On Apples & Autumn

Honeycrisp apples are sooo good. Firm flesh and a sweetness that is not cloying, yet falls short of tart. I should be more like a honeycrisp apple.

Just so you know, I got to put on a sweater today, a first for the season, and closed-toe shoes to boot. Of course the sweater is cotton and the shoes open-back clogs, but it is a small victory nevertheless.

Two days ago I set out the tiny maple which is a token of the potential glory of this, my favorite season. It is a souvenir from a Wisconsin trip a few years back where the air was beyond crisp and the trees ablaze in fall color. This little tree sits near my kitchen sink and gives me a touch of autumn that is sorely lacking around here. And it makes me smile.

Autumn is a golden afternoon with fallen leaves crunching under your feet and lending earthy pungency to the air. Pumpkin patches and hay rides. Soup on the stove and fresh bread in the oven. Hot apple cider with cinnamon donuts. Apple crisp with vanilla ice cream. Acorn squash roasted with butter and pepper. What's not to love?

It is no secret that I consider it a small crime that fall comes so late, so sporadically, and with such mediocrity to Texas. And although I know it is stupid to let the weather dictate my mood, pretty much anytime in October the thermometer dips below 70 it's a cause for celebration (after twelve years, I no longer entertain hope for September) and today is one of those days.

Hooray!