I love autumn. I love the freshness in the air, the colors in the trees, and the sense of invigoration when I take a walk. I love making stew, sipping hot drinks by the fire, turning the heat down at night, and snuggling under a warm blanket. I love scarves, and gloves, and having to put on a sweater when I go outside.

Don’t misunderstand me, I spent a winter in Montana one year and I do not want any more of that! I like the occasional snow but we can dispense with deep freezes. What I like is the 50’s, the 40’s, even the 30’s, and the once-in-a-while 20’s if we have to but let’s not make it a habit.

I love walking the dog and having to walk briskly to keep warm. I enjoy driving when the car is cool enough that leather gloves on the steering wheel feel good.

I do not like it when the car gets heated so I have to take my sweater off to be comfortable, and I like the house below 70-degrees for the same reason. And there may – once in a while – be some discussion/debate/disagreement at Maul-Hall regarding the setting on the thermostat!

I love this time of the year because it is a blessed relief after just too many months of summer. Not fifty-one weeks, like tropical Florida, but five months, which is still too many, and two months more than the allotted three based on the “Four seasons, four three-month divisions” standard I would like to mandate if at all possible.

So here’s to autumn. Here’s to seasons. Here’s to North Carolina and especially the lovely town of Wake Forest – and the privilege we have to live here.

Season’s cheers – DEREK