Ten Things I Love About September

10. As knitting guru Elizabeth Zimmermann once put it, "September is the logical beginning of the year." Which says something nice about Orthodoxy.

9. The tourists head home.

8. When I bring my laundry in from the back yard in the evening, the house casts a long enough shadow that I'm not standing in that glaring summer sun.

7. In September, there is no glaring sun.

6. It's dark earlier, so I have to put the lights on in the house, and it's all lit up when dh comes home from work. I like lit-up houses. Can you tell that Thomas Kinkade is my favorite artist?

5. I get my life back, because I get my brain back. No more wishing the sun would go away so I could think.

4. Good sleeping weather!

3. Only two birthdays, all month. In a family as large as mine, that's worth remarking.

2. No more cold suppers. I get to cook again.

1. That wonderful autumn glow, when everything turns to gold, especially in the early morning and the early evening. I read once that it has to do with the angle of the sun and particulates in the air, and the sun reflects off the particulates (composed mostly of stuff that plants shed) and creates that golden glow. Trust a scientist to explain something magical.

The only thing I dislike about September is that it's hurricane season. On the other hand, here in the northeast, most of our hurricanes seem to occur in August. And since everyone else is commenting on the disaster in New Orleans, I might as well, too, if only to say....

What's with shooting at rescue personnel?!?!?!