The other morning, sometime before the sun peeked over the hill, my bride whispered in my ear. “Honey, I’m cold. Could you get out of bed and find that other blanket for me?”

Of course, I did. She was right. It was cold. I could feel the chilly breeze sneaking in the bedroom window and the blue LL Bean woolen blanket felt good when I pulled it up over our shoulders.

Fall is here.

I think Bob Dylan was right in 1965 when he said: “You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.”  Sorry folks, it is hard for those of us who have had too many birthdays to believe it was more than 56 years ago when Dylan included these words in a tune called “Subterranean Homesick Blues.”

For those of you who have not started collecting Social Security/Medicare, look it up. It is still pretty cool.

The cool breeze signaled seasonal change. It is time to break out the long pants and fuzzy sweaters, and look for those long-sleeved flannel shirts we put away (somewhere) last spring.

The grass, or more properly, the weeds, won’t need mowing for the next several months. Brightly colored leaves are starting to show up on the back deck. The usual fall chores wait in the on-deck circle. You know the drill. Take down the garden, etc. Soon, it will be time to check out the leaf blower, put away the lawnmower and make sure the snowblower will start.

Some strange birds are stopping at our feeders elbowing out the regulars.

But first, before we get into the chores mode, don’t you think it would be more fun to go on the prowl for pumpkins and apples? I think so, don’t you? Fall is my favorite time to be in Maine.

Sadly, thanks to Mr. Covid, our friends up the river in Damariscotta cut back this year's Pumpkinfest when they cancelled the Great Giant Pumpkin Regatta.  But they are still having the event featuring one of the iconic events, decorated giant pumpkins lining the streets.

The cancellation of the pumpkin regatta is a great favorite for us all, and one of the main attractions of the event that is a key element for merchants trying to squeeze five months of business into a 12-month fiscal cycle.

But, as the number crunchers tell us, it is no time to celebrate when 700,000 of our countrymen and women have fallen to this tiny, invisible assassin.

Still, Boothbay Railway Village Museum has fall weekend treats for us. We plan to check out the Fall Foliage Festival. And for you Grandpas, you can take the little ones on a train ride pulled by a steam engine. The cost is just $5 to get in and $5 for the train ride. Cheap, and it is outside.

Big campers are starting to populate U.S. Routes 1 and 27 as friends from away head up our way to enjoy the bright colors that always invade the northern New England forests in October.

Not too many years ago, my bride suggested we drive the whole length of Route 27. It goes from the tip of Southport Island to the Canadian border. We did it up and back in a day with a few stops in between. If you are so inclined, you might stop and spend the night. It is an easy drive.

The TV talking heads call the foliage fanatics “leaf peepers.” I suppose they are trying to be cute, but they are making fun of old-timers, like me, who take pleasure in driving around to enjoy the beauty of nature. Did you notice the TV segments on the “leaf peepers” are always included at the end of the program after the real news stories about auto crashes, diversity clashes, tearful widows and long-winded pieces by smiling weathercasters trying to explain the difference between wet and dry bulb thermometer readings and why we should care? And, of course, don’t forget they aired the “must-run” political pieces mandated by the network honchos from away who don’t trust the local affiliate to find a real news story and report it fairly.

But that is another story for another time.

Last week, some friends noted Mt. Washington experienced the first snowfall of the season, while over at Sugarloaf, they tested their powerful snow-making guns for the first time.

How long do you think it will take for them to start playing Christmas tunes in the stores?

Ho, Ho, Ho.