I took another day off to enjoy the nice fall weather (and get some stuff done), and we also made plans to visit an orchard with C. So that afternoon, we headed over to Eddy Fruit Farm, which is owned by some friends of the family. It did turn out to be a perfect fall day, which can be rare, as evidenced by the forecast for the rest of this week. But we all had fun, we picked grapes and apples, and C got to munch on some while we walked, so he was happy. It doesn’t get much more fall-ish than going out to pick apples š
This weekend was fair weekend for our county (and many others across the state). The weather was a little iffy, but we all toughed it out and went Sunday afternoon. After, I should mention, C took a three-hour nap. It sprinkled a few times while we were there, and was unseasonably cool, but we had a good time. This was actually C’s second fair – we took him last year when he was a week old (good parenting decision?), and he slept the entire time. This time he stayed awake the entire time, and was much more interested in what was going on. He enjoyed most of the animals, was a little shy about touching them, and would laugh when he did – everything’s a dog to him though. Maybe next year we’ll be able to make that distinction.
I like to remind S that ours is the oldest in the state, and she says that hers (Wayne County) is the largest in the state, like that can be proven…That's one big "da-da"He enjoyed the goats, because they were so friendly. And the goats enjoyed him.
Adding to the list of How it’s Starting to Feel More Like Fall is football. Also making the list is, “it was still so dark this morning when I got up for work that I had to turn a light on,” but that’s not today’s topic. Football’s probably not my favorite sport, but it’s up there,Ā and there are certain aspects of the different levels that I enjoy.
I like high school, and the feel of walking through the parking lot on a crisp September Friday night, heading toward the lights and the marching bands. There’s just something fun about watching a bunch of kids playing hard and having fun, even knowing the majority of them will never play again once they graduate, and there’s nothing quite like a high school halftime show.
Or college, and taking a break from raking leaves (bad thought, get it out!) on Saturday morningsĀ to come in for the noon kickoff (the hypocrisy of the NCAA is starting to rub me a little, but I’ll still watch – college is, in some cases, better than the pros). If you’re on a smaller campus, grabbing a quick lunch before heading over to the game (though we usually only stayed for the first half – at Mount Union, the game was pretty much over by halftime).
I like the NFL too – lazing through a Sunday morning, thenĀ making a pot of chili and sitting to watch the game with the family (C needs to get a little older so I have a football-watching partner; S isn’t really into it). Of course, this is Cleveland, so there’s not really that much to get excited about with the Browns, even though they’ve looked halfway decent in the preseason (they do that every year, and get everyone’s hopes up, then disappoint – or really, just perform the way we should have expected. We’re kind of always in the “wait ’til next year” mode [with all our teams], but with some people, I think it’s gotten to the “wait ’til… oh, forget it, it’s never going to happen in my lifetime” point). Back when I was a kid and the Browns were good (the 80s was the last time that happened), we’d have dog bone cookies on game day. I hope I can bring that back for our kids someday, but I’m waiting until there’s a reasonably good chance that we’ll still want to watch the game after the first quarter. No sense in making dog bone cookies if the game’s over after 15 minutes. Still, I doubt we’d have any problems finishing them…
For maybe the first time all summer, the weather has been gorgeous for multiple days in a row. Mid-Ā and upper-70s, clear sky, slight breeze. It’s too bad only about 12 of the 365 days per year are like this…
As a result of the nice weather, we did something very unusual. We took advantage of it. I know, crazy talk. I abandoned my projects for a while, and we just enjoyed the weather. Monday evening, we went into Chagrin Falls to hit up the library and walk along the river with C, and while we were there, just happened to stop for some ice cream at Jeni’s. Had to really twist my arm for that. That was fun, so we decided to come back the next night, and had dinner on the sidewalk, also with C. At that point, IĀ said what the heck, let’s come back Wednesday too. So we did, and picked up a pizza from Joey’s, and sat on a picnic table by the falls and just enjoyed life a little. And it was good. Nice to be able to just stop and appreciate things for a bit. I’d highly recommend it.
It was good and we were hungry, so I forgot to take a picture until it was almost finished. And finish it we did.C has an obsession with water, and the fountain was no exception.
Postscript: Of course, after all that nice weather, we had several waves of thunderstorms roll through again last night, and C decided to wake up at 2 (he sleeps through the storms, but randomly wakes up some other time? I don’t get it). Since there were multiple waves of it, that means I woke up multiple times, which means I’m a tired boy today. Between the kid and the storms, my sleep deprivation has increased ten-fold this summer. Almost makes me wish for winter; at least there’s no thunderstorms. Snow is usually very quiet while it falls…
And to add to the fun, we had a bunch of hail too. Since I was awake, I went outside with a flashlight, just to check things out. Looked to be about dime-sized.
A brief inspection of the garden before I left for work didn’t reveal too much damage – someĀ chewed-up leaves, and several cherry tomatoes got knocked off, but nothing totally mangled.
And just like that, it’s starting to feel like fall. Nothing as blatant as the leaves turning yet, but if you’ve been through a few cycles of the changing seasons, you can tell. It’s a little cooler at night, a little crisper during the day. The days have been getting shorter for two months, and it’s noticeable now. A lot of the summer veggies are starting to ripen as part of their last-ditch effort to produce enough to ensure that their species will continue on into the next generation…Ā assuming I don’t eat all their progeny. Of course, it’s only the middle of August, and we surely have at least one, probably more, heat waves yet to come.
Fall is one of my favorite seasons. Although, when it comes right down to it, there are only four, and I like certain aspects of each of them, so that statement really doesn’t mean a whole lot. In any case, I love the weather, the colors, the football on Saturday afternoons, the food, and the harvest and preparing for the long, dark days ahead (of which there will be way too many). Fall (and winter) have more of that homey, family, snuggle-up-with-a-book-and-a-bowl-of-soup kind of feel. Since I’m a homebody family man kind of guy, that’s right up my alley.
And I realize I’m getting too nostalgic – it’s still summer, and there’s still lots to do while the doing is good. It’ll be fall soon enough, but might as well hold onto summer while we can, because once it’s gone, it’s gone for a loooong time.
