Three things spoke to me today that reminded me it was indeed Fall, despite these sultry Summer-like temps.  For sure, you don’t need to be clad in flannels like this scarecrow above.

First, here at the house, it felt like it should be Fall because Flame came for their annual furnace check this morning.  I had to crank the heat up high so the tech could do his diagnostic tests to ensure everything was running smoothly.  Unfortunately, this left the house feeling like an oven, and, by the time he was finished, it was 78 degrees.  Whew!  Then, it was later than usual when I stepped outside to leave for my walk and the humidity and temps were high (but still cooler than in the house thankfully); so, what happened to those cooler temps from Wednesday and Thursday?  I guess I should not complain because, after yesterday’s sogfest, it was just nice to get out for a walk.

Before I left, I got a fresh pack of peanuts and headed over to the fridge to grab a few apples from the fruit bin.  I had put those “bad apples” aside after I discovered three or four that had some questionable holes in them.  I was at Meijer earlier this week and they had ten varieties of Michigan apples on sale for $0.59 a pound.  People were loading up on apples in paper tote bags.  I usually inspect the apples as I’m placing them into the tote bag, but I was chitchatting with a woman, who, like me, was stopped at the McIntosh bin.  She was hefting quite a few totes of apples into her shopping cart and said “I just love the Fall and the smell of apples baking in the house, don’t you?”  I told her I was not much of a baker but vividly recalled the delightful aroma of my mom’s apple pie wafting through the house when I’d come home from school or work on a chilly day, and it would make me hungry as soon as I stepped through the door.

Next, this woman told me about her busy agenda for baking this weekend, all which included some type of apple treat, so I amiably said “I’ll be over if you give me your address.”  For a moment, I think she took me seriously, so I quickly added “just kidding of course!”  She asked what I was doing with my apples and I said “having them sliced up with a chunk of cheddar” and, though that sounded a little lame, that is how I enjoy apples most.  When I feel like treating myself, I get the Honeycrisp apples which are so sweet they taste like candy to me.  I read the other day there are 7,500 varieties of apples in the world, and, if you tried a new kind each day, it would take 20 years to try them all!

Unfortunately, I was so busy discussing the virtue of apples in baked goodies that I missed some worm holes in those apples, so I figured I’d gift the critters at the Park with some nice rosy macs.  The squirrels sure do enjoy those apples from the tree that is along the perimeter path, even if they are wormy or raggedy looking.  High up in the tree, they’ll devour an apple pretty quickly, then they toss what they can’t finish down to the ground.  Many times I’ve walked underneath or near that apple tree and been pelted by the apple core or a half-eaten McIntosh apple from above.  I’ve also seen the gopher scurrying by me, his teeth grasping onto an apple as he makes a beeline to his burrow.  I set out each apple next to some peanuts when a squirrel ambled up near me, but, just like a kid who prefers dessert to his main meal, they preferred the peanuts over the apple.

The last item that reminded me of Fall today is the annual “Backyard Brawl”  and the radio hype about this rivalry between our top Michigan college football teams has been intense the past few days.  As I walked through the neighborhoods I saw the usual yard ornaments or flags proclaiming that family’s favorite Michigan football team.  The Fall is not complete without this annual ritual between the Wolverines …

… and the Spartans.

I got five miles done and was glad I flipped on the A/C before departing on my walk on this Fall day which felt like mid-Summer.