Autumn is finally here... I think.

One of the fun things about living in Texas is that you never really know for sure what the weather will be like from one year to the next, or one month to the next, or even one DAY to the next. Summer is pretty simple -- it's hot. And, more often than not, sunny. Winter, spring and autumn are more difficult. In the winter months, for instance, it's not uncommon for me to wrap myself up in a bathrobe and slip out onto the porch for several seconds to gauge the temperature and humidity before deciding what to wear. (Will it be a wool sweater? Or perhaps a nice cotton t-shirt? Maybe something in-between?) And springtime, while usually on the warm side, brings with it the unpredictability of surprise thunderstorms. You can flip through every local station forecast, AND check the Weather Channel just to be on the safe side, and still not have an accurate prediction of what's to come. You might, in fact, decide to take a short nap on a perfectly clear, not-a-cloud-in-the-azure-blue-sky spring day, and soon wake up to the eerie, greenish glow of severe thunderstorm clouds (yes, I'm speaking from experience...). It only takes one tornado warning -- and one afternoon of huddling in the hallway surrounded by pillows and a comforter, which, you hope, will be an effective safety barrier against anything that might happen -- to make you realize that napping is overrated...

And autumn can be equally confusing. This year is a perfect example. Yesterday was September 28th, and the high temperature was 106. I did check my calendar, and autumn officially began on the 22nd. Autumn -- you know, colored leaves, crisp air, maybe a light scent of chimney smoke when the evenings start getting chilly -- autumn. 106 degrees. Autumn. 106 degrees. And as if that wasn't confusing enough, I woke up this morning to a cloudy sky and a reading on the thermometer of 68 degrees. Only I didn't realize it was 68 degrees until I'd already dressed for what I assumed would be another ridiculously unseasonable day. And when you step outside on a 68-degree day after getting used to the weeks of 100-degree-plus weather, it's a bit like being thrown onto the Alaskan tundra without a parka. Okay, I'm probably exaggerating... never actually been to the Alaskan tundra (oh, I've been to ALASKA -- just not the tundra... :)). My point is, that 38-degree difference is quite noticeable. That's not to say it isn't appreciated -- for someone who grew up in the northeast and got used to an obvious line of demarcation between seasons, any hint of a new season is welcome.

Of course, "season" might not be the right word. I wouldn't say Austin has an "autumn" exactly. At least not in the sense I'm used to. I remember when autumn meant groves of brightly-hued trees. Leaves that glowed golden in the sun, and eventually drifted gently -- one by one -- to the ground. Here, it's a different story. True, there is the occasional misplaced maple that valiantly attempts to add a splash of color to the scenery -- but they are few and far between. In fact, I hardly ever notice an obvious change of color in the native vegetation. Instead, some time in October or November, the leaves seem to stage some sort of photosynthesis mutiny and morph from green to brown overnight. This leads to an overwhelming number of trees dropping their leaves at exactly the same time -- if you head outdoors when the conditions are precisely right, you can hear a muffled "whoomp" as millions of Austinite leaves decide to end it all and fling themselves from their branches.

The unpredictability of weather -- not just Austin weather -- is part of what makes every place unique. I'm always amazed by the northerners who assume I live in a flat desert filled with tumbleweeds. It's actually quite green and hilly here, with plenty of lakes and rivers and nary a tumbleweed in sight. Conversely, I'm amazed by the southerners who assume New Jersey is an industrial wasteland buried by a foot of snow every winter. In reality, my home in New Jersey was like some sort of New England picture postcard, and there were years we didn't see so much as one flake of snow. You know the old saying, "don't judge a man until you've walked a mile in his shoes"? I think the same goes for places -- it's hard to make an assumption about a city or a state or a country if you've never been there. I've been fortunate enough to visit all fifty states in the U.S., and if there's one thing I've learned, it's that EVERY place has something to offer; every place has something beautiful and unique. Sometimes the beauty isn't as obvious, but it's always there. And while I haven't visited every country in the world, I'm betting that's just as true for every country as it is for every state.

So maybe Austin has substantial temperature differences from day to day, and autumn leaves that can't quite figure out how to be any color other than brown, and surprise thunderstorms, and snow about once every decade (yes, we DO get snow now and then...). But the weather --like the topography, and the culture, and even the people -- is part of the diversity that a lot of people love about this city. So I guess -- as long as I have an ample supply of sweaters and shorts, t-shirts and jackets, umbrellas and sunscreen, swimsuits and scarves, boots and flip flops -- I should be okay here. :)