Fall in the South

Almost three years ago we moved from Indiana to South Carolina. My husband took a job at Clemson University, and I was thrilled at the idea of warmer winters. We made our move in February, which was perfect because we had to wait only a few weeks for warm weather. Back in Indiana it sometimes didn't start warming up until May. I knew the summers would be hot, but that was fine with me. I'd rather be hot than cold any day, and I was sure it couldn't be as humid here as it was back home.

We made it through our first spring and summer in the south and I was looking forward to fall. It is my favorite season and I couldn't wait for the leaves to start changing, picking pumpkins, bonfires, etc. Well, fall in the south ended up being a huge disappointment, at least the first year did. We experienced our first drought ever. It was horrible. The lakes were so low you could hardly take a boat out without getting stuck, boat docks were sitting on dry land, the yards looked awful and we had to water like crazy just to keep our new trees and rose bushes alive. Because of the drought the trees didn't end up changing colors much at all. The leaves didn't really fall either. They more or less just shriveled up and fell off. We didn't even have to rake that year if I remember right. We had no fun pictures of the kids jumping in leaf piles and I was very disappointed. It just didn't feel like Fall at all and it made it very difficult to get into the holiday spirit due to that.

Another big adjustment was going to the pumpkin patch wearing shorts and T-shirts. All my life it was cold this time of year and we'd be all bundled up and drinking hot chocolate and it just felt festive. It was very hard to be at a pumpkin patch, going on a hayride, going through mazes and getting our pumpkins to carve when it was still summer weather. Granted it was nice for the kids to be able to run around enjoying all these activities while not freezing, yet it wasn't the same.

Needless to say fall in the south isn't as good as fall in the north. This year it's a bit cooler then the past two years so that helps. It's just one of those things I'm not sure I'll ever get used to no matter how long we're here!