I’ll take fall in Minnesota, thank you ~ September 26, 2002

David Heiller

I saw a cousin this summer that I hadn’t seen in many years. She is a couple years younger than me, yet she is already retired after a successful career in the military.

Early Autumn 2004 at the Spillway on the Mississippi, 
in Houston County, Minnesota

To top this off, she lives in Hawaii.

We got to talking about the weather there. No bugs, lots of sunshine, temperatures almost always in the 70s and 80s. Paradise, in other words.

I told her that I could never live in Hawaii.

Claire and me in Wright County
 in the fall of 2002. 
I like the oak leaf ears.

She looked a bit surprised at that. I explained that I enjoy the changing of the seasons too much, and what it brings out in me. That’s a hard thing to describe on a muggy summer night when Hawaii did seem like paradise. I don’t think Barb understood.

In fact, it’s hard to describe any time. It’s more something you feel, and it^’s happening right now. Chances are you know what I’m talking about.

Leaves are coming down in earnest. Their colors mix with the dwindling sunlight to give hue to the air that you can’t find at any other time of year. They bring on that crisp scent of autumn that you don’t experience any other time, an aroma of dried leaves and football games and shotgun shells.

The days cool down fast. The evenings are chilly. The weatherman talks about frost, but you don’t need a weatherman to know that.

You get out to the garden, make sure everything that is vulnerable to frost gets picked or covered. The house fills up with buckets and bowls of onions and tomatoes. The fridge bulge with peppers and cucumbers.

Hillside Road, Houston County Minnesota

You start looking at the old home-place with an eye toward cold weather. What needs to be done? Paint, caulk. Fix a broken step. A lot of little chores, and maybe some big ones.

But the funny thing is you don’t mind doing, them. Split wood? Clean up the greenhouse? Organize the workbench? No problem. The changing season puts a spring in your step. That’s because something new is just around, the corner.

No doubt, Morocco is beautiful. 
David's heart was always in Minnesota

We like change, and we like to suffer a bit, too. Monday was as dreary; cold, and rainy a day as you could ask for, and a co-worker exclaimed out of the blue, “I love this weather!” He was ready for the change, ready to suffer a bit; because then he’ll get to prove that he can hold his own against Mother Nature.

My love for the four seasons was cemented when I spent two years in Morocco. I remember one Christmas Eve, walking under a full moon in my shirt sleeves in a dry, warm world, and. thinking, “I never want to miss winter again.”

Yes, the seasons changed in Morocco. Summers were very hot, and spring brought lush growth, and winter was wet and cold. I’m sure people got used to that. The same is probably true in Hawaii. I tip my hat to Cousin Barb for adapting to that. But I^’ll take fall in Minnesota.