What the heck even is autumn in the Lower Mainland anyway?

I don’t like starting articles off on a flat negative, but here goes: I hate summer. It’s too hot, too dry, often too smoky, and I like gloomy weather far too much to take any kind of enjoyment out of sunny August mornings (and besides, I’m not too big a fan of mornings either). I declare summer dead and done the moment September rolls in, even if yes, I’m aware that summer doesn’t technically end until the 21.

The weather doesn’t seem to know what to make of the period between the last week of August and the last week of September. I’ve seen the rain roll back in for its usual constant drizzle halfway through August and stay that way until the first dustings of December snow. I’ve also seen summer stretch on far past its welcome, with sunny hot days plaguing the Lower Mainland until mid-October. We live in a moderate, changeable climate. There’s really no predicting what the weather is going to do.

I still haven’t switched over to my autumn brain entirely—I stayed at my sister’s place last night and refused to bring a jacket with me because despite many weather reports warning me otherwise, I didn’t truly believe it was going to rain today. Guess who ended up borrowing a jacket this morning on the way out the door. This is a common enough experience that we even have a humour article about it this issue; one that I edited yesterday, smiled at, and completely neglected to internalize. The hubris of humanity, I suppose.

In truth, I love autumn as much as I hate summer. I could write an entire love letter to the very concept of fall in the Pacific Northwest—which I suppose this sort of is. As is the feature this month on media that celebrates the autumn aesthetic, penned by some genius writing wizard. There’s this sweet spot before Halloween where we can embrace the changing colours of the leaves and the fresh chill on the breeze without getting into ghouls and ghosts (though no shame to those who pull out their Halloween decorations the evening of August 31; I just don’t know how you manage to keep your carved pumpkins fresh for two months).

Whatever fall is to you and however you choose to enjoy it, I hope that autumn of 2018 is good to you.