Fall State of Mind

While some say that it is hard to capture the essence of autumn, I beg to differ! Just the mention of these words puts me into a fall state of mind. Fresh apples, roasted chestnuts, crisp air, cool evenings, juicy cranberries, cozy bonfires, football games, colorful leaves, holiday feasts, carved pumpkins, thick sweaters, wool socks, and scary spiders! I always welcome this season with open arms, but this year more than ever.

From my journal: August 16, 2026, Newbury Park, California

“…will it ever end? Relentless heat, humidity…fall, hurry up and get here!”

In celebration of this season knocking on our door, I’m sharing some thoughts on this special time of year. From the poet Stanley Horowitz. this one may be my favorite. He wrote: “Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting, and autumn is a mosaic of them all.”  I couldn’t agree more. Enjoy!

“There is something incredibly nostalgic and significant about the annual cascade of autumn leaves.” – Joe L. Wheeler, American author

“As long as autumn lasts, I shall not have hands, canvas and colors enough to paint the beautiful things I see.” – Vincent van Gogh, Dutch painter

“Autumn leaves don’t fall, they fly. They take their time and wander on this their only chance to soar.” – Delia Owens, American author and zoologist

“And the sun took a step back, the leaves lulled themselves to sleep and autumn was awakened.” – Raquel Franco, poet and author

I cannot endure to waste anything so precious as autumnal sunshine by staying in the house.” – Nathaniel Hawthorne, American novelist

“Love the trees until their leaves fall off, then encourage them to try again next year.” – Chad Sugg, musician and writer

“Even if something is left undone, everyone must take time to sit still and watch the leaves turn.” – Elizabeth Lawrence, American actress

“And all at once, summer collapsed into fall.” – Oscar Wilde, Irish author and poet

“There is a subtle magic in the falling of old leaves.” – Avijeet Das, poet and writer

“The leaves are changing; I feel poetry in the air.” – Laura Jaworski, author and artist

“The heart of autumn must have broken here, and poured its treasure upon the leaves.” – Charlotte Bates, American writer

“Anyone who thinks fallen leaves are dead has never watched them dancing on a windy day.” – Shira Tamir, writer

“I hope I can be the autumn leaf, who looked at the sky and lived. And when it was time to leave, gracefully it knew life was a gift.” – Dodinsky, author

“If a year was tucked inside of a clock, then autumn would be the magic hour.” – Victoria Erickson, poet, author, and teacher

“Autumn lingered on as if fond of its own perfection.” – Winston Graham, English novelist

“Is not this a true autumn day? Just the still melancholy that I love — that makes life and nature harmonize.” – George Eliot, English novelist and poet

“I notice that Autumn is more the season of the soul than of nature.” – Friedrich Nietzsche, philosopher

“And all the lives we ever lived and all the lives to be are full of trees and changing leaves.” – Virginia Woolf, English writer

“Falling in love with October, leaves descending to the ground, orange, magenta, green and brown. The cool, crisp breezes in the air—autumn season must be here.” – Charmaine J. Forde, Barbadian poet and author

“Another fall, another turned page.” – Wallace Stegner, American novelist and writer

“Of all the seasons, autumn offers the most to man and requires the least of him.” – Hal Borland, American writer and journalist

“I can smell autumn dancing in the breeze. The sweet chill of pumpkin, and crisp sunburnt leaves.” – Ann Drake, author

“I loved autumn, the one season of the year that God seemed to have put there just for the beauty of it.” – Lee Maynard, American novelist

I’ll be thinking of this quote next Tuesday, the first day of this new season. Spoken by the beloved A.A. Milne fictional character, Winnie the Pooh, he says, “It’s the first day of autumn! A time of hot chocolatey mornings, and toasty marshmallow evenings, and, best of all, leaping into leaves!” So heartwarming, so delightful, so fun.