List all of your favorite things about fall:
- I like the colors, of course. Even this year, when the leaves on the trees have only just started to turn, it seems like there’s a changing display every day. In my garden, the grapes are hanging deep purple on the vines across from the Sedum Autumn Joy that brightens the corner with deep crimson. The edges of the woods have mushrooms in all shapes and colors, and swaths of little daisy-like flowers, pale purple with yellow centers. The greens that stay green look more intense, when surrounded by dozens of shades of straw-rust-gold as other things go to rest.
- Cooler nights. Sleep is best when the air is chill, and I’m tucked under a heavy comforter.
- Sweaters. I like getting out the fall clothes, adding a blazer as a light jacket, or pulling on a sweater.
- The fallen leaves. There is something very satisfying about wading through deep, crackly, golden leaves. Not the raking…just walking through.
- No mosquitoes! Though houseflies and fruit flies can be an annoyance this time of year, most of the insects are gone. A walk in the woods is possible and pleasant without having to arm against biting insects.
- The pace. Fall on Beaver Island is a slower time of year. After the busy-ness of the tourist season, it’s a welcome change.
- The harvest. Though I didn’t plant a garden this year, I’ve been enjoying fresh vegetables from the gardens of friends and relatives. I’ve been out picking the wild blackberries regularly, and will soon be harvesting my own grapes. The other day, Aunt Katie gifted me with one dozen perfect pints of stewed tomatoes!
- Affy Tapple. It’s the perfect caramel apple. It’s a seasonal treat, available only in the fall, perishable, and often hard to come by on Beaver Island. I’ve tried other – even home-made – caramel apples, and none hit the mark as perfectly as this one brand. They make them candy-coated (red), with just caramel, with candy sprinkles or tiny chocolate bits…I like only the classic Affy Tapple: a perfect apple coated in caramel with a nut topping. In the last few years, our local grocery store, McDonough’s Market, has tried different types. They are a small store, and have to make a large minimum purchase; they won’t keep, so decisions have to be made. Even if I begged. Last year, my dentist – in her travels back and forth from the mainland – would bring them to me, as we share that obsession. This year, McDonough’s Market has the classic Affy Tapple, and I am overjoyed! I purchase them three at a time. I have brought twelve of them home already this fall. If someone dares to raise an eyebrow or look at me askance, I say, “Hey, ‘an apple a day….'”
cindyricksgers 