Fall Back

Fall. My favorite time of the year for several reasons.

First, the temperature begins falling to more breathable levels. Instead of scorching upper 90's and hundreds which turns the air around here into an outdoor sauna, we now have temperatures in the mid to upper 70's during the day. The biggest difference is that the air has a coolness to it even when the sun is shining. At night there's often a chill in the air. What bliss. My flannel shirt feels so good at this time of the year.

A month ago I was on my way to the mountains of North Carolina. The closer we came to Maggie Valley the more color showed up in the trees. By the time we left brilliant colors were everywhere - breathtaking oranges, yellows and reds dotted the mountains turning them into a patchwork quilt. I nearly went broke buying film. Every tree I saw I wanted a picture of as a reminder. I came home from North Carolina with not only a bunch of photographs, but plans for a quilt. All the magnificent color is the second reason I love fall.

The last reason I like fall is that we get to fall back, in time that is. Just this past Saturday we got our lost hour back. Now we're back on real sun time. I detest springing forward and losing that hour. It takes my body months to adjust, though it's not quite so bad now that I've retired and don't have to get up at any certain time. But still, it's the principal of the thing.

One of my best friends feels exactly the opposite about the time change thing, but that's mainly because she has such a hard time when there is a lack of sunshine for an extended period of time. She works nights which means she has to sleep days. The sun is just coming up when she leaves work. At this time of the year, the sun is setting as she wakes up, and it's dark outside when she leaves for work. I guess I might get a little "cabin fever" myself if I worked in the same circumstances.

But I'll enjoy real time while it lasts. The sun is lower in the sky and the light changes. It's the main time of the year I yearn to be outside. God's glory is everywhere I look.