The Newcomer

By cas

September 11, 2008 12:27 PM | Link to this

It’s Apple Festival time in Ellijay…when Georgia and Tennessee play football…the dogwoods begin to turn red.

By CHRIS

September 11, 2008 12:28 PM | Link to this

I stop sweating.

By Sagegirl

September 11, 2008 12:46 PM | Link to this

I’m making muscadine jelly.

By Lissa

September 11, 2008 1:33 PM | Link to this

The first real sign of fall for me is the local fair. I don’t go too often anymore, but growing up the fair was always one of the first times you’d break out a light jacket to bring with you. It was usually in mid-October.

While I don’t recall wearing a jacket for trick-or-treating, I have worn one while sitting out in our cul-de-sac to hand out candy to the little goblins.

By JJ

September 11, 2008 1:36 PM | Link to this

My absolute FAVORITE time of the year.

Football’s on tv; chile on the stove; falling leaves; the crispness in the air; the leaves turning; festivals; Ocktoberfest; cold snuggly nights; no more mowing the yard; Halloween is right around the corner; the holidays are approaching; road trips to the mountains for fresh picked apples; tons of apple recipes to try. did I miss anything?

By Stephanie

September 11, 2008 1:43 PM | Link to this

Fall is my favorite time of year. To me the first sign of fall is the longer shadows in the evening.

But also football, and the cooler weather…. nice breezes… and the pansies are out at the stores!

By ga girl

September 11, 2008 1:52 PM | Link to this

Also my favorite time of the year…when stores start displaying scarecrows and halloween stuff. When you start seeing all the fall flowers, pansys and mums. Football is another sign/time of fall. Thank God, cooler nights.

By skeeter

September 11, 2008 2:02 PM | Link to this

Also my favorite time of year. I know fall is here when those first crisp gusts of wind swirl around me; when my long-haired dogs start running around the yard again; when I turn off the a/c and open the windows; when leaves begin to carpet the ground; when that wonderful nip in the air encourages wearing a sweater. Aaahhhh, love it!

By Becky

September 11, 2008 2:12 PM | Link to this

Cooler air, the leaves changing colors, football, fairs..

sagegirl, is making muscadine jelly as easy as making other jellies? That’s one that I’ve never made before..

By MaggiesDad

September 11, 2008 2:29 PM | Link to this

…the nights are cooler, the crickets begin to chirp louder than normal, the blooms on the hosta die back, the hummingbird vine makes seed pods, the deer begin visiting the pear orchard at night, and the flocks of wild turkies bring out their summer brood for you to see the grown young ones…all signs of fall in Tennessee…

By kalalu

September 11, 2008 2:55 PM | Link to this

when Starbucks starts carrying Pumpkin Spice Latte

By Sherrybaby

September 11, 2008 3:10 PM | Link to this

Cool, crisp, clear days so bright and filled with light that the world feels new clean and new.

By Becky

September 11, 2008 3:18 PM | Link to this

kakalu, that sounds like my 6 year old grandson..LOL..He loves the pumpkin spice frap..Minus the coofee though..He says that make it special just for him..

By Georgia Peach

September 11, 2008 3:24 PM | Link to this

… when you can see your breath in the crispy morning air!

… when the doggies go for their morning run and are bouncing all over the place with their “weather change” excitement!

… when the horses in the pasture are prancing around in the cooler air!

…when you swap cold chocolate milk for a hot chocolate mug!

…when you spend an entire Saturday going organizing and sorting through your closet to get out the fall essentials!

… when you leave the windows open in the bedroom and turn off the A/C for good!

By Trey

September 11, 2008 3:28 PM | Link to this

The Decatur Beer Festival is less then one month away.

By Lori

September 11, 2008 3:39 PM | Link to this

when it’s cool when it rains instead of hot and muggy.

By Ed

September 11, 2008 3:39 PM | Link to this

No more mowing the yard and FOOTBALL on all channels !!!!!!

By Sherry

September 11, 2008 3:53 PM | Link to this

When it is time for my women’s retreat!

FOOTBALL!!

Oh, where is my sweater?

I think I should put the blanket back on the bed, don’t you?

By Maniac is accurate

September 11, 2008 4:22 PM | Link to this

… when the hookers start wearing middies instead of minis.

By Mike D

September 11, 2008 4:37 PM | Link to this

I know its fall when the leaves in my back yard fall and I can see the lady that lives behind my house getting dressed every morning. If I was a better neighbor, I wouldn’t watch - but she is pretty hot.

By Erin

September 11, 2008 4:46 PM | Link to this

Fall is my favorite season, too!

Why? Where to start!

The crisp air. Less humidity. Finally feeling comfortable outdoors again. Crisp air. Football season. Hauling out the comfy warm sweaters. Actually needing a sweater again!

Apples, apple pie, cinnamon. Pumpkins. Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas decor. My birthday.

Leaves changing colors. Leaves falling off trees. Crunching leaves underfoot when walking. Did I mention the crisp air? Did I mention Halloween? And Thanksgiving?

Festivals. Fairs! Cooler air, earlier sunsets. The color of sunsets in the fall somehow seems more spectacular than at any other time of year. Also, somehow the blueness of the sky on a clear day is just more … well, BLUE than at other times of the year.

Football on TV!

Turning off the AC for good … adding a blanket to the bedcovers. Did I mention hauling out the comfy sweaters? HAVING to layer for the cooler mornings and warm afternoons.

I can’t emphasize enough how much I love the crispness of the air in the fall. There’s just this undefinable zing I get out of it when I go outside and take a deep breath and it SMELLS like fall.

By Erin

September 11, 2008 4:47 PM | Link to this

Fall is my favorite season, too!

Why? Where to start!

The crisp air. Less humidity. Finally feeling comfortable outdoors again. Crisp air. Football season. Hauling out the comfy warm sweaters. Actually needing a sweater again!

Apples, apple pie, cinnamon. Pumpkins. Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas decor. My birthday.

Leaves changing colors. Leaves falling off trees. Crunching leaves underfoot when walking. Did I mention the crisp air? Did I mention Halloween? And Thanksgiving?

Festivals. Fairs! Cooler air, earlier sunsets. The color of sunsets in the fall somehow seems more spectacular than at any other time of year. Also, somehow the blueness of the sky on a clear day is just more … well, BLUE than at other times of the year.

Football on TV!

Turning off the AC for good … adding a blanket to the bedcovers. Did I mention hauling out the comfy sweaters? HAVING to layer for the cooler mornings and warm afternoons.

I can’t emphasize enough how much I love the crispness of the air in the fall. There’s just this undefinable zing I get out of it when I go outside and take a deep breath and it SMELLS like fall.

By Mike D

September 11, 2008 5:22 PM | Link to this

I know its fall when I start collecting packets of ketchup, soy sauce, and hot sauce to mix into the Halloween candy I give out.

By Christine

September 11, 2008 5:31 PM | Link to this

I agree with Chris—when I stop sweating!

Mostly, I can tell it’s fall when my electric bill starts going down cuz I’m not running the AC as much.

By BiteMe

September 11, 2008 6:01 PM | Link to this

Hello!!

Have lived in ATL for 32 years. First thing I notice about Fall is the start of crisp, cool mornings. There’s a smell in the air (smog leaving, maybe?!?) that just lets you know it’s on it’s way. I mean, you can keep an eye on the leaves, but sometimes they look like they are changing colors but are really dying instead from the heat and dry conditions!

But this summer has NOT BEEN BAD AT ALL, and I am extrememly hopeful that we will not have to wait until November before seeing the change from nasty ol’ Summer to BEAUTIFUL AUTUMN!

WOO HOO! COME ON FALLTIME! :)

By love me some fall

September 11, 2008 6:17 PM | Link to this

I know it’s fall when I walk outside in the morning and have to consider — for the first time — whether to go back inside and put on a jacket. Absolutely my favorite weather of the year!

By Fun to do

September 11, 2008 8:14 PM | Link to this

I know its fall when I’m at friends watching football, and use the bathroom. I like to open the tank to the toilet and leave a # 2 in there. That way when the next person goes they get a big surprise when they flush. Its even funnier if I can sneak up and do this in the master bathroom.

By a little taste of me

September 11, 2008 8:28 PM | Link to this

During this time of the year our local Publix will put out a hot thermos of apple cider. I found that since no one watches it, it is really easy for me to pour a flask of my pee in it.

By Burts Farm

September 11, 2008 8:43 PM | Link to this

Every year my family goes to Burt’s Farm for a nice day out. We usually pick up our pumpkin there, but for the last few years, I have been pooping in a bag and discretely drop little pieces all over the premises. I know it sounds bad, but it is my way of sharing the holidays with strangers.

By Jennifer

September 11, 2008 8:46 PM | Link to this

It’s a cool breezy 85 degrees instead of 90? :)

Right now, I’m beginning to fear that we won’t see fall this year.

By Emily

September 11, 2008 10:13 PM | Link to this

I saw the first monarch butterfly today, feeding on an over-ripe pear that had fallen off our pear tree.

By trailertrash bubba

September 11, 2008 10:25 PM | Link to this

I know its fall when I can stop wearing my deodarant and go huntin for the wabbits, dears, and turkies I can fine. I gotta a double wide full of good eats and a chest freezer ready for the winter. I go pickin for apples and make whine for all my neigbors two

Thanks for telling me about the #2 and the pee…that is on my list.

By Big Juicy

September 11, 2008 11:37 PM | Link to this

When I see the football players breath in the air on TV!

By MOT

September 12, 2008 1:28 AM | Link to this

Fall in the south:

in late August I spy yellow leaves in tree tops, by September they begin letting go and start littering the ground but not many yet.

in early September the way the shadows fall around the house is noticeably different-the way the trees’ shadows fall, and the way the sunlight looks coming through the trees into the house

in early September the rotation of the sun around the house is different, the brighter higher sun that usually hits my office in late hot August afternoons is softened and not so hot; the morning sun in the front windows seems to hang low till it rounds the corner of the house and then blasts the kitchen windows.

breezes that have just a tad of a hint of cooler times kick up out of no where it seems, most Septembers

the grass no longer needs such frequent cutting

back when we lived in Stone Mountain, and I could grow pumpkin patches, my pumpkins were always a sure fire sign of fall at our doorstep even if Jack Frost wasn’t agreeing

the nights are definitely cooler now, the harvest moons are amazing

and the mornings are definitely cooler not quite crisp yet, but cooler

activities help it feel like fall even if the weather does not cooperate: county fairs—-the sites, aromas and sounds are a definite: give me a dose of fall tonic or canning the last of the garden before a frost hits, or planning and sewing the halloween costumes that at most would require long sleeves, or the taking down of summer decor and putting the relics of fall out: pumpkins, scarecrows, chrysanthemums, gourds, Indian Corn, etc.

I guess school starting and all that entails brings a whiff of fall for a lot of us since the two were so tied together as us older “kids” grew up.

And of course football

By Sagegirl

September 12, 2008 8:19 AM | Link to this

By Becky@2:12 sagegirl, is making muscadine jelly as easy as making other jellies? That’s one that I’ve never made before

Yes it is. 4 parts muscadine juice to 2 parts sugar… cook to 225 degrees. Easy and delicious!

By jakesdad

September 12, 2008 8:32 AM | Link to this

college football (go Jackets!) Sandy Springs festival & East Cobb parade NASCAR Chase for Cup (go 48!!!)

these are a few of my favorite things!

having my deck & yard burried in leaves on the other hand…

By JJ

September 12, 2008 8:57 AM | Link to this

Jumping into a fresh pile of raked leaves. Yes I still do this, and taught my daughter and the neighbor kids the fine art of “Leaf Pile Jumping”. My dogs enjoy it too and love to get in on the fun……..I refuse to grow up….especially this time of year.

By Mr. Grits

September 12, 2008 12:49 PM | Link to this

Jamie,

This is the Deep South, dear. There are plenty of warm weeks ahead. Let’s talk about fall weather in November. By the way, from the tone of your column you’re not gonna like the forecast for a white Christmas here!

Mr. G

By Jamie G.

September 12, 2008 2:03 PM | Link to this

Mr. Grits, I have no love for snow. Too many years of walking and driving in it means I’m a great fan of the South. :) Fall is where it’s at.