Changing of the Seasons

I had the day off today thanks to my "normally" scheduled rotation and it was a day I have been anticipating for quite a while. Beside providing a chance to sleep in and get caught up on never-ending household chores, I knew a pretty significant change to the weather was going to take place. The first major cold front of the season was due to arrive.

Around 4 pm this afternoon the skies darkened, the wind started to swing around from the east to the north, a big gust came through blowing leaves through the street, and then the temperature started to fall. As in 20 degrees in 30 minutes. It was glorious! The air had that sweet clean smell of rain-washed goodness and there is an invigorating coolness that wakes one up just standing around.

Don't get me wrong, I will miss the warm weather of summer. I am a solar-powered person; I need sunshine to be in a good mood and it is hard to do that in the winter (at least here in the top o' Texas). There is also something about sitting in a chair outside in the summer with a cold glass of ice tea, smelling the scent of a freshly mowed lawn while cooling down, and soaking in the sun before going into the unnatural fluorescently lit office. Summer is also the season to drive with the top of the Jeep off and enjoy the outdoors while driving to work, church, small group, or home.

Winter brings it's own set of joys though. It NEVER ceases to amaze me that the air behind a cool front has made it all the way from the Pacific, or that the REALLY cold air made it all the way down here from the Arctic. The Pacific, Canadian, or Arctic cold front is an amazing creation that brings us an airmass from locations thousands of miles away. Cooler weather also brings out a deep blue in the sky that is typically only seen in the mountains at altitude. Don't forget the sweet smoky smell of oak, mesquite, cedar, or elm that floats through the air as people get the fire places fired up. I also enjoy whenever we see snowfall which was a rarity down in the Metromess (but only if I'm not working...forecasting snow around these parts is H A R D). Just as the grass turning green in the spring implies baseball is just around the corner, falling temperatures and cooler air means college football and NHL hockey is around the corner. And last but not least: Snow Skiing.

It might be a bit premature, but adios summer and hello fall.