Let me just be the first to say (and by "first" I mean that many other people have already said it) that I can't wait for it to be Fall. It's technically already Fall, but it doesn't quite feel like it here in Texas yet. I love Fall. It's my favorite season. The thought of it being October and November really makes me smile. I mean, those are two great months right there.

I'm a Texan and I like cold weather: two things which don't really go hand in hand too often, so, whereas most would say that Spring is a great season because it is getting warmer, I say that Spring only reminds me that it's going to be brutally hot before too long. But Fall?? Man, Fall is nice. Fall reminds me that it's going to be cold soon, but it's just so pleasant until then. How great is it to be able to go outside at 3 in the afternoon and it's just slightly chilly? I live in the Texas hill country, where we have some great colors when the trees change, and it just smells like firewood for 3 straight months. You're finally able to break out the coats that have been hanging untouched in your closet for the past 8 months.

I'm my most creative in the Fall. I always return from the Summer tour depleted and August is usually a bleak affair, trying to get back into some semblance of a normal life but you're depressed because you don't ever leave your house. It's like "travel withdrawal". September doesn't have any character; it can't decide if it wants to hang on to summer or change into fall. And because it can't commit, it means nothing to me. I'm glad to bid goodbye to September after today.

But man, oh man, when that first "true" day of fall comes, what a treat that is. Turn off the AC and eat dinner on the deck. I just feel revitalized. I'll pick up my acoustic guitar and anything that pours out seems new and fresh. I'll have 20 deer in my backyard at once. Fall reminds me of exploring, Calvin & Hobbes style. I'm not so big on Halloween, but I look forward to it just because of when it falls (no pun intended). And Thanksgiving?? C'mon, you can't beat Thanksgiving. I don't even like pumpkin pie, but it makes me smile just to see them all piled up outside of the supermarket. Everything just seems to be in a good rhythm in the Fall. I could take those late-Fall "barely sunny" days over just about anything else. It's easy to be friends in Fall; everybody is in such a good mood.

Fall is a great time to travel. Think about it, whenever someone is suggesting a city for you to visit, when do they always say to go? Fall. "It's at its most beautiful in the Fall." I've had the immense pleasure of being in Vancouver and Portland two consecutive years in October, and you just can't beat it. I could've died a happy man there. If you visit the northwest, do it in the Fall. If you visit Montana, do it in the Fall. If you visit Texas, do it in the Fall. If you visit the northeast, do it in the Fall. Shoot, even if you should decide to visit New Mexico for some reason, do it in the Fall. Santa Fe is beautiful in the Fall. See? Everything's just better!

And a lot of music just sounds so much better in the Fall than any other time. Here are some of my favorite "Fall" records:

- Counting Crows, August & Everything After (and not just because of the title!)
- Ray Lamontagne, Till The Sun Turns Black
- Teitur, Poetry & Airplanes
- Tom Petty, Wildflowers
- Eastmountainsouth, Eastmountainsouth
- Hayden, Elk-Lake Serenade
- Travis, The Invisible Band
- Iron & Wine, Our Endless Numbered Days
- Leona Naess, Leona Naess
- Jeff Buckley, Grace

Oh man, I can't wait! What are your favorite things about Fall?