ancient maples and black walnut trees that every fall we’ve lived NOT under them, I’ve been thankful I don’t have to rake leaves or pick up black walnuts every day for weeks. 🙂
So with you on the black walnut trees. I’m on maybe day 6 of trying to rake them and bag them up, and they aren’t done dropping. I call it my exercise, raking, bagging, and hauling them out front for recycle of yard waste. And sometimes I get beaned on the head by them still dropping. Not fun.
What do I like about this time of year?
SUMMER IS OVER!!
Yes, it was horribly humid and in the mid-70’s this morning as I got up at 5:30, but summer is over, and that’s a huge thing for me this time of year. The leaves are starting to change, there are days without air-conditioning, I don’t sweat just from walking outside… all the things you said and more!
Fall in Michigan is beautiful! This time of year is nice because snow hasn’t hit yet, the colors are beautiful, and I agree with you, Kristen, it’s nice to change into fall clothes after months of wearing summer clothes. It’s great stay-after-school-and-play-at-the-playground weather. Not hot, not freezing.
I live in New England so it’s in my blood to love the foliage. Supposedly outside of New England the best foliage in the world are in Kyoto and Bavaria.
I love the things Kristen and the commenters mentioned. I also like that there are Halloween decorations in yards. There seems to be more creativity than at Christmas time. I feel that for the most part Halloween is still a relatively simple holiday. Costumes can be pulled together without buying much and kids go trick-or-treating.
I do believe that you, Kristen, could find good things in January or any month! I struggled for years with “hating fall”, mostly because my favorite season, summer, was ending, and my least favorite, winter, was coming! As I have grown in age and faith, I’m learning to live in TODAY, and just be grateful for that. And you’ve talked many times about how what we focus on and how we perceive things can be changed. It’s really true! I could make a long list now of what I like about this time of year!
Thank you all!
It is winter. Lots of snow, more and more darkness. A quieter, muffled world. I love October.
My mom and three of my closest friends have October birthdays.
Fall means corn harvest (and soybeans) and that means the annual paycheck — not just the actual money, which by now is always extremely welcome, but the emotional reward that comes with the end of the crop year.
Also, I do love school, despite the terribly early bus time and the haggles over homework. I’m not completely exhausted by it yet like I will be come, say, March-ish.