All Welcome Mingle #9: Pumpkin Spices and Autumn Vices.

Hey Everyone,

For a few years, I lived in places where the seasons didn't change, and the years felt like they were going by in one long stretch of time. Although the locations were lovely, something about the fact that the trees never changed color just didn't feel right!

Growing up in the midwestern USA, I was used to 4 fairly distinct seasons where it felt like God was stamping every few months with an abundance of punctuation marks expressed through a myriad of robust outward cues.

I'm now living in a place that once again gets 4 seasons (though not always as distinct as I would wish for,) but it always fills me with joy to see the trees turn colors, especially when it seems to happen overnight.

I love this time of year for colorful leaves, chilly nights and mornings, candles that feel especially cozy on darker days, comfort foods, and warm blankets that feel like a cozy hug.

This is also the time of year when God seems to do a "reset" in my soul -- I'm always the most reflective (and often introverted) this time of year, because He has me pondering over how things have gone the past year and what needs to be changed. Even when I lived in places where the weather didn't really change, I could always feel the "pulling" in my soul around this time of year.

Other things I love about autumn are harvest celebrations (hayrides, if I don't sneeze too much!), pumpkin patches (though glass/artistic/crafty pumpkins have been more my style of late,) corn mazes, fresh cider, and of course, all the pumpkin-flavored treats!!

What about you?

* How do you feel about autumn? What do you like or dislike about it?

* If autumn isn't your favorite season, what season do you like best and why?

* What special items, foods, or routines do you look forward to during your special season?

P.S. How many people here look forward to the infamous pumpkin spice lattes?

Are they a BUY... or BYE BYE?

I look forward to a lot of family dinners. We're always up for any excuse, and this season has a lot of handy excuses to have a family dinner.

Autumn is my favorite season. Not to hot, not to cold. No black flies or mosquitoes. The foliage. The lords hands has made such beauty. Hot apple cider though is the way to go 😎👍👍. Going on hikes or just being outside is a blessing to me this time of year.

As for the pumpkin spice: Pumpkin is good. Spices added to pumpkin are also good. The "pumpkin spice" smell that is so prevalent at this time of year is a melange of chemicals that I loathe for its pungence and yearly pervasiveness.

Or when you get up early and see a good frost and watch the sun come up....❤️

I could not possibly agree with you more. Autumn is definitely my favorite time of the year, and Winter would be a pretty close second.
Same here. There is a place not too far from where I live where I normally go on a hayride, walk through a pumpkin patch, and navigate my way through a giant corn maze, but a major life change has put an end to that tradition this year.

On a happier note, I did eat some pumpkin fritters earlier today, and also some pumpkin spice cake, so there is that.

P.S.

I normally watch "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" around this time of year too, but do not tell anybody. After all, I would hate to ruin my reputation of being a mature man.

Autumn has the best sunsets. Also I love the cool evenings. Most of the trees here don't change color but some do. The rest stay green. I used to live where the leaves changed color but I guess I was too young to appreciate it.

Not a fan of pumpkin flavored items like coffee or cookies, although I do like pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving.

I like the different seasons each in their own way, so I don't have a favorite season. My life is pretty much the same throughout the year. The day is longer during the summer which I like, even though it can get hot. The temperature in the autumn and spring are nice. Winter can be a nice cozy time.

Oh yes I love pumpkin pie too. And pecan pie and candy corn.

I like Autumn but prefer Winter.

The night time sky during this time of year is my favorite.

Everything about Autumn is better, the weather, the clothing, the food, bonfires, cider, spooky things, EVERYTHING!

Spooky.....👀....

I like all of the seasons because it takes them all to make one special. In that way they're all special.

I lived most of my life where most of the year was winter and the other three seasons where quite short. I've recently moved to a place further south in the high plains where the longest season is winter but the other three seasons have quite a bit more time to split up among themselves.

Fall is one of my favorite seasons, I spent most of my 20's and 30's living in Arizona and now that I am back in Michigan I really appreciate the changing of seasons.
Seeing the leaves turn colors, the crisp chill in the air that is enjoyable, enjoying campfires and cookouts, getting back into hoodies and jeans and the return of football are just some of the things I appreciate about this time of year.
And I have to agree with seoulsearch, I tend to get more introspective during this season as I look back on the year and take a bit of inventory of what I can change and improve on in the year to come.
I prefer to be hot though, so summer is my favorite time of year, but Fall is a close second.

I was an autumn baby and my sister was a spring chick - she got flowers and fresh shoots, I got dead leaves and mulch.
I think the time of year you are born does affect you in some ways. Though I wouldn't go too deep into it, like a horoscope or anything.

The southern hemisphere all the seasons are upside down to the northern hemisphere so I'm constantly having to remind myself its NOT mid autumn harvest/moon festival it should be spring festival instead.

Plastic Pumpkins start appearing in shops in spring and fake christmas trees in the height of summer and it all gets a bit much.

Where I live there are four seasons in one day, but I do think what it would be like to have snow or a white christmas in my dreams. The one day it did snow here I missed it.

I do like autumn though because it is harvest season. Leaves don't really turn here though. I'm reading a book about Norway atm it seems like they have eternal winters. I think places like New England and Canada have the spectacular autumn colours in their deciduous leaves trees but in NZ most of the native trees are ever green.

I always thought climate change people were temperate dwellers who just would never be able to cope living in the tropics.

I was born in the city, y'all
I was born in the north
I was born in the evening time
Lord only knows what for

I was born when leaves turn red
And everything is dyin'
But I was born with a big ol' mouth
Made to testify!

"Working Man"
- NewWorldSon

the leaf changing scene & the foliage cruises. summer, by far, is my favorite season; the hotter, the better! steak, seafood, caviar, an occasional Heineken, golfing, swimming, bicycling, cruising, fancy restaurants, antiquing, coin dealing, bocci, concerts, baseball. no, not the pumpkin spice lattes.

wow how the other half live!

Mcdonalds is more my scene lol