Fall is in so many ways one of the most beautiful seasons of the year.  The leaves in these mountains are breathtaking in their colors and draw so many people to these winding roads each time they put on their show.  I have struggled to find time lately to get out and take them in.

There is nothing quite like the smell of leaves on the ground, falling through crisp or moist air–they always share a musty odor of their own.  Remember raking leaves as a child?  I do!  I remember the blisters and heaviness if they were wet.  But it they were dry, they piled so high with ease–and then–we would run back from the piles as far as our childhood excitement would let us and just as quickly run right back toward them and jump ….!  Landing in them and hearing the crackling and feeling that special wonder at just how much fun a bunch of old dead leaves could be–there are few things that come close to that joy!

I found my grown up self missing those days.  And of course I did walk on the trail covered with leaves and gave myself permission to just lay right down on them and take a deep breath in and laughed at the thought of someone I know finding out that I had done such a childish thing.  It has to be one of the gifts of being here, out away from a crowded city or town that I can give myself permission to do crazy childlike things and I love it!

I found myself wondering how and why we call this season fall?  Remember the word Autumn?  Where did that go?  Have you heard or used it lately?  And so I began to do some research and found these few facts.

The original word for this season was Harvest, and aptly so, as this is the time of year we harvest most of our crops to feed the livestock through the winter.  This actually dates back to the 1600s.  Later, as more people began to move to the cities or towns, they began to refer to the season as the “fall of the leaf” (http://blog.dictionary.com/fall/).  As time passed, it was shortened to the simpler fall.

Autumn is a term that denotes an equinox according to the Farmer’s Almanac and others, but aside from its use in poetry and Shakespeare, the origins of the word Autumn are uncertain.  Here in this country, Fall is used and in Great Britain, Autumn is used–both to describe a fantastic time of year. 

I took some photos and a video to share with you here.  I hope you will enjoy them as much as I have!