My Favorite Season

Today at 8:09 PM Pacific Time, the Earth's axis will be exactly aligned with the center of the Sun in the same plane as the Equator. That's a fancy description for the Autumnal Equinox, which is another way of saying that it's the first day of Autumn.

It is my favorite season. There isn't a close second.

I love the Autumn for so many reasons. The harsh heat of the Summer is past. I've never been a fan of Summer because I tolerate the cold of winter (and you're right--we don't have a real winter here in California anyway) much better than the heat of summer. So when the cool, crisp air of Autumn greets me in the morning, I kind of revel in quiet celebration.

It's not just the temperatures, though. I love the long shadows cast by the angle of the Sun. The light bends differently, especially in October and into early November. It's a dream come true for photographers--and it's both comforting and sublime. I love especially the end of an Autumn day. The days, of course, are shorter but it is during that gloaming in the half-light of those days that I find myself more reflective than perhaps at any other time of the year.

Perhaps best of all is the luminescent colors of the season. The hardwoods offered that bright green of the new leaves in the spring, provided shade through the heat of the summer, and now they offer their showy, spectacular finale in bright hues of crimson, ocher, orange, carnelian, and goldenrod.

I love pulling out sweaters and sweatshirts and jackets again--and feeling the coolness of the air when I can draw it down deep and savor the freshness after a fall rain.

I love the return of football season, especially--like this year--on those rare occasions when my alma mater (Stanford) actually has a team to get excited about.

Autumn is when we harvest our crops--a time when it's crazy busy, exhilarating, exhausting, rambunctious, and energizing all at the same time. It's like our once-a-year payoff for all of the hard work and planning and preparation of the crop. And God is a gracious and good God, as He faithfully brings us the crop each year at this time.

It's during the fall that my favorite holiday of the year happens: Thanksgiving. That's when families gather, and the demanding harvest season is over, and we actually get four days off from work to rest, relax, reflect, and give thanks.

It's the best time of the year. And now it's here and I'm celebrating.