I’ve been hearing a bit of whining lately from friends who will miss the hot and muggy weather we had this summer. I’m not with them. I love the fact that fall has arrived in full force.
I don’t really have a favorite season. I can find something I like about each of the four seasons. Winter I love because of all the fun things you can do with snow. I enjoy snowmobiling over glistening trails under snow-laden branches. I like the vigorous exercise of tromping through the snow on snowshoes. I like sledding, although I must admit I haven’t found time to go in recent years. But I have watched my grandchildren sliding down the small hill in my yard. I love to build snowmen and women and I’ve been known to start a snowball fight in a parking lot. And sometimes— when no one is around, I’ve made snow angels with the grandkids too.
I have a love-hate relationship with spring. Some years are better than others. I hate when the snow melts away slowly, turning grayer and browner and blacker every day. The sad chunks scattered in the yard and slushy streets and muddy driveways dampen my enthusiasm for spring. I get tired of wiping the dogs’ feet.
But some years spring finishes with a flourish. I love the years when the snow lasts just long enough for an end-ofmarch snowmobile ride and some snowman building—followed by warmer weather and rain, making the snow recede rapidly. Then I love watching the gurgling streams in the ditches and the sight of daffodils peeking out of my mother’s flowerbed. The sight of the leaves greening up on the Sawtooth ridge overlooking Grand Marais is one of the most beautiful sights in the world.
I do enjoy summer. I don’t like really hot weather, but fortunately we don’t get too much of that on the North Shore. I like going camping and not freezing. I love having a campfire and toasting marshmallows for S’mores while watching lightening bugs flit about. I love relaxing with an iced coffee on my porch swing. And I like hiking to an area river to splash in the water or to the Big Lake to skip rocks with my grandkids.
So I guess I don’t really dislike any of our fabulous seasons. I feel blessed to live in an area that offers such variety.
And right now I feel blessed that fall has arrived. It is fun to drag out my long-sleeved shirts. It’s like seeing an old friend. I love earth tones and I once again get to wear my brown and green long-sleeve tops and my cardigan sets.
It’s refreshing to walk outside in the cool, crisp, air. It’s absolutely invigorating to take a walk surrounded by the golden glow of the forest with the crunching of leaves underfoot. There is something special about fall.
And of course there is the adventure of fall pocket money. I don’t know anyone who is organized enough to empty their pockets at season’s end. So part of the fun of fall is pulling out that familiar blazer or jeans jacket to find a long-forgotten pack of gum or roll of lifesavers— or a dollar bill or two. What a delightful surprise. A little present to yourself! A little fall pocket money.
The safest way to double your
money is to fold over once and
put it in your pocket.
Kin Hubbard
Leave a Reply