A few days ago, we went to bed, turned on the window air conditioner and slept soundly as the bedroom cooled off from the day’s heat. Early in the morning my husband heard the furnace kick on. Since the thermostat was set for 56 degrees F, this was surprising. No, the air conditioner hadn’t affected the furnace. Rather, in the night the outside weather had turned from Indian summer to full on fall. The change rapidly cooled the first floor and turned on the heat.
Only here have I ever experienced such dramatic changes in the seasons, but I have to expect it after 18 years of living in New England. Now the window air conditioners need to come out, the storm windows go up, additional weatherstripping applied around any loose windows, the snow shovels found, the ice melt readied and the sweaters retrieved from the downstairs closet. Thankfully my husband attends to all these chores except the clothing rotation. My job is to begin cooking stews, meat loaves, soups, pot roasts and squash. Once the temperature falls, these dishes suddenly seem very appealing after meals of salads and quick chicken recipes.
Snow seems unlikely for at least six more weeks, though we had a massive snow storm a few Halloweens ago which knocked out power for a week. I hope the leaves will fall before the snow starts. I hope the town collects the leaves before snow buries them until next spring. But I have no control over the weather. All I can do is turn off the air conditioner, turn on the furnace and look for the flannel sheets. It’s fall at last.
Saved By Words 
It was only 45 degrees here yesterday. We resisted putting on the heating, but there was a ‘definite chill’ in the air. It sure is October, and it has arrived with intent.
Best wishes, Pete.
LikeLike
Our heat did not come on, Elizabeth, but there was a marked difference in the air temperature overnight. I am looking forward to flannel sheet weather and my turtleneck sweaters and sweatpants. Fall is a time of relaxation and cooking. Bring on the soups!
LikeLike
We drove to NY that snowy Halloween. The storm was over, but the whiteness increased with every mile. We had been in contact with our daughter in NJ, and they were without power for a while. We began passing utility trucks from the mid-West as they traveled to help out the stricken areas. I think the most bizarre weather I experienced was a blizzard on Easter Sunday on Long Island. That was a long time ago. Happy autumn!
LikeLike
I had snow once on Easter in Oregon. A very rare occurrence.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Just yesterday my daughter was saying that she will be getting the winter clothes from suitcases in the cellar and air them. Here we have kept the umbrellas inside.
LikeLike
How cold does it get where you are in the winter?
LikeLike
Here in coastal south India, we have no winter at all. The temperature now is 25 degrees centigrade. We don’t need winter clothes at all. When it rains the weather is cool and we tell each other how cool it is 🙂 though the temperature may be 21 or 22 degrees. Without the rains I cannot imagine how high the temperature would go. So I really enjoyed the winter in Germany in 2017.
LikeLike
I appreciate knowing that. Now I really understand how much fun that winter and snow was for you in Germany.
LikeLiked by 1 person
We dropped from 91 one day to 40 the following night. After a day of shorts, I needed a winter coat. I have to agree that flannel feels nice on these chilly days!
LikeLike
My goodness you live in a different world than mine. In Charlotte NC we’ve been having a major heatwave. Today a rare cool front came in and we were not quite 70 when yesterday we were at 98 degrees. Craziness. So nice. Yet we don’t t get our hopes up. A few days of fall-like weather lead to another heat wave. Then we will be sweating and whining again.
LikeLike
Wow, full season. It must be lovely. We still have sunny weather here but it is getting a little cooler at night. I hope the Siberian winds come early.
LikeLike
what was I thinking, I mean fall season…sorry!
LikeLike
It is fun for me to think of winds coming from Siberia instead of Canada as they do here.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow, that was a rapid change! Here, it’s’ a bit cooler now, and I put the heating on last evening for the first time…..
LikeLike
There’s maybe a reason the area was first named ‘New England’…
LikeLike
LOL
LikeLiked by 1 person
We dropped to 41 the other day but the temperature is back in the low 60s again now. I’m wistfully envious of your weather although I’m sure it’s not easy to manage. Here it’s mostly just wet!
LikeLike
And last night we actually turned on the bedroom air conditioner.
LikeLike
We just took our flannel sheets off Elizabeth because it’s warming up here for Spring we had 32C or 89.6°F the other day & back to 17C or 62° F yesterday! Crazy weather.
Blessings,
Jennifer
LikeLike
A description that only a woman can present… I have heard weather blogs before but the worries around the management are so familiar! 😁
LikeLike
I like that observation.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi Elizabeth, I commented here but it hasn’t shown up may have gone into your spam file for some reason?
Bless you,
Jennifer
LikeLike
We’ve also been bouncing around between the air conditioning and the heat! That time of year here in New England.
LikeLike
We keep forgetting to turn down the heat on the few days we have had to turn it on. We don’t remember until we are too hot when we go to bed.
LikeLiked by 1 person