Autumn Aria

We are finally starting to get some autumn weather here. That is both a blessing, and a curse, depending on the time of day and what I'm trying to get done.
I have always loved the fall colours. When other kids complained about having to go back to school, I was too busy looking out of the bus windows at the trees. I could almost hear the leaves crunching under my feet as I went by particularly large stands of maples. Show me a kid that doesn't like to jump into a pile of freshly raked leaves, go on, show me.
I also rather liked going to school. Living out in the boonies, it meant access to a lot of things I had to do without over the summer. A decent library for example. My parents didn't have the time to drive me to the library as a kid, so I had to read the books that I had over and over. With the start of the school year, I could read a new book every two or three days if I chose.
I still like the crisp sound of leaves underfoot. A brisk breeze on a sunny day puts a smile on my face. When the fancy takes me, I'll put on a sweater and go for a stroll and look at the colours. The smell of a wood stove is like heaven to me. There are a number of people in my neighbourhood that use wood stoves to heat on cool evenings. It's a very romantic smell, in my opinion.
The downside of the fall weather is the positive chill at night. The heaters have to come on, and that means a dusty smell for the first while, because you can never vacuum all of the dust out of an electric baseboard heater. It's an added problem this year, since the unit in my wife's bedroom is not working. We are still waiting on the electrician to come and figure out what is wrong with the wiring.
Another problem is that we are getting more rain, and taking out the garbage becomes a pain. For the sake of ten minutes to dump a small bag of trash in the bin and do a check around the building (more on that another time), you get soaked, or at the very least, wet socks.
The weather can't quite seem to make up its mind either. It rains for fifteen minutes, clears up and then rains again. The unexpected showers are a real pain. You can't plan anything outdoors.
All things considered though, I think I'll just put on a sweater, pull up the quilts, and enjoy the season.