Since I recently move to Arizona, I’m still learning the signs that signal the changing of seasons or even figuring out the actual seasons themselves. For instance, winter here means very cold nights but bright sunny days. This is a vast change from the moderate temperatures but gray and rainy skies of Washington state. Despite still being a novice Arizonan versus a native Arizonan, I have finally identified that fall is arriving.

The signs I’ve seen include:

  • The weather is getting cooler. I know this seems like a very obvious sign, but let’s be real, its Arizona, cool weather is subjective. Although to be fair we live up in the mountains and while our days are sunny, the nights are definitely starting to get cooler. I know this because I’ve actually started using a thin blanket at night, the bees are going into over-drive to gather food, and horses are starting to get fuzzy. I’ve begun pulling some of the less cold tolerant plants from the garden and processing these veggies as fast as I can.
  • I’m craving comfort food. This is a sure sign of fall and impending winter. Interestingly, my comfort foods range from a very traditional mashed potatoes and gravy to anything spicy and with curry. My current favorites are Curried Scotch Eggs and Pan-Fried Hard-Boiled Eggs. Yes, it’s a strange collection of comfort foods, but I never claimed my palate was normal.

Lastly, I find myself doing a lot of self-reflection. I know most people do this around the beginning of the new year, and set goals, or resolutions, to their progress, but I start thinking about it in the fall. The shorter days paired with occasional stormy weather – keeping me inside- get my wheels turning for what I want to accomplish next year and steps I need to accomplish to get there. Sometimes the list has a lot of items for self-improvement, or it might be more focused on improvements to the farm or business, or it may include bucket list items for places or experiences I want to visit in the next year. Sometimes I go completely wild and add a little bit of everything, because I never let reality intrude upon a good goal list.

How do you recognize the arrival of fall in your area?