It’s finally fall in Texas

Texas summers can feel interminable; that’s because they are. Depending on the year, it is not unusual that they begin in April and continue until Halloween. That leaves five months of other.

Fingers crossed, I think we have mercifully reached that climatic stage.

My plea for relief from heat is because at heart I love the four seasons and cold; the colder the better. There is nothing more invigorating than bundling up – scarf flailing under my wooly hat in the howling wind and driving snow – trudging to the wood pile. Returning with two arms full of seasoned cordwood I’d crank up the wood stove. Once that cast iron got its heat,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,ah!

Not having that caveman existence is the one and only trade-off I make to live in the great State of Texas.

That doesn’t mean I can’t long for our annual version of other than summer.

What sets it off is the first cool, blustering wind from the north. Today’s forecast predicts it, in fact I can hear it squealing through the large north-facing glass doors as I write. Rain is mixing in, making for a flashback kind of day.

Although the temperatures will initially only drop into the low sixties, that’s good enough for a long-sleeve shirt and a lot of imagination.

It would be even better if I had that pot-bellied stove I’ve been eyeing for years.