Arizona in Autumn (Part 1)

It's 10:00 p.m. and 98 degrees!  Welcome to autumn in Arizona.  While most of the country is unpacking their sweatshirts and warming up the cider, we're thrilled the high temperature next week might be as low as 86 degrees.  We're thinking about putting away the flip flops while other folks are getting out the boots.  Don't get me wrong - I'm really not gloating.  Yes, we are on the verge of the best time of year in Phoenix, but I definitely miss some aspects of autumn.  We have no fall foliage, just the same color scheme we have all year - sandy browns and verde greens.  I would include a photo, but you wouldn't be able to tell the difference between autumn, summer, winter or spring.  Having said that, I did take this picture tonight at sunset (see the moon on the left?)

While I may be a little wistful about autumn in colder climates, I do love some aspects about fall in the desert.  In many ways it's like spring in other places.  We buy lots of flowers to plant, cut back the heat whipped roses so they can bloom on Thanksgiving and reseed our lawns to have a different kind of grass for the winter.  We do eventually break out the sweatshirts and jeans.  In fact, we are so excited about wearing "winter" clothes that we put them on when the weather is in the 60s.

By now many of you are cursing me and thinking this entire post is a joke.  Not true.  I love autumn, whether it's in Arizona or the Midwest.  I love them for different reasons.  Right now I'm looking forward to cooler temperatures and planting flowers.  I'm looking forward to taking my dog for a walk during daylight hours.

Stay tuned - autumn's just getting started.

cindy