>Fall.

>The trees on my street are starting to change color and they are spectacular.

It’s hard to capture with a run-of-the-mill camera, but the light in the trees is so stunning, that sometimes I come home in the evening, stand in the driveway and just stare up at the remnants of sun in the trees as they flame at the edge of the day. This only happens in the fall.

In the summer the sun is just a blazing hot behemoth that we curse and moan about. I love summer, but most of the time I can’t wait for the pool or the AC! And my skin is a funky mix of freckles and a weird bike tan.

But in the fall the sun is a whole different thing: it warms you kindly and gilds the leaves with gold and bronze. I love it! Summer is divine with the wind in your hair and the sun on your skin, but deep down I’m a fall girl all the way.

No really, when I was a teenager the folks at “Color Me Beautiful” decided I looked best in a palette of rust, browns, eggplant, reds, navy, etc. Fall colors. Which must explain why I love New England, where the turning of the fall leaves is such a part of life and the smells are so intoxicating that people watch the news obsessively so that they can drive further north and catch the foliage at its peak.

My folks used to take north for vacations all the time when my sister and I were young. New England is in a perpetual state of fall, it seems to me.

Ever been to a farmer’s market? That’s New England- apples, cider, pies and their pumpkins, squash, pecans, brown sugar, sweet potatoes, lattes and maple syrup. Reds and oranges, deep greens and brown foods for a red, orange, green and brown season. New England is “Thanksgiving-Land” after all.

One of my favorite memories of fall as a kid is walking through fallen leaves in new shoes. I can still hear the shushing sound. And then there’s the sheer joy of raking and then jumping in a pile of leaves, smelling the sweet damp, letting the dark close over you, tickling your face and hands and legs. Cocooned in leaves.

Yeah, I like to rake. I’m a little nuts. Something about the sound of the leaves and rolling up the carpet of red, yellow and brown leaves is soothing and right. And seeing the different mix of leaves is cool too- the Japanese maple is particularly distinctive.

So year, I love fall. But I have to admit, the drop in barometric pressure is driving me batty!

This post has been brought to you by Liz, who likes you very much!