The start of Fall where there is no Fall...

I have always loved Fall. The changing leaves, the cool air, football, chili in the crock-pot, pumpkin patch, gourds...the whole bit. Well, here in Houston, Fall doesn't really exist. Today at the library story time, the theme was "Fall" and the leader kept saying how the leaves change and you can rake them and jump in them and it's so fun...yada, yada, yada. And I wanted to yell out to her, "Don't give these kids false hope, lady! The best chance they have for leaf jumping is rounding up debris from Ike and going to town that way." But, the spirit of Fall is not totally lost here. I have set up my little hay bale and scarecrow by the front door, decorated with orange, gold, brown, bought a mum plant (that promptly died), and researched all the Fall Festivals. Here in Texas, you just have to fake the Fall a bit. I guess this is fine by me considering it means we have to fake the snow, ice and wind of winter, too. Now that won't be hard.