How to savor the Fall 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!!!

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.

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.

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.

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.)