Fall in New Orleans also generally means an end to hurricane season. Ok, I know there are 6 more weeks, but the chances are really going down. I have watched the National Hurricane Center website almost obsessively since June 1. When I say obsessed, I mean that I have a bookmark saved on my laptop browser and my PDA, I'm friends with my favorite weatherman on Facebook, and I have been known to check the site as it is updated 4 times a day (at 1 a.m., 7 a.m., 1 p.m., and 8 p.m. Central Time). Yes, if I happened to wake up in the middle of the night, I've checked then, too. I am thankful to be gaining that part of my sanity back a whopping half of a year.
According to all the weathermen here, New Orleans is having an unseasonably cool start to fall. Last winter was one of the coldest on record. But on the flipside, this summer in Louisiana was miserably hot (I don’t think there are many summers here that aren’t). Our A/C unit failing during one of the hottest weeks this summer made it even more sweltering.
Fall makes me very nostalgic, thinking of times spent back home in Tennessee. I miss seeing the colors of the changing leaves on the maples, Bradford pears, and other deciduous trees. Louisiana doesn’t have enough changing leaves for my taste.
Fall in Tennessee is also a time when my seasonal allergies calm down. It’s dry, crisp, and cool in the mornings, and just warm enough not to freeze during the day. I miss the crunching sound of the dried leaves under my feet. Sitting by the fireplace with the smell of spiced cider and seasoned wood burning where you can roast marshmallows for s’mores is a great way to spend an evening,
When people in Louisiana think of Tennessee, they often think of fall and the glorious colors in the Smoky Mountains. The paint-splattered trees set on a rolling hillside is a stark contrast to the flat wetlands of Louisiana. East Tennessee is one of my favorite places to witness God’s creation, and fall reminds me that spring will begin life anew.
What are your favorite memories and traditions of fall?
2 comments:
Wow. I could have written this post! We were on vacation for 12 days and was so happy to open the windows and let the cool breeze come in.
And like you - I'm obsessive about watching the hurricanes too. Otto is out there right now and going away from the States - makes me happy. I think like you do too - cool means no hurricanes - YEAH!
Isn't it wonderful though - having fall weather when it actually is the fall season? My husband was saying just yesterday, "I think this is the earliest we've ever felt the fall weather."
We don't have the changing leaves. I marveled at the leaves changing when I was a little girl and my parents took us to Tennessee - it felt like the trees were rainbows. But.. Louisiana does get a lot of birds during the winter :) That's a plus, right? And I rarely use the heater in the winter, so the electricity bills are very low.
The birds are a plus, along with the electric bills. We have had our central unit off all week. I love it!
Post a Comment