Billie’s Blog: The Beauty of Fall
Fall, my other favorite season, is like its early-year counterpart, but not quite. While spring is about opening and blossoming, fall is about resting and a different transformation. Ushered in by the last hot days of summer, fall signals decreasing temperatures—there is a crispness in the air even before the need for sweatshirts moves in.
We often think of fall in terms of trees shedding their leaves, carving pumpkins, and apple cider. There is so much more to this delightful time of year. We can spend our time as actively or as restfully as we need. Fun fact: The natural world is quite busy.
When the tree no longer produces green chlorophyl, bright colors emerge. The colors of fall—red, gold, yellow, orange, brown—show off in stunning vividness. Those colors were hiding all along under the green. Leaves flutter silently to the earth, then crunch as we shuffle through them. I live across the street from a flood control berm topped with a stand of mature trees. The tops of some trees are turning colors while the rest of the tree remains green. I do not recall seeing that before this year. In other areas, some trees are dropping their leaves.
Even wildlife and the rest of the natural world transform during fall. Spiders loom larger than normal and build bigger, more dense webs closer to the ground, and Canada geese fly in their precise, needle-point formations. As seeds harden in fields and gardens, field mice alter their foraging patterns.
A host of species migrate every fall. Monarch butterflies fly up to three thousand miles one way from their homes east of the Rocky Mountains to Central Mexico. None of the butterflies survive the entire trip. It takes several generations to make the round trip. Hummingbirds migrate a few hundred miles to three thousand nine hundred miles one-way, depending on their species. Canada geese migrate zero to three thousand miles depending on their proximity to open water and food.
Many people also take up residence in warmer climes during the Northern Hemisphere’s winter months. Most are in their winter homes from December through March or April. Some have winter homes in the southern United States or Mexico, or other countries.
El Niño is an irregular climate phenomenon characterized by unusually warm central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean temperatures. This year, NOAA’s* CPC** has predicted “greater than 90% chance” the event will be very strong. That means the Midwest could experience a milder than usual winter with less snow overall and fewer extreme cold episodes.
The fall equinox, this year on September 22, 7:05 p.m. CDT, is celebrated around the world. The Earth is tilted neither towards nor away from the sun, so the Sun is directly over the Earth’s equator and day and night are roughly equal in the northern and southern hemispheres.
Fall can be a time of transformation for people, too. This can be a time of renewal, strength, and beauty as you release what no longer serves you or what is no longer necessary. You can create space for more meaning to enter your life. The slower pace helps soothe away the frenetic stress of summer and gives way to increased calmness and more balance. You may want this time to cocoon.
Fall is a great time to create an altar with your favorite objects, whether they represent your past adventures, current life, or dreams for the future. Some people use the peacefulness of fall to reexamine their life, their values, and what they want for themselves in the future. Perhaps this fall is a time for you to grieve a loss or to face a painful reality. Make sure you are gentle with yourself and ask for help. Journaling, especially introspective, reflective, and gratitude journaling, can be poignant and powerful. Writing about your values, principles, and who you want to be in the world can be quite empowering.
Your need may be to get away from it all and regroup after a summer of stress, whether getting away means leaving for another country, staying in a local hotel for a weekend of pampering, or your favorite spot at home.
You may prefer to strengthen your relationships with your family, friends, social circles, or faith community. Fall festivities could be more to your liking. Creatives experience a boon in the fall. Decorating, cooking, baking. Crafts and recipes all get a workout.
If fall is not your friend, myriad reasons may hinder, or even prevent, your joy and participation in the season’s wonders. Loneliness and isolation are common during this time of year. You may want to revisit my November 2025 article, 20 Ways to Ease Loneliness. (hyperlink, please). Again, please be gentle with yourself.
However you recognize and celebrate fall, may you find renewed energy to live your best life. Fall is a wonderful time to start.
* National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
** Climate Prediction Center (CPC)
Billie Wade is a gregarious introvert whose primary interests are writing, lifelong learning, personal development, and how we all are affected by life’s vagaries.
Issues facing Black people, women, the LGBTQ community, and aging adults are of particular concern to her. She enjoys open-hearted dialogue with diverse people. The opinions expressed here are her own.
