the best fall we can remember?

midwesterners, i think we can all agree that this has been an insanely glorious fall season, right? for those of you not in the midwest, all i can say is... oh man, you're missing it, and i'm sorry. the chilly mornings, the warm afternoons, the trees exploding with color but holding tight to their leaves, the dry days for playing, the pumpkins and apples and squashes just pouring off the vines and trees. the sweet feeling of holding on tight to these last few days of autumn, the feeling of almost nostalgia, almost regret at the passing of the long sunny days; these feeling tie us all together, make us collectively hold our breath in the beautiful fall, then together we will exhale with the first snowflake.

sometimes fall passes in the blink of an eye, or was too cold, or too snowy too early. this fall has lingered and lasted, and david told me it's because the summer was rainy and the autumn has been warm. that means that the leaves are moist, so when they age and change color they aren't just dry and falling off the trees in the wind and rain. and he's got a PhD in the sciences so i believe him. (i'm also way too lazy and sleepy to fact check every fact he throws my way. he has a lot of facts, you guys. it can be hard to keep up.)

the staple family has been reveling in the autumn, basking in her glory. oh, my favorite of the seasons. happy fall!

apple picking

hayrides

leaves! trees of multiple colors! trees all over this pretty city

little monkeys at the water pump on picnic point

pumpkin gutting, pumpkin designing

cool dude, fox shirt, yellow leaf glow.

high flying leaf pile jumping