I love this time of year. September brings Autumn, and Autumn is my very favorite of all the seasons.
Ten more months until I retire! I'm very excited about that. In the coming months I have a lot of decisions to make and a LOT of work to do, as I haven't moved since 2005. I have a LOT of junk I need to sort, organize, keep, donate, or discard. I dread that part of moving, but it has to be done.
In the meantime though, it is too early to do much. I can't move until July 2017, so for now, I just need to enjoy my last Autumn in Charleston, SC. The weather will turn violent here in September as summer fights to keep her hold, but cooler temperatures will win in the end, and hurricane season will be over November 30th.
In about four more weeks the nights will start cooling down at my house to at least 70 degrees every night. By six weeks from now, the lows may be in the 60s or even high 50s. I can not wait!!! It is not the high temperatures here that I hate so much. It is the lows. There is no relief from the heat and humidity from around April to October. I hate the weather here more every year. The air feels too thick to breathe half the year.
I love Charleston though. There are many things about being here that I will miss. Charleston is a lovely place to visit. One of the best tourist locations on this Earth. It teems with history and charm and art and music and theater and wonderful food! If you are visiting and staying on the water, then the breezes will make your stay lovely. Small dozes of Charleston leave you wanting more. That is as it should be when you are on vacation.
There are also some perks to living near the sea. The seafood is awesome and fresh and if you are wealthy enough have a boat, you can have a lot of fun on the water. I don't have a boat though, but I do like seafood!
September brings back oyster roasts! It will start cooling off into the mid-80s by most afternoons in a week or two (hopefully), so evening outside gatherings will be much more pleasant, and I'll be able to walk the dogs farther without fear of overheating them.
Charleston has no "real" Autumn or Winter. It is a sub-tropical climate, so it is warm here all year long. I haven't owned an ice scraper in over 20 years now. This, of course, means that there is no winter to kill the mold, mildew, insects, and vermin that torture us, but that is a trade-off, I guess. I do love Winters here.
Most of the trees here stay green all year. They drop their leaves twice, Spring and Autumn, but they never have the gorgeous colors seen in other parts of South Carolina that reside in different Planting Zones. However, if you drive a few miles north or west of Charleston, you can see colors in Autumn...just not where I live.
Don't get me wrong. Charleston does have Autumn colors. Just not the colorful trees turning red, yellow, and gold. Autumn in the Lowcountry is when the sweetgrass blooms. Gorgeous.
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| Autumn Sweetgrass in bloom at Charles Towne Landing |
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| Autumn Tree in Kings Mountain, NC |
I hope you take some time today to contemplate what you love or hate about Autumn.
I know I'm jumping the gun a little. It won't be Autumn until September 22, 2016, three weeks away, but I just can't wait! September means Autumn to me. I just love the thought of it, so that is what I'm thinking about today.
I actually know people who hate Autumn, which I can't really understand, but I know it is true.
In honor of how different humans are, I'll give you my "Top Ten" lists. See if you agree with them.
Top Ten Things I LOVE About Autumn
- Cooler weather
- Halloween and Ghost Stories
- Sweaters
- Jeans
- Long walks in cool fresh air with my good dogs
- Autumn flowers
- Snuggling under a blanket with a good book
- New shows on TV
- The excitement of back to school
- Autumn colors
- Autumn food (hot soup, oysters, fresh baked bread, hot chocolate with marshmallows, mulled cider, etc.)
- The smell of wood smoke and bon fires
Top Ten Things I HATE About Autumn
- Nothing
- Nothing
- Nothing
- Nothing
- Nothing
- Nothing
- Nothing
- Nothing
- Nothing
- It doesn't last long enough.
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