What Autumn is Supposed to Look Like, 2009

Apparently it was a rainy autumn in 2009!

Normally I love gray, rainy days because they are so good for concentration.

This time of the year, however, my house is very dark with very little natural direct sunshine, even on the sunniest days; my house is on the north side of a steep hill, most of my windows are on the west and north, and the sun’s angle has finally fallen down below the tree tops around me most days because my neighbor’s trees have grown so tall. The trees are still full of green leaves, and though they are thinning they block the sunlight just for these few weeks in October and I won’t see any direct sunlight in my house until they fall.

Therefore, when we have not only five cloudy days, but five dark, rainy, blustery days in a row when my house is already dark, I’m looking for reasons to get out of here, very unusual, for me and in the least turning on all the lights in the middle of the day.

Under the blanket of autumn rain and mist, I can see the hillsides blazing with color. The cold front will pass soon, and I’m hoping that enough leaves will be left to enjoy at least one afternoon bike ride among the colors. I’m featuring a few photos from the past few years, taken around this time of October when snow was not in the forecast.