Guest Post:What Autumn Looks Like

Hey, there!  You will soon realize that the author of this post is
not your usual Sweet Adeleine. Just for a change, Adeleine asked me to make a guest post today.

Change seems to be in the air...as of a couple days ago the season changed from summer to autumn.  And depending on where you are on this planet, the weather outside your window is also changing.  But the question today is: what does autumn look like where you are?  Having lived for a good portion of my life in the southeast, I know autumn there means dogwoods changing to vibrant red and maples turning golden yellow. And I would never leave out piles of leaves raked up as those beautiful colors diminish to brown and fill the front yard.  Besides the leaves turning colors, there were cool temperatures at night and the smell of fireplaces burning.

But this picture of autumn is not the same autumn that I see here where I live now.  As I sit here typing the current temperature outside (at about 5pm) is 98º F and the feels like temp is 104º F.  But the calendar assures me that the fall equinox has passed and it is indeed autumn.  And that's ok.  I love it!  Autumn is different here than back east and that is great in my mind because I know God made our world this way.  Creation's variety is wonderful!

Despite the warm temperature today, autumn outside my window is actually different from our summer here.  There are some changes--just not colored leaves and cool evenings.  For one thing, there are the butterflies.  In the autumn, we get clouds and clouds of butterflies!  They are overwhelmingly abundant and beautiful as they pass through our area.  Another fun autumn diversion is the return of the birds.  Now, we do have birds in the summer....just not as many and not as great a variety.  Autumn brings green jays, red-winged black birds, orioles, Mexican green parrots, blue jays, cardinals, kiskadees, hummingbirds and more!  With the birds comes the chatter outside and flashes of color zipping from tree to tree---only these colors aren't changing leaves!  ;)

These are kiskadees. Click image to enlarge.

The temperatures here do change a bit in autumn.  In fact, this coming week we are expecting cold front to bring much needed rain and highs of only the lower 80's! But we are grateful for the rain and enjoy a change (even for a week at a time) in the hundred-degree temperatures.  With the autumn rain, we get flowers.  The grass changes from yellow to green and the citrus trees perk up their leaves a bit.  And like I said, blossoms abound!  

This is autumn, more or less, outside my window.  I love that our world is so different from place to place.  Take a minute to comment on what autumn looks like outside your window!  Thanks, Melissa