Published: Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2009 / Updated: Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2009 11:57 AM
Orange you glad it's autumn?
Before the 1500s, autumn was known as harvest. I don't remember that, it was way before my time. I always called this season fall, never even autumn.
Come to think of it, I never hear anyone refer to it as autumn. I never gave autumn a second thought, until now.
So, what led to the fall of autumn? Why did it leave?
I found a few explanations. They referenced things like “the falling of leaves” or “the falling of daylight.” But my favorite was the one that said, “It's the time of year when the Sun falls below the equator until spring.”
Can't you see it? The Sun slowly creeping away, dipping lower and lower into the sky, sneaking off to Australia for a warm summer.
The sinking Sun is perfect for my window prisms. It hits them straight on, like a line drive, scattering streaks of rainbows across my walls, my floors, my feet and even me.
Not counting my prisms, I had more rainbow sightings this year than in a long time. One of them was a double rainbow, my first ever.
But that was during the summer and now it's fall, the season of orange. Orange pumpkins, orange flowers and orange candy wrappers are popping up everywhere. Orange is supposedly one of the few words in the English language that doesn't rhyme with anything. Go ahead. Try it. I did. It's fun.
Also try purple and silver.
Autumn is a time to harvest, not that I have anything to harvest except a few leftover cherry tomatoes. But the idea of all that food and the cooler weather has my husband seeing soup. Visions of chunky soups and crusty breads are swirling around in his head.
And, he can do something about it, he cooks. I don't. But I love soup and crusty bread on a chilly autumn day.
Soon our meals will go from cool and breezy to warm and cozy. We'll trade in our summer garb for sweaters and jeans. Skies will appear bluer; clouds whiter and the trees will exchange their green for shades of orange, gold, and red. And it's all because of fall.
Or autumn.
Or harvest.
Whatever you choose to call it, don't fall short of enjoying this glorious season. After all, it is the calm before the holiday storm.
Karen Tomas is a resident of Fort Mill. E-mail her at brainflurries@aol.com.
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