What are your favorite fall bucket list items? (and I'm all about the stereotypical ones like getting pumpkin spice lattes!)

Question

Karen Fischer · Answer

Go to Mexico to see cempasúchil and terciopelo: There are few sights as lovely as seeing massive fields of these flowers blooming, ready to be cut and sold in local markets! Atlixco, Puebla is excellent for this.

Sarah Beck · Answer

Menacing your family group chat with your favorite trees: One of my favorite fall activities. I send and request tree pics with far too much frequency, but they continue to tolerate me! I want to see everyone's good trees!

Eric F · Answer

Over the Garden Wall

Laura Messersmith · Answer

Visit an Orchard for Apple Picking: I grew up in the Finger Lakes near a town that had an annual Apple Festival every October, so Fall isn’t complete without a visit to an apple orchard.

I personally prefer a smaller family run spot where you’re likely to find house-made fritters, pies, and cider along side a hayride or a chance to walk out among the trees.

Laura Messersmith · Answer

Harney & Sons Hot Cinnamon Spice Black Tea: Love to switch up my afternoon tea selection to Harney & Sons Hot Cinnamon Spice (also available in decaf).

A friend made me a cup at her place a few years back and I’ve been obsessed ever since. It’s perfect for cool fall weather - deeply spicy, a little sweet - like a ginger snap transformed into tea.

I usually drink it black but if you add a little vanilla oatmilk creamer it’s adjacent to chai.

Teddy 🧸 · Answer

Seeing fall foliage at its peak: I’m an east coast girl and enjoy nothing more than being in the mountains when the leaves are at their peak during the fall. It’s so beautiful.

Maribeth · Answer

How to savor the Fall (and Winter)  season: Splurge on some fun pumpkins and weird ass gourds at your local pumpkin patch or grocery store. Get those small colorful corns because damn nature, how’d you do that!!! After Fall, swap for Winter decor! For me, that’s a Christmas tree, stockings, and a miniature Christmas village.

Light candles when the sun sets earlier than you want it to.

Put extra cozy blankets on the couch and snuggle up.

Invite your friends over for dinner. Don’t overdo it; no one needs to be cute and you don’t need to fret about a cute table setting, either. Put the weird gourd on the table and light a candle. Boom. For Winter, a jar of candy canes!

Go for a walk when the suns up if at all possible. If it’s raining, put on your gear and go on the walk anyway.

Drink cider and cinnamon tea and peppermint tea and sleepytime tea and hot cocoa.

Eat pumpkin bread and gingerbread and apple cider donuts and baked apples and ripe persimmons for Fall. For Winter, swap pumpkin with peppermint.

Buy bulbs to force indoors! An amaryllis (pictured) for yourself, and maybe one as a gift for a friend. Buy paperwhites. Buy spring-blooming bulbs like tulips and daffodils to plant outdoors if you have outdoor space. (Pots work fine!)

Learn about fall migration and the migratory paths of the birds in your area. Learn where the different species are headed. Think about the distances they have ahead of them when you watch them fly by. Wish them well.  For Winter, learn which birds winter in your area. Learn where they’ll go in the spring.

Remember that it’s just a season.  After a winter rest, the bulbs will bloom and spring will come and the days will get longer again. You can rest during this season, too.

(Linked to the book “The Year of Living Danishly” by Helen Russell so you can read more about “hygge” and how folks near the arctic circle handle the season.)