O Autumn, Wherefore Art Thou?

Cool weather descended upon East County last week, riding air currents down from the north like a sort of invisible weather highway . The air turned crisp, the nights felt chilly. Autumn had arrived. Last week.

In the spirit of the season, I pulled out my fall decorations from the closet. Out came the leaves, nuts, squirrels, red-and-gold dish cloths, pumpkins and gords. Oh yes, fall was here and I was ready to celebrate. Last week.

But this week . . . the weather's played a trick on me. Summer came back to chase Fall away in a seasonal game of tug-o-war. It's hard to feel all autumn-y when it's 90 degrees outside every. single. day. =( Last Friday, I stocked up on frozen cookie dough, pie crusts, and other ingredients in anticipation of the happy baking days ahead.

Sadly, I haven't baked one thing yet. I just can't justify adding 400 degrees of heat to our house when our little A/C unit is already working so hard to keep our apartment liveable. Dinners have been relegated to the crockpot and stovetop until further notice, and my frozen goodies are waiting quietly, patiently in the freezer for Summer to give up the game and go away.

A lady at bible study yesterday said that Summer did this every year, and that until the Santa Anas have blown through, we won't see real autumn weather. Well, the winds have been blowing a lot these last two days, so I am hopeful my favorite season is not far off.

O Autumn, Autumn, wherefore art thou, Autumn?