Pros and Cons

Driving around this afternoon, I was thinking of the pros and cons to the fall. A HUGE pro is the color of the trees. The colors this year are just spectacular! When the sun hits the trees at just the right angle, the leaves look like they are on fire. Absolutely brilliant oranges, reds and yellows. I have almost slammed on my brakes a few times so I could gawk at them but I stop myself at the last moment because I realize that the person behind me will rear end me. They may not appreciate the fact that I was admiring the trees if the front end of their car is smashed in and it’s their fault. (My understanding is that if you rear end someone it is your fault because you should be far enough back to avoid hitting someone if they slam on their brakes). I think that I may have to go for a ride tomorrow and pull to the side of the road to take pictures when the sunlight is illuminating the trees so beautifully.

So that is a major pro to this time of year. Another is that the days are cooler so I don’t have to run my air conditioner anymore. Of course I need to take it out of the window but I am hoping to get that done this week. I believe my lease says I need to do it by the end of October. It is nice to not be so hot and to feel the crispness in the air. It’s not the freezing cold of winter that makes your nose hairs freeze. But a gentle coolness that requires a jacket to keep warm and makes you appreciate a nice cup of tea.

I could go on and on with other pros but I want to mention a major con. The days are becoming shorter at a rapid pace. The sun now sets around 5:45 pm and it doesn’t rise until after 7:00 am! I was fixing dinner tonight at around 6:45 and it felt like it was the middle of the night because it was so dark out. Maybe I wasn’t paying attention but it feels like just last week that the sun was setting at 8:00 and shining in my face when I wake up at 6:00 in the morning. The good thing is that it will start shifting the other way in less than two months. But, in the mean time, I try not to look at the decrease in sunlight when they announce the sunrise/sunset times during the weather on TV. It’s just a little depressing to think of the amount of sunlight we have lost already.

I was thinking today that it has been a while since I drove down to my favorite beach in Wells and watched the sunrise over the ocean. I try to do that a couple of times a year and tomorrow would be a great opportunity. The sun rises at 7:07 so I don’t have to leave the house until 6:30 and I don’t have to get up too early to make it out the door in time. If I wait, in two weeks we switch to Daylight Savings Time and the sun will rise a little after 6:00. I would have to leave the house by 5:30 to get to Wells in time to watch the sunrise. That would mean getting up by 4:30. I can’t go next week because I have other plans on Sunday. So tomorrow may be the day. If I do get up in time and make it to the beach on time, I’ll try to take pictures to post.

I really do love this time of year. It’s like God gives us one last colorful present before we get the mono chromic winter. And God is certainly in His glory!! It is beyond belief beautiful!!