Fall Fabuliciousness

Yes, I just coined my own new English word!  Because you see, I have been utterly swept away by fall this year.  I don’t know why my senses were somehow lit on fire.  I know it’s already almost time for Christmas season, and I do already have my tree up and lit for the holidays.  But, I’m finding it just a little bit hard to let myself get fully engaged with the winter season.  Maybe it’s because southern California is always on its own time.  I remember when I first moved here being shocked by the bright yellow fall leaves on the tree behind my apartment after the Rose Parade on January 1st.

So this year is no different!  It’s November 26th, and the leaves are just now in full form.  It’s heavenly.  This autumn, I have allowed myself to just take in the sights, smells, and colors of fall…creamy pumpkin ice-cream from Trader Joe’s, bright orange pumpkins collected from a real pumpkin patch sitting on my front porch, and deep red leaves dried and scattered across my dining room table.  I have taken in the scent of autumn air on sunny afternoon walks, which is somehow made richer by the warm, dry heat of Pasadena.

I went to a fall festival in Temecula, complete with a tractor pull, pumpkin catapult, and mind-boggling corn maze.  I even drove around my neighborhood just to take in all the fall decorations that people donned their houses with.  I suppose in an effort to say goodbye to summer and embrace the new season, I fell into it full-fledged.  And today, though Christmas lights twinkle at the malls and people have started to drape lights across their front porches, I took one more glorious fall walk around the neighborhoods.  It was a bright Saturday afternoon with perfect 70 degree weather, & I took my camera along–good thing!

Like a kid, I walked through the leaves just because.

(those are just really baggy pants...)

I took lots of pictures of trees, which formed yellow blankets on the ground.

Something that really stands out to me is the contrast of fall colors with the waving palm trees–not something you see everyday!

But even the bare simplicity of a hidden alleyway captured my interest!

So, here’s my one last farewell to the sumptuousness of fall.  The pure fabuliciousness of it all.  Even though it’s just over two weeks until I embark a plane to a bare-treed winter wonderland in my hometown for Christmas, I can still live in the ever-present bliss that winter will not come for some of us!  Maybe the seasons are confused here, but that’s alright with me.  Here’s to ignorant bliss!

From Pasadena with love...