This morning the temperature registered a chilly 48 degrees F, cool enough for me to forego shorts and pull out a pair of capris. My fleece jacket is also at the ready for my walk with my dogs. And yesterday we were blessed with a good amount of much-needed rain.
Fall is a good season and it provides something for all our senses. The morning air feels crisp and cool. Warm clothing and flannel sheets feel cozy against the skin.
The air smells different. In New Mexico, the smell of roasting green chilis is a common aroma. In some areas, where it still is allowed, burning wood in fireplaces and fire pits fill the air with smells. Fallen leaves have a smell all their own. I get the urge to bake and perhaps make a pot of soup to fill the house with wonderful smells.
We don't get a lot of changing colors on the trees here in the high desert, although the aspens and cottonwoods will soon be adorned with beautiful golden leaves. Clothing colors move from brights and pastels to browns and darker colors. Low clouds over the mountains will provide beautiful sunrises. The amazing blue New Mexico sky will look even cleaner and bluer than it usually does.
Even the flavors change with the change of the season. Pumpkin-flavored products proliferate. Three years ago, I noted that Trader Joe's was selling 44 different pumpkin-flavored items. And this year, pumpkin Cheerios made their appearance. This is all lost on me, of course, as I lost my senses of taste and smell more than a year ago. But it's still a nice reminder that fall is really here.
It's what comes after autumn that I dread -- cold temperatures, perhaps a bit of snow and early sunsets that make the days drag by. My arthritic hands will not be happy in the cold morning air. I don't like 4 p.m. sunsets.
But for now, I will make the most of the beautiful fall weather and just perhaps, venture into the kitchen to bake a batch of black walnut oatmeal cookies.
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