It’s like a switch is flipped just as the calendar is flipped over.

I swear that the advent of October is like a signal to Mother Nature. "Oh" she says “they’ve enjoyed a sufficient amount of moderate, still, dry weather. It’s time to kick up the wind and rain".

It does not seem right to picture Mother Nature giving an evil laugh, and yet I cannot help but envision a Muh-hah-hah-hah at the end of her statement.

There will, of course, be very nice autumn days ahead of us and, in many ways, autumn is my favorite time of year. The weather is cool, the fall colors begin to pop, apples and pumpkins are ready for harvest, and the best of all holidays is right around the corner. But still, the sudden shift seems to throw me every year.

As I write this, it’s Saturday afternoon, October 7th. It’s been raining more or less continuously for the past two days. Not a hard rain, mind you, but rather just enough mist and moisture to make it unpleasant to spend time out in it. And then it happened:

sunlight!

Honestly, the sunlight took me by surprise. As I saw it coming in through my window, I realized that now was my opportunity - I could go outside!

What I’d really been jonesing to do was to get out and go for a ride. I made a quick wardrobe change and geared up the Catrike and, ignoring the 18-mile-an-hour winds, headed out (besides, the wind is only a problem when it’s against you, right?)

My outing wasn’t long - just enough to, as my mother oh-so-elegantly used to say (and still says) "blow the stink off of you". But you have to take these opportunities as the season offers them.