Why autumn rocks & dogs in trucks are cool

Well, for one, autumn rocks because it has finally arrived! Yes, here in my little corner of the universe, it has been an unseasonably warm fall-- even by California standards. By this time the normal temperature is usually 67 degrees. We've been hovering ournd 80 degrees for weeks now.

Today it finally dropped down into the mid-low 70's and by tomorrow we should have a storm.

Why is this special to me, when the rest of the country is already bundled and bracing for winter? Well, when it's 107 for months at a time in summer, you tend to crave the cooling autumn days, crisp nights, and the general feelin of change in the air. Not to mention our air quality could use a good scouring wind.

So, with cooler temperatures just around the corner, I had a few perfect autumn moments today:

1. I ordered a HOT mocha today, instead of iced. Yeah! The return of hot beverages is afoot!

2. we crunched leaves. This is E's first autumn as a walking, almost taking, sensory aware being, and today she got her first taste of the joys of stomping through leaf piles and listening to that wonderful crunch.

3. The hawks are out. We always have a plentiful population of hawks and falcons around here, but lately, they've been really active.

In addition to a perfect start to autums, I also got a nice grin today while driving to "town". I passed an older gentleman coming in the opposite direction, driving with his absolutely enourmous hound dog sittin' bitch. He/she was the biggest, most droopy eyed, floppy lipped. dog I've seen in a long time. He/she sat taller that his/her owner driving. And they both looked utterly content.

How could one not smile at that? Kinda of like "Travels with Charlie" for country folk (cause that is what we are up here!)