Enjoy the beauty that fall brings

The time has finally come when the temperature drops enough to make me think about stepping outside with a jacket, and once again I’ll be stubborn enough to keep it hanging on the rack for just a few days more.

I like the fall because it gives a nice reprieve between the heat of summer and the chill of winter, a time where the weather is just perfect in my opinion. I also remember fondly waiting for my folks and older brothers to rake up the leaves in the yard.

As I was still a bit small to be handling a full-size rake, my job was holding the bags open, but I also felt the overwhelming need to thoroughly check those carefully made piles by charging through them, diving in or just grabbing handfuls and throwing them about.

When leaf raking was more an assigned chore for us kids rather than a full family activity, I’m sure my siblings wanted to stuff more than just leaves in those bags. Thankfully they did leave some air holes.

When taking my own kids to the local parks, though, that crunching of the leaves — or squishing for the rain-soaked ones — may take me back to my childhood in the 1980’s. However, my eyes can’t help but remain here, glued to the greens, yellows and reds decorating the branches.

Catch them at just the right time of day and it looks as if certain areas of town have caught on fire.

I'm looking forward to again having trees in front of my home that change color with the season, having recently moved from a residence where only evergreen grew, though I might feel differently once I get back into raking up the leaves.

Yes, it is a sign that colder nights and higher heat bills are on their way, but it’s also an opportunity to take a walk and see some truly amazing colors.

But it’s only here for a short time before we’ve got nothing but white for a few months, so whether you take your jacket off the hook or not, take a step outside and, if you feel the need, go ahead and make yourself a pile of color to jump in.