Topic: Fall = The Best Season... Who agrees?

[David]

Not only is it the season of my birthday, but well.. nothing is better than the fall season in a climate like Ohio's. The weather puts you in a calm mood; it's cold enough to wear a light jacket but you don't have to really go out of your way to bundle up; the city looks the best that it will all year with the leaves falling; then there's halloween. Who agrees?

[MyTwoSense]

naaaaa.  Spring is the best time of the year!

It's just an absolutely lovely time of the year.

The drab colors of winter are disappearing; People are coming out their shells;   rebirth is everywhere and love is in the air.

Spring is the shiznit. 

[David]

People are coming out their shells;   rebirth is everywhere and love is in the air.

Spring is the shiznit. 

Fall is the complete opposite of this but for some reason i prefer it.

[Keith]

I'm the first to vote for Winter? Wow, I can't imagine a better way to spend a day than curled up with my wife under a blanket on the couch with some hot chocolate. I just might open a window for a few minutes and try that this evening. 

[327]

Fall is best, especially October.

[ink]

Fall is my least favorite season, certainly.

[GCrites80s]

Love fall. Sping is great on paper, but in Ohio a lot of the time it doesn't turn out like it should.

[Hootenany]

I agree!  I love Fall!  The crisp air, the colors, FOOTBALL, sunny yet cool afternoons.  Spring is too wet, muddy and unpredictable.  Summer is too hot.  Winter is too cold and windy.  Fall is justtttt right. 

[rockandroller]

I can't believe I'm the only one that voted for summer.  For me, nothing else compares.  Fall is 2nd, but it's distant.  spring is even further down.  And winter, don't get me started.  I hate winter with the heat of 1000 burning suns.

[Robert Pence]

I tried to vote for all of them, but could only pick one.

I'd rather be alive in any season, than dead, but if I have to choose just one, I'll take spring. The snow is gone and I don't have to shovel it, the grass doesn't yet need regular mowing, and the leaves don't need raking. The finches battling over the thistle seed in the feeder hanging from my garage are transitioning from their hues of brown to flashy bright yellow.

In early spring we get floods in my neighborhood, but there's nothing I can do about those so I just stay out of the way and take pictures.

Spring is a rebirth; life is flowing into everything all around, the leaves on the trees are a fresh, vibrant green, and even the thunderstorms are beautiful in a sometimes-scary way, provided they don't get too carried away.

Summer nights are next thing to paradise, warm and balmy and marvelous for strolling the neighborhood. A late-summer day when it's not too hot, is bliss.

Fall is sunny days and crisp nights and the aroma of apples fresh from the orchard, and cookouts and bonfires with live local-talent music.

Winter - well, let me think about that a minute.
OK. I got it. An icy-cold Sunday morning in January, after an overnight snow, with no wind and a crystal-clear, bright-blue sky. Before the going-to-church traffic starts, with almost no ambient sound except the snow squeaking under my boots. A flutter of brilliant red as a cardinal descends to my snow-covered patio to raid the feast I scattered there minutes before.

Trying to forget February and March and focus on April and May. April and May. April and May ...

[mrnyc]

naw. i'm the same. count me in for summer too. and yes fall is a distant number two.

don't get me wrong i like stuff in the other seasons, like i still love to go tobagganing at the chalet when i can come home for a visit in the winter, and i like the spring cherry blossom festival here in brooklyn (or in dc), but those are isolated events. they're just not enough to carry whole the winter/spring seasons for me.

summer is always warm and wide open, plus i'm off work then.

[MayDay]

I enjoy parts of every season - I just wish they each lasted three months! (meteorologically speaking)

[Keith]

I enjoy parts of every season - I just wish they each lasted three months! (meteorologically speaking)

Even as a lover of our beautiful winters, I'll second that. I truely love our winters, but I swear that f'ing groundhog is going out of his way to find his shaddow every year.

[MayDay]

^I'd be fine if winter (no days over 40 degrees and not much sunshine) actually lasted from Nov. 1st to Jan. 31st but nooo, it's gotta linger as long possible some years. Then spring pops up within a week and before you know it, it's tank-top time!

[Robert Pence]

Even as a lover of our beautiful winters, I'll second that. I truely love our winters, but I swear that f'ing groundhog is going out of his way to find his shaddow every year.

All the TV lights guarantee that he'll see his shadow. Once again, the liberal media are screwing up Amurika!

[ColDayMan]

Fall is definately for me (I hate Spring due to allergies).

[JoeL]

I'm from Florida originally. Our only two seasons are Summer and Christmas. Basically, we would get quasi-fall weather around the holidays, and never any winter. Some leaves would change, but it was sporadic, and lots of broad leafed trees never dropped at all.

Consequently, I really like the fall up here. It's nice and refreshing.

However, I hate winter with every fiber of my being. I don't understand how the hell you people handle it up here.

[Robert Pence]

I deal with it by forcing myself to stay and suffer, and resisting the temptation to go someplace nice. If I ever went south during winter, I'd probably want to do it every year.

I just concentrate on how nice winter is here, compared with Minnesota.

[MayDay]

"I don't understand how the hell you people handle it up here."

[mrnyc]

^ ok, so when are they gonna come up with scientological porter, buddha's delight, eid ale and hebrew hops?

what you say, don't hold my breath? 

[MayDay]

No - do hold your breath. For as loooooong as you possibly can

[MyTwoSense]

I deal with it by forcing myself to stay and suffer, and resisting the temptation to go someplace nice. If I ever went south during winter, I'd probably want to do it every year.

I just concentrate on how nice winter is here, compared with Minnesota.

Yep, honey...you sure would.  Sometimes you just need to get away from the snow and freezing temps.

I'm from Florida originally. Our only two seasons are Summer and Christmas.

LMAO!!

I don't understand how the hell you people handle it up here.

We're tough!

[MayDay]

Oh, I forgot - yes, it is nice to get away from the cold and gray skies... it was difficult on Christmas Day, not being able to enjoy a Christmas Ale but I had to make do...

[Keith M.]

Fall and spring have cold rain. Nothing worse than that. I´d prefer snow instead, but I´d rather be too hot anyday than to cold. So far, there´s been little rain, so this fall has certainly been enjoyable and there is something about the ambiance I can´t put my finger on.

[C-Dawg]

Not only is it the season of my birthday, but well.. nothing is better than the fall season in a climate like Ohio's. The weather puts you in a calm mood; it's cold enough to wear a light jacket but you don't have to really go out of your way to bundle up; the city looks the best that it will all year with the leaves falling; then there's halloween. Who agrees?

I agree 100%. Halloween is by far my favorite holiday (probably due to going to OU). In fact, it's one of the only holidays that doesn't depress the hell out of me. I hate Christmas (repressed memories of Catholic school), I hate Thanksgiving (it always overshadows my birthday), I hate Easter (repressed memories of Catholic school), I hate New Year's (no girlfriend), I really hate Valentine's Day (no girlfriend), and I'm not usually a fan of 4th of July (a little too trashy). Halloween beats them all. And I also just loved starting Fall Quarters at OU. It was so damn exciting because there was just this "buzz" inside everyone that couldn't be kept quiet. Everyone was thrilled to be back in the friendly confines of Athens with the full student body. That's what I'll miss most about school- the start of Fall Quarter.

Photographically, fall has huge advantages over the other seasons. Humidity is low meaning less haze. Rainfall is usually scant, meaning cleaner water up here on the Maumee River and Lake Erie (it really looks gorgeous right now), and also lower water, which exposes bedrock and offers you opportunities to cross over to places you couldn't reach in other seasons. Then there's the smell of the season. Nothing smells better than fall in my book, not even spring.

And of course, the COLOR! While Ohio is not really comparable to say, northern Michigan, Vermont, or Maine (probably the most beautiful places on earth during fall peak), it still has beauty. Some northern varieties of trees do grow here and turn brilliant colors. I would miss the fall colors if I lived down south. For me, fall would be the hardest season to give up, but I guess having no winter would outweigh that. I really hate winter with a passion, but I think it's mainly because I'm badly asthmatic and can't do much outdoors. If they invented a healthy asthma cure, I wouldn't mind winter nearly as much. Snow is beautiful, though not as exciting once you're out of school. Nothing on earth can beat the feeling of getting up in the morning as a kid to see your school has closed! Back in the day, winter had its perks. As an adult, it sucks.

So fall first, winter last. I liked Spring Quarter a ton when I was at college due to all the parties, but it won't be the same anymore. Still, there is something to be said for that feeling of coming out of winter...if only you didn't get a blizzard three weeks later! On the Great Lakes, springs are pretty sh!tty weather wise. It's unpredictable as all hell (moreso than in the other seasons) and there's just a ton of rain, and sometimes even snow. The springs I experienced in Athens were not like the springs I had in Toledo. Athens actually did have a nice spring with more moderate weather, and far fewer temperature extermes. In Toledo, it's not uncommon in April to be 80 degrees with total sunshine one day, and then 40 degrees the next day with snow and rain. It all depends on how the wind is blowing (thankfully the western sides of the lakes are better than the eastern), and this creates some incredible extremes. If you live on the Great Lakes, don't ever trust the weather in spring. Spring was the only season where I noticed a significant difference in weather between Toledo and Athens. The Great Lakes have a way of slowing down the warmup of spring and throwing it into a complete temper tantrum. But at the same time, the lakes do keep the nights a little warmer in the fall, and extend the growing season. I guess you take the good with the bad.

Still, if you've ever experienced a spring in Toledo (and surely Sandusky and Cleveland too), you'd understand it's a very overrated season. It ain't all sunshine and rainbows...

Sping is great on paper, but in Ohio a lot of the time it doesn't turn out like it should.

And that goes double on the Great Lakes. The Great Lakes are probably the worst springs in America, if only because it's so unpredictable and such a backstabber. April 1st: "Yay, winter's finally gone!" April 2nd: "Level 3 snow emergency. Bridge collapses, school bus crashes killing all children inside."

I just concentrate on how nice winter is here, compared with Minnesota.

Yeah, that's basically what I've always told myself. Ohio is bad, but it could be much worse.

[kingfish out of water]

I like 'em all, but Thanksgiving is completely my favorite holiday, so maybe the nod goes to Fall.

[Jeffrey]

Merry Autumn

It's all a farce,—these tales they tell
About the breezes sighing,
And moans astir o'er field and dell,
Because the year is dying.

Such principles are most absurd,—
I care not who first taught 'em;
There's nothing known to beast or bird
To make a solemn autumn.

In solemn times, when grief holds sway
With countenance distressing,
You'll note the more of black and gray
Will then be used in dressing.

Now purple tints are all around;
The sky is blue and mellow;
And e'en the grasses turn the ground
From modest green to yellow.

The seed burs all with laughter crack
On featherweed and jimson;
And leaves that should be dressed in black
Are all decked out in crimson.

A butterfly goes winging by;
A singing bird comes after;
And Nature, all from earth to sky,
Is bubbling o'er with laughter.

The ripples wimple on the rills,
Like sparkling little lasses;
The sunlight runs along the hills,
And laughs among the grasses.

The earth is just so full of fun
It really can't contain it;
And streams of mirth so freely run
The heavens seem to rain it.

Don't talk to me of solemn days
In autumn's time of splendor,
Because the sun shows fewer rays,
And these grow slant and slender.

Why, it's the climax of the year,—
The highest time of living!—
Till naturally its bursting cheer
Just melts into thanksgiving.

--- Paul Laurence Dunbar

[UrbanSurfin]

I deal with it by forcing myself to stay and suffer, and resisting the temptation to go someplace nice. If I ever went south during winter, I'd probably want to do it every year.

I just concentrate on how nice winter is here, compared with Minnesota.

I lived a couple of years in Minnesota and like the winters there more than winters in Ohio. In Minnesota, it gets cold and stays cold; there's snow on the ground and it stays there. You know its going to be cold and snowy and you get used to it because there are things to do: outdoor ice skating, cross-country skiing, etc. And Minnesota has more of the days you talk about: brilliant blue cloudless skies contrasting with beautiful, fresh-fallen snow crunching beneath your feet. The main problem with Minnesota winter is it lasts too long.

In Ohio, winter goes back and forth, in and out -- teasing you with an unseasonably warm, sunny day and then slapping you in the face with sleet and slush. Winter in Ohio is six months of March.

[jpop]

And winter, don't get me started.  I hate winter with the heat of 1000 burning suns.

That literally made me laugh out loud.

I dunno if I really have a favorite. But if someone put a gun to my face and said "Pick a season, only ONE season, or DIIIIIEEE!" I think I'd go with summer, too. I just really love sunshine and going to the beach/park. Winter is by far my least favorite, although I kinda enjoy it up until about right after New Year's. Pretty much immediately afterwards, I'm very much over it and ready for spring.

[AJ93]

But if someone put a gun to my face and said "Pick a season, only ONE season, or DIIIIIEEE!" I think I'd go with summer, too.

See, I'm different. I'd probably lose my composure and start screaming "Saffron! OK?? Saffron..please don't kill me"

Then I'd soil my dainties.

For the record, I dig the fall too. I enjoy winter, and fall is just a pleasant lead up to it. Plus, I love pumpkin / squash flavored foods. I like the cooler weather. I'm a big guy, and I don't do well in the heat. I'd much rather it be 40 degrees than 90.

[shs96]

Love fall. Sping is great on paper, but in Ohio a lot of the time it doesn't turn out like it should.

This is why spring is my least favorite season.  You're ready for winter to be over, but inevitably it is still snowing in late March or early April.  Then it's beautiful out one day but crappy for another week.  I was shocked when the weather was nice this past Memorial Day for the first time in years.

So while I love summer, I feel like it signifies the end of something whereas fall reflects the start of something.  Perhaps this is a school oriented thing as opposed to a nature oriented thing.

[rockandroller]

Love fall. Sping is great on paper, but in Ohio a lot of the time it doesn't turn out like it should.

So while I love summer, I feel like it signifies the end of something whereas fall reflects the start of something.  Perhaps this is a school oriented thing as opposed to a nature oriented thing.

That's funny, that's how I feel about fall vs. summer.  I like fall but to me everything looks like death because everything is dying and falling off the trees, plants are shivering up and everything stops growing.  It quickly becomes too cold to even be outside and be comfortable unless you're majorly bundled up.  Just feels like the impending doom of winter moving in to me.

Joni's "Urge For Going" sums up my feelings exactly.
I awoke today and found the frost perched on the town
It hovered in a frozen sky, then it gobbled summer down
When the sun turns traitor cold
and all the trees are shivering in a naked row
I get the urge for going but I never seem to go

I get the urge for going
When the meadow grass is turning brown
Summertime is falling down and winter is closing in

I had me a man in summertime
He had summer-colored skin
And not another girl in town
My darling's heart could win
But when the leaves fell on the ground, and
Bully winds came around, pushed them face down in the snow
He got the urge for going
And I had to let him go

He got the urge for going
When the meadow grass was turning brown
Summertime was falling down and winter was closing in

Now the warriors of winter they gave a cold triumphant shout
And all that stays is dying, all that lives is getting out
See the geese in chevron flight flapping and a-racing on before the snow
They've got the urge for going, and they've got the wings so they can go

They get the urge for going
When the meadow grass is turning brown
Summertime is falling down and winter is closing in

I'll ply the fire with kindling now, I'll pull the blankets up to my chin
I'll lock the vagrant winter out and bolt my wandering in
I'd like to call back summertime and have her stay for just another month or so
But she's got the urge for going and I guess she'll have to go

She gets the urge for going when the meadow grass is turning brown
And all her empire's falling down

[AJ93]

^Man, I love me some Joni Mitchell. First time I ever heard her (with Jaco Pastorious, no less) it was like seeing color for the first time after a lifetime of seeing in black and white.

[UncleRando]

I LOVE Fall.  Coincidentally my birthday also comes in Fall, and I always ask for Pumpkin Pie instead of a normal birthday cake.  Why you ask, well Thanksgiving is amazing and is my favorite holiday...also in the Fall.  The leaves change, you can leave your windows open at night and get that crisp feeling in your bedsheets.  Oh what a wonderful time of the year.

[3231]

^but i heard you hate fall in Cleveland


Is it me or have the last two falls been the best in recent memory? We've had perfect weather since mid to late August up here.

i spent about one year in the Dominican Republic and I detested the weather after a while. I really got sick of the same weather, day after day after day.