There's more to Fall than Pumpkin Spice Lattes?

Don't get me wrong...I love Pumpkin Spice Lattes: a wonderful seasonal treat.  I am just saying to think outside the box (or beyond the Golden arches, as the case may be) and get out there and experience the joy of what Fall has to offer. Buy a real pumpkin, feed the birds, rake some leaves, go on a hike. (even if it is just around the block or so....)

Today was the first day in quite awhile that I actually had to put a cardigan on to help fight the goosebumps on my arms.  It's a beautiful Fall day with sun and quite a breeze, but it has a distinct chill in the air. When I was younger and knew that Fall meant the anguish over the end of summer playtime and back to the books, Fall had a certain sadness to it.  Yet, the older I get the more I appreciate the beauty of Fall's colors and the fascination with the changing of the seasons.  Every year, the trees do this magical transformation. Thinking about things I remember that are traditional Fall memories...I think of the opening stanza of this poem:

When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder’s in the shock,

And you hear the kyouck and gobble of the struttin’ turkey-cock,

And the clackin’ of the guineys, and the cluckin’ of the hens,

And the rooster’s hallylooyer as he tiptoes on the fence;

O, it’s then’s the times a feller is a-feelin’ at his best,

With the risin’ sun to greet him from a night of peaceful rest,

As he leaves the house, bareheaded, and goes out to feed the stock,

When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder’s in the shock.

 (By James Whitcomb Riley)

    I think at one time or other I memorized this poem, to me it has such a delightful description of Fall.  Even though it has a distinct rural flair to it, and I have been a city (or suburban) girl all my life, I still love the Fall visualization of frost on the pumpkins.

Now in Illinois we are quite some time away from "the frost is on the punkin" but leaves are beginning to change and the critters are making preparations. The squirrels in our yard are digging alot more holes than usual, and sometimes in the most annoying places! Last year they chewed holes in my decorative pumpkins on the front porch. The audacity! This year I got wiser and rubbed down my pumpkins with peppermint oil...I heard it works to deter lots of critters! Time will tell.  If nothing else, I have the sweetest smelling pumpkins on the block, for what it's worth.

So back to fall colors, living in the Midwest we have a bounty of colors available throughout the area and frequently right in our own back-yard.  Around our town the Zinnias and Mums are also in full bloom.  You always see these gorgeous Zinnias near a major intersection in my town.  It makes waiting for the stop light to change that much more enjoyable. Of course Mums of all colors are available at almost every store: even shopping for groceries you are greeted at the door with a flurry of color.

Fall is always a great time for a weekend getaway to enjoy the bounty of Fall. I recently returned from northern Wisconsin, where the colors are getting a jump on the season.  Of course depending on where you live, the "peak" colors appear at all different times of the Fall spectrum.  Since I was just in Wisconsin, I found a really cool site for checking out Fall foliage in that area: http://www.travelwisconsin.com/fall-color-report#     I would imagine several state tourism states have similar information on their own sites; depending on which state you will be visiting.  Time to get out and enjoy Fall....and snap a few pics of the stunning colors while sipping that latte.           ENJOY!