Is there anything more perfect than fall? I always feel a little sad as Thanksgiving draws close because it means that fall is surrendering to winter.  Christmas softens the blow, but I still mourn the passing of October and November. October is especially glorious, and if I wasn’t so busy/ lazy, I would have written about this in October instead of now in November. I like the crispness of October days, the respite from Summer and the way you get to bundle into scarves and coats that you don’t really need but are just fun to wear.  I like crunchy leaves and grey windy days, salted caramel hot chocolate at Starbucks and the compulsive need everyone feels to make chile.  October is never long enough.

I propose exchanging March for a second October. I’m not exactly sure how this works, because I don’t really want to prolong the wait towards Christmas, nor do I think October weather is possible without the transforming trees that come only in autumn.  I just think that March is a cruel, long, cold month that promises spring only to have reoccurring cold dreary days.

But enough of that. I still have 9 days left in November.  I love living in Kentucky again, near my family, and all the gorgeous fall offerings of the bluegrass.  Here are some favorites: apple picking, pumpkin picking, pumpkin carving, ok anything to do with pumpkins, Boyd’s Orchard apple donuts, crunchy leaves, colorful streets, crackling fires, and gourds from the farmer’s market, just to name a few.  Basically, fall makes me think of a cornucopia. I really love cornucopias, even though it took me three tries to spell that word right.  I remember learning about them in elementary school when we did plays about pilgrims. They seem to be the embodiment of bounty, the incarnation of fall overflowing with plenty. They are the symbol of harvest, running over with beets, gourds, turnips, and all sorts of other vegetables that I like more in theory than in reality. Going to the farmer’s market in October or November is like living in a cornucopia, as every stall is bursting with color.  I was so overjoyed with harvest joy that I bought three giant butternut squashes, only to make the most disgusting squash soup ever consumed. (Side note: If anyone has a good squash soup recipe, do share!)  And so I leave with a cornucopia of images from my autumn, and may we all pray for a magical exchange to have  another one come March.