There are many ways to celebrate fall. Growing up, my mom would decorate with fake leaves, a cute metal pumpkin in the front yard, and a black plastic cauldron for Halloween candy. The ways I celebrate my favorite season are different.
The fall weather has always been my favorite. It has something to do with the fact that summertime brought many sensory issues and fall ushered in a few brain cramps. We had so many fun traditions growing up. We would do trick-or-treating, which is a common practice. We would also go to a pumpkin farm about an hour from where I grew up, and my brother would pick out the perfect big pumpkin. One year, he and my mom tried to make a pumpkin pie from a miniature pumpkin they bought, but it turned out badly. They only realized after that specific pumpkins are used in pies. This same pumpkin farm had a hay ride with large talking plastic pumpkins that talked about the pumpkin's life cycle and harvest. During the speech, the pumpkins would give, one of them in a southern accent would say," and we thank the lord for the rainfall that's allowed us to have a good harvest this year," which always confused me as a child. We would carve the pumpkins for years and put them on our front porches as decorations. I was always sad when we had to throw them away because they had begun to rot.
Another favorite childhood tradition is what I call the candy market. After trick-or-treating every year, my siblings and I would dump all our candy out and sort it into piles. The trading would begin, and an example would be, "I'll give you two Twizzlers for one Twix." The bartering continued until the candy was packed, and we went to bed. It would resume the following evening, but happen less frequently over the following week. There would be less candy as three children and two parents helped themselves to the stash.
For many years, we also went to the North ga Mountain Fair. I remember the long drives and the winding mountain roads going to the fairgrounds. We would go and stay for bluegrass concerts, and I even got to hear a banjo competition. We would get big slabs of peanut butter fudge, and everyone would take bites out of it. Sometimes we would get caramel or fudge apples. Another family favorite was kettle corn. I remember my dad being the keeper of the kettle corn bag, and we would have to go over to him to get a handful. The historic buildings helped me imagine what it would be like to live in the North Ga mountains. There was an old schoolhouse, a log cabin, a chicken coup, a barn, and a hog house. There was always a doll in the cradle in the house. Seeing the books in the log cabin was so interesting because I grew up reading Little House on the Prairie. The best part of the fair was the old grist mill that we could sit by. The water would run by, and we would play in the creek as it made its way to the lake. It gave me an idea of what Laura Ingalls might have read when she went to school. There was also a warehouse filled with farm equipment and appliances from long ago, which I was never interested in. My boyfriend and I plan to continue the tradition and go this year.
In past years, I have gone hiking at different state parks, which have been wonderful, and a favorite that I've been going back to since 2019 is Smith-Gall Woods State Park. I've been going back every year, and this year, as I walked along the utility road, past the beehives and looked up at the trees with their leaves starting to change colors, I felt so at peace. It may be time to start exploring more parks and other parts of the southeast if I had the time and resources. I want to return in a few years, but seeing new places would be fun too. I saw the beekeeper checking on the hives on the way back. He told me about a specific honey in the gift shop, unique to the Appalachian region: sourwood honey. I got my mom a jar and chatted with some seventh graders on a class trip.
I enjoyed the conversations I had wth them. They told me about the book they were reading in language arts class and how they were starting to do dissections in biology class. A lot of the dissections that they were doing in seventh grade, I had done in my ninth-grade honors biology class, but I'm sure the curriculum has changed some since I graduated over a decade ago. I ate at a BBQ restaurant that I had eaten at with my parents a few years ago, and I enjoyed myself. I miss my boyfriend, and I hope that we can travel together more in the future. Most of my weekends involve spending time with him and his son. Going on trips alone feels so quiet and lonely when I'm used to the noise and space two other people create and take up. I know that spending time on my own is essential. Reminding myself that I can enjoy myself without anyone in general is important.
I've been getting back into baking this fall, but now I can turn on my oven longer without feeling like I'm living in a sauna. I made a cinnamon apple cake, but didn't have enough cinnamon. I added more than the recipe, but I might add more to see what it tastes like next time I make it. I also attempted to make blondies from a yellow cake mix, but I added an extra egg to the recipe, so it ended up being just a maple pecan cake, not a maple pecan blondie, but it did get rave reviews from my coworkers, which was nice. I'm now in search of my next recipe. I've wanted to make coffee cake, but that might be easier from a mix. We used to make that from a mix as a kid. We also used to make the Pillsbury Cinnamon rolls, which were terrific. I've been reliving those memories differently by making break-and-bake cookies.
This fall, I've also been lucky to travel to Southern Pines, NC. Some friends of mine, with whom I used to attend church, moved here and were gracious enough to invite me to stay with them for a few days. The weather has been beautiful. We've explored the cute downtown area, the historic Carolina hotel, and the local botanical garden. I also spent the night with my parents at their house in north Georgia, which was very pleasant.
I look forward to taking many more trips and discovering more ways to celebrate my favorite season in the years to come.
Living on the Spectrum 
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