The Simple Pleasures of Fall

Every season has wonderful and beautiful qualities and characteristics, but there’s something about the fall season that has always struck a chord with me. Kentucky is especially beautiful this time of year. The plentiful trees and variation of steep and rolling hills makes a perfect backdrop. I do my best to take in all the sights, smells and flavors before winter sweeps in and engulfs us with the cold winds, sleet and snow.

Even the simplest of fall things can help sooth away the stress of the day, if you only take the time to consider them. I’ve put together my top ten list of fall simples pleasures. These are the things that calm me, amaze me, or bring back the nostalgia of my childhood. These are in no particular order – I love them all!

1. Fall Colors

• 

• 

This one’s obvious, but simply cannot be left out. What would fall be without the beautiful variations of color?

2. Fallen Leaves

• 

Who doesn’t remember jumping into a big pile of dried leaves as a kid? I’m 39, but I doubt I could resist the temptation even now!

3. Pumpkins

• 

• 

Each year, like many other families with little ones, we take a trip to the pumpkin patch. The kids are now 9 and 15, but they still wouldn’t want to skip it. We visit the animals in the barn and pet the donkeys, take a trip through the corn maze, and enjoy a slice of pumpkin roll or chili dog, but our most favorite part is picking out the pumpkins. I get them for decoration, but the kids get them for carving and painting. It’s always a competition each year for whose pumpkin will be the spookiest.

4. Front Porch Views

I’m rather fond of the view from my front porch, but nothing beats the view on a fall afternoon.

5. Fall Blooms

• 

• 

• 

• 

The leaves aren’t the only colors of fall. Mums, Roses, Hydrangeas, and Azaleas are just a few of the flowers that bloom, or are still blooming, during the fall in Kentucky. If you don’t have any fall blooms in your garden, consider adding a few to help extend the color throughout the fall season.

6. Warm Drinks and Sweet Treats

• 

• 

Whether you take a trip to the local coffee shop or make something at home with the kids, fall is the perfect season for enjoying those warm drinks and sweet treats. Whether it’s pumpkin-spice lattes and cinnamon rolls, or fall snack mix and hot chocolate, nothing beats these treats on a crisp fall day.

7. Camping Trips

• 

• 

• 

Every fall, my family and I take a trip to a campground on the lake. The temperature and humidity are just starting to drop and the leaves are beginning to change, so it’s the perfect time for camping. We have an old vintage camper, which we love, that serves as our sleeping quarters (a possible future reno project), and we enjoy fishing, bike riding, and campfire cooking. It doesn’t get much better than that!

8. Porch Swings

• 

If this isn’t a picture from everyone’s childhood in Kentucky. If you didn’t have a porch swing, you just weren’t cool. My husband has one on his little, cabin porch. It’s a nice, quite and relaxing place to unwind any time of year that the weather permits, but the views during the fall are my favorite.

9. Campfires and Wiener Roasts

• 

If you don’t have a firepit, you need one! Fall is the perfect time for fires, and what better time to have a wiener roast and smores than when the air is cool and the scenery is beautiful?

10. Corn Fields

• 

Whether you’re enjoying a trod through the local corn maze, making a fodder shock for fall decorations, or just driving by a field of corn, there’s nothing that says fall more than those sandy stocks that go on for miles.

I’m sure everyone has their own list of fall favorites. I’d love to hear some of yours!