October

October is my favorite month in Indiana.  If I could make it so, it would be October all year long.

The days are just the right length.  There is that moment in late afternoon when the shadows are noticeably longer than they were last week, the light a deeper shade of gold, and one can feel dusk coming.  Most of the trees are still green, but touches of yellow and crimson highlight the woods.

Dusk and dawn are filled with cricketsong.  Squirrels are dashing all over.  The constant damp-smell of humidity drops out of the air, and everything smells clean again.  The windows are open all day, and some of them all the night.

In the evening, the faint scent of woodsmoke drifts about.  Night comes early enough to enjoy outside, but is still late enough to feel special.  Backyard campfires are common, and I think the grownups enjoy them more than the kids.

October is the year's time-out, the side-step.  It's the easy stroll to a scenic overlook that peels off the main trail right before the steepest part of the climb.  Everyone knows it's a transition into winter, but October--especially the first two weeks--lets you ignore the foregone conclusion long enough to enjoy the present.