Three Seasons In One Month

 

The San Juan Mountains in Colorado, September 2017. The leaves had already started changing.

Generally I like autumn. I like the crisp air, the changing leaves, the harvest imagery, and the general aesthetic. You can go hiking or bicycling without sweating to death. I like Thanksgiving. It's the most positive holiday on the calendar, in my opinion. What could be better than taking an entire day for gratitude?

But I'm not a fan of the short days. I like to have time to do things outdoors after work, and that time evaporates in the fall, and it doesn't come back until late February. The prolonged darkness depresses me. And autumn leads to winter, my worst season.

It's September, a short and changeable month. We sometimes get snow here in September, and I wouldn't doubt some has already fallen on the high peaks at night over the last few days, we just couldn't see it by day. The month starts with summery weather, but by the 30th, we've often experienced the weather of three seasons.