Autumnal Equinox Confirms the Arrival of Fall

Fall has always been one of my favorite times of the year. Sometimes it’s just another day on the calendar, but this year has really been feeling more like the start of Fall than previous years. With cooler weather in the mornings and the misty gray skies that we’ve all been experiencing, what else could it be but the First Day of Autumn?

 Here are 10 sure signs that Fall has arrived in our neck of the woods: 

1. Football games everywhere you turn.
2. Leaves start turning from green to red and gold.
3. Tailgate parties conversations take over the phone lines.
4. Pumpkins, bales of hay and friendly scarecrows start popping up in front yards.
5. Political campaign signs start proliferating along the sides of streets.
6. Chrysanthemums start opening their buds in the garden.
7. Halloween (and Christmas) decorations start appearing in store displays.
8. Apples taste a lot juicier than they were in the summer.
9. Sweaters and jackets are dug out of the closets and cleaned up.
10.  Holiday planning gets underway in earnest.

If Spring roars in like a lion, what is Autumn supposed to do?

Throughout the centuries Autumn has been associated with a sort of melancholy where the possibilities of summer fun are gone and the chill of winter is around the corner. But I’m not sure I buy into that concept.

Pat Gabilondo is a community columnist for Lilburn Patch.