autumn

This is the sweet spot in a pumpkin's life. Thousands of pumpkins that have grown up in a patch are off the vine now, and the clock is ticking before the dreaded shrivel and rot happens. So how long do we have? And there is at least one thing we can do to get pumpkins to last longer.

Texas has been staying warm and hasn't quite made up its mind to get into fall just yet. But cooler weather is on the way, and fall foliage will peak in October. There are three short trails that will help you make the most of it.

The pumpkin spice lattes are out, so we know the actual pumpkins are not far behind.  East Texas will have plenty of great pumpkin patches up and running this fall, and we've got the first look.

The fall foliage in New England makes all the magazines and postcards, and seems to be the gold standard for how the orange and brown leaves should really look this time of year.  Want some? There's a company that will ship them to you. What should we send back from Texas?

For all practical purposes, fall probably started three weeks ago with the pumpkin spice world takeover.  That's more noticeable than this scientific equinox stuff anyway. But do you know what's actually happening to the earth today?  Here is the "Cliff-Notes-busy-mom" version of what the Autumnal Equinox really means.