By Joe Rector
Summer has always been my favorite season of the year. It has signaled the end of another school year, the beginning of vacations, and plenty of visits to pools or the rivers in the Smoky Mountains. I’ve welcomed the hot weather because I could work in it all day long.
Something in my programming has changed. The hot weather chased me inside this summer. I couldn’t spend much time in it without my skin feeling as if it were being baked. I’ve never minded sweating, but this year, I couldn’t be outside for long before my clothes were soaked.
As a result, my favorite season has now become fall. It holds all the things that I like. Plenty of days are still warm enough to take a dip in the pool. The days are still long enough to begin and complete a project. I’m still working at the golf course and mowing tee boxes. Hopping on a mower at 5:30 a.m. is still a pleasant experience. I see the sunrise and enjoy the cool mornings. A bonus is discovering deer on the fairway and taking time to watch them munch on some grass. Wild turkeys come from the hills around the course in the early morning hours to strut around and find a bit of food. Both the deer and turkeys are mesmerizing, and I feel as if I’m intruding on something special.
Fall is special for sports. The three biggies, football, baseball and basketball, are all holding games, so no fan suffers without them. Tailgating on Saturdays is a big enough event that folks don’t necessarily need tickets to attend games. With a little ingenuity, they can hook up a television and stream the contest while sitting in the comfort of a tent or motorhome.
Many people are excited that the season brings back pumpkin. The majority of them go a bit “nuts” over the fact that they can get pumpkin spice lattes. The rest of us are pleased that pumpkin bread, muffins, cookies and pies are back.
Our diets change in the fall. The cooler temperatures make us crave chili and tamales. Soups are centerpieces of meals for weekday suppers. Even casseroles are welcomed on the table for a meal. There’s something appealing about hot food when temperatures cool.
Maybe the main reason fall has become my favorite season is due to the new toy I recently bought. For years, I’ve fought leaves in the fall. My work was never completed until January. Even then, oak leaves still fell, but I just turned a blind eye to them and decided to deal with them in spring.
Now, I have a Cyclone leaf collector. This monster of a tool is pulled behind my mower, and it can hold up to 200 gallons of mulched leaves. This means the chore that has taken me hours each week can be completed in an afternoon. I assembled this lifesaver and took time to make sure every nut was tightened and each piece fit correctly. Thus far, I’ve used the collector once, and I was amazed at how quickly this once-laborious job was completed. Sure, I still blow leaves from around trees and out of flower beds, but those tasks still make a job I hated most easy to complete.
Yep, fall has become my favorite season. I finish up tasks that require my attention much quicker and have more time to sit around a fire pit or on the screened porch watching television. I’ve slowed down and find walking to be more than a bit painful. So, I’m glad to have a new toy. I’m also thankful for being able to adjust my life to better enjoy my time.
Happy fall!
