A lazy reach for October

It is almost October again.

I can't say that it's more so than last year, or even less so.

It is different.

The oppression of the heat has let up, but the humidity shows little signs of giving in. Everything is moist to the touch. Towels won't dry. Car seats feel damp to sit in. Counters stay damp for hours. The house smells of decay. The forest is filled with mushrooms, and mold grows shamelessly on dead leaves.

The attic fan is rumbling, sucking cold morning ick around my ankles. I sit at breakfast, trying to read papers, but they are almost moist enough to be soggy, and sag in my hands, making reading from one hand a challenge. My cereal grows soggy too.

It's clear autumn is creeping in. The trees are taking on color. It's dark too late and then too soon. We took rakes out and dredged up the early leaves smattering the yard. A wet, sticky job that pissed off the spiders. Where will we put the Halloween decorations?

Autumn takes so long here, just like it did in New Hampshire. Growing up, there was about a week, maybe two when the aspens suddenly turned yellow and dropped their leaves. About that time it would start to snow. That was the cue that it was going to be pretty cold for the next 8 months or so. In my mind, to casual memory, Colorado is always winter.

The chill is making me miss the coffee shops in New England.