Editorial: Fall

Fall is here.

We, in The Berkshires, can feel the crisp air.

Fall arrived on the calendar Saturday, Sept. 21 with clouds and spots of sunshine throughout the day. There was a sprinkle or two in the afternoon.

Parts of The Berkshires have had frost warnings.

Autumn, often known as fall in the US and Canada, is one of the four temperate seasons, according to Wikipedia.

Autumn marks the transition from summer into winter, in September (Northern Hemisphere) or March (Southern Hemisphere) when the arrival of night becomes noticeably earlier.

The equinoxes might be expected to be in the middle of their respective seasons, but temperature lag (caused by the thermal latency of the ground and sea) means that seasons appear later than dates calculated from a purely astronomical perspective.

Autumn in poetry has often been associated with melancholy.

The possibilities of summer are gone, and the chill of winter is on the horizon.

The Berkshires are certainly chillier than the Pioneer Valley to the east and the coastal communities.

There is still Indian summer. Indian summer is a heat wave that occurs in the autumn, with a period of considerably above-normal temperatures, accompanied by dry and hazy conditions, usually after there has been a killing frost.

With autumn, school is back in session after a summer season of memories.

The tourist season continues from the Cape Cod to the hills, each offering their own special events from apple picking to warming up near a fireplace to reflecting on the memories of hot, humid weather in July.

Skies turn grey, and many people turn inward, both physically and mentally.

Autumn is associated with the Halloween season.

Locally, the Apple Squeeze is this weekend in Lenox.

The weather should cooperate for locals and visitors alike.

The chilly weather with sunshine makes one laugh and smile during the daylight noting that the cold air and snow are coming soon enough.

Posted by George C. Jordan III on September 26, 2013. Filed under Editorials,Opinion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry