Leaf Fall. Chubbuck, Idaho.

Today, twelve days after the official start of Autumn,  the trees in my yard started dropping their leaves. The family across the street has a tree that starts dropping it’s leaves before Fall officially begins. His front yard now has a nice thick carpet of leaves, and his tree still has plenty to drop.

The other day I was talking with someone who expressed concern over the start of Fall. They believe we’re still in Summer. They miss the Fall colors of Virginia. But, when I tried to explain that Fall has begun they didn’t believe me. I explained the Equinoxes and Solstices, but no, it couldn’t have anything to do with the alignment of our solar system.

Now, Sunday, October 3rd, the day a cold front was going to come in, and yet again it hasn’t and it’s warmer than usual. For weeks our local weather forecasters have been predicting a cold front from Canada, yet week after week that prediction is blown away by hot air from California. That’s climate change for you, but, it hasn’t stopped the trees from dropping their leaves.

Don’t blame climate change, did you know the reason for the Autumn leaf fall is because of less sunshine, not temperature changes?  And the further north you go in latitude, the greater the difference in available light (compare Southern California to Idaho).

Fall began officially/astronomically on September 21st. How about Halloween? Maybe the person I was talking with wasn’t wrong? Some historians say Halloween was the ancient Celtic celebration of the end of Summer and beginning of Fall. It’s also interesting that Halloween is almost the half way point of the official Fall season.

Alien the Cat, Ready for Halloween.

Traditionally, here in South East Idaho, Halloween is the beginning of our really cold weather. Funny watching trick or treaters in their costumes, bundled up so much you can’t really see their costumes. Some people feel Halloween is a sign that Winter has begun. Others think Thanksgiving marks the beginning of Winter. The official start of Winter is the Winter Solstice, which is December 21st.

Is there really an ‘official’ start and end to the seasons? Should we go by the alignment of the Earth in relation to the Sun? Should we go by noticeable and lasting changes in the weather at different times of the year? Does it depend on where you are on the planet? Is it worth the argument? I’m just glad to live in a place where there are noticeable changes to the seasons. Have a Happy Happy!