Fall: The Best Season in Appalachia

The most beautiful time of year in Appalachia is definitely fall. The leaves are changing color from bright green to beautiful hues of brown, orange and red. The weather is getting chilly, but there are still days where the sun pokes through the clouds. Around school, I’m starting to see the shorts and t-shirts disappear, and in their place are jeans, jackets, sweaters, and cardigans. Only the brave few continue to wear their summer clothes, but I’m sure by mid-October this will no longer be so.

                Speaking of October, Halloween is only about a month away. It’s almost time for crazy decorations and costumes, movies that keep you up at all hours of the night, and candy. Lots of candy. Of all those things, the decorations are my favorite. But not the traditional skulls, witches, and spiders; my favorite decorations are the ones that have a touch of Appalachia. For example, last year, my grandparents who live out in the country decided to decorate for Halloween. They made a life sized man by filling old clothes with straw and tying the limbs together (the same way you would make a scarecrow), then put a straw hat on his head so that he looked like a farmer. They laid him face down in their front yard, then stabbed a pitchfork in his back. Passerbies were calling them for the entire season asking if there was actually someone murdered in their yard. This is something that would only work in Appalachia, and for that, I love it.

                The best part about fall in Appalachia certainly has to be the food. Who doesn’t crave the delicious taste of pumpkin pie, apple cider, and cinnamon spiced everything? Personally, I’m most excited for sipping hot cocoa by a fire. And when you think of food, who doesn’t think of Thanksgiving? It’s still about two months away, but my mouth is already watering in anticipation of the vast amounts of delicious food I get to share with my family, all while feeling quite thankful for being alive.

                Some people are still hanging on to the small threads left of summer, cringing at the steadily dropping temperatures. Others can’t wait for winter, and are simply waiting for fall to pass by. But I’ve been waiting all year for this. During the fall season, I come alive. If I were anywhere else in the world, it probably wouldn’t mean anything to me, but here in Appalachia, this is what I live for.

-F