September

A day on the pond from last September. Looks pretty
warm and fully green.

September in Georgia feels a lot like August in Georgia. Weather and fish behavior alike remain distinctively summerish. Still, in my mind at least, September brings some sense of fall. Labor Day (today) in many ways marks an end of summer, schools are back in session, college football started last weekend, the month name ends in "ber"...  Lots of things about September hint at fall, and we even tend to get a few spells with cooler nights before the month is ends.

I suppose September also seems extra fallish to me because legitimate fall trip dates are near enough that I'm beginning to settle more plans: October trout in the Smokies; November crappie in Illinois and bass in Alabama...

 Some year, September travels give me a head start on fall because I travel north to places where September legitimately is a fall month. That's not the case with this year's plans, as of now. Looks like I may be staying in the South this month. However, when mid-September travels send me to Minnesota, that's a legitimate fall trip.

We've hit 80s already this morning, and the high for the day is supposed to find the 90s. No. Fall hasn't arrived. September lets me start pretending, though.

Farewell to Fall

Well, our leaves are just about all down, and those that are left all brown -- and at least a few friends in Minnesota, Michigan and Colorado have been out fishing on the ice now. Our Christmas tree is also up, and the days are getting might short. The last couple of days have felt like fall in Georgia, but with December only a few days away and my first ice trip of the year only a week and a half away, I'm ready to think of it as winter.

Pretending it is Fall

September isn't a fall month in Georgia, and in my head I know that to be true. I like to fool myself, though, so please don't spoil it.

It doesn't feel fallish today. In fact, I think it's a little warmer than what we experienced through most of August (which was refreshingly mild). Most of my fall plans have been solidly made, though, and they really are just around the corner. Meanwhile, some fall activities, such as college football and in places dove and deer hunting, have already begun. Fish remain in summer mode, but it's not too soon to be thinking about fall forays up trout streams. Of course, we do what we can to nudge along the seasonal change at home by making apple butter, using fall table cloths and such.

I did notice a leaf that had changed colors on a dogwood in front of my house. Hey, maybe it really is fall!