it's a fact

  Is it fall or autumn? To me it is fall and will always be fall. Autumn, according to google is just the formal term for fall, like adding Mr. or Miss. I don't know but I suspect it depends upon where you were raised. I thought it was called fall because of the leaves falling, just seems logical. All the talk of an equinox never really sunk in. I don't think in astronomical terms much. I have watched many shows about the ancient people observing all that and devising methods to measure it. Stonehenge and other structures designed to reflect what was happening in the heavens. I wonder what they called the heavens before someone thought of the word heavens. In Genesis there are three different regions in heaven. But the idea that the heavens was somehow connected to the earth goes much further back than the Bible. It's easy to understand why. The weather is certainly a major force man has to deal with. I would have been constantly looking to the sky as well! 

 Whatever name you choose to call it fall has arrived. Time for apple picking, pumpkins, corn stalks, and all of that. The kids are back in school, and Halloween is already everywhere. My granddaughter Morgan was born on the first day of fall, her father was born on the first day of winter. With the arrival of fall we start to change our wardrobes, sweaters, sweats, jackets and hats are in order now. The quilt goes on the bed. Fall is also filled with thoughts of the holidays. The year begins to rush toward its' end. In years past raking leaves into piles and burning them was a common occurrence in the fall, today it seems more nostalgic than anything else. I can see people paying for a chance to stand around a pile of burning leaves, sipping warm cider. Of course, they would be wearing masks, have the fire department standing by and emergency services on standby! A safety briefing would he held prior to the burn. 

  When I was growing up on Long Island the months with an "r" in them were anticipated. It was in those months you could get oysters and scallops. You shouldn't eat Oysters that are harvested in any other months. September through April are the only ones. I was told you could die if you did! I don't recall ever hearing the reasoning behind that, it was just a known fact. There were a lot of "facts" when I was young that are called into question today. In my youth it only took one glance to know if you were a boy or girl, for a fact. Well, times change along with the seasons. Climate change is a big topic of discussion these days. Fact is that the climate has been in constant change since the very beginning. Now it's Fall, in eighty-nine days it will be winter. That will be on a Wednesday. That's just ten days before the end of the year. The climate will change, we'll all complain about it till the spring. And that's a fact that won't change.