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We’ve just entered the eight o’clock hour as I write this, and it’s pitch black outside. That, and the fact that (holy crap!) September is almost over, can only mean that fall is nearly here.

Fall has always been my favorite season, and Kelly’s too. I think it’s the time of year when the world around me most closely approximates the idyllic scenes I’ve stored away from seasons passed; Memories waiting to be triggered by the smell of leaves or the sight of pumpkins and cornstalks bathed in that crisp autumn sunlight that’s unduplicated outside the Great Northeast.

I love buying pumpkins, picking apples and holding hands with Kelly in the car, weaving on twisty country roads between freshly-harvested cornfields and stopping for hot cider. I love going to the fall Sportsmen’s days at the DEC, and taking trips to the range with Dad to sight-in hunting guns. I love that Kelly and I have revived my family’s tradition of visiting Power’s Farm Market on a chilly evening to walk through the teepees filled with hand-carved jack-o-lanterns, and take the “haunted” hayride through the woods. And, a treat that I got to enjoy today: I love stepping out of the house on a chilly, clear morning as the sun streams through the fall air and illuminates the dew just right – and taking a big “all-is-right-with-the-world” breath to start my day.

It’s a good time of year, y’all. Pass the toasted pumpkin seeds!