Back in May I published a post about why I love summer. In it, I defined Summer as the time between the Memorial Day weekend (Last Monday in May), and Labor Day (First Monday in September). This year, that is 101 days. Today, then, marks the first day of Autumn – a season I tolerate at best.

Since I have set the precedent of having my own definition of the season of Summer, I should finish defining the other three. We had a discussion about this at my house, and here is what I came up with.

Autumn (Fall), starts the day after Labor Day, and runs until Thanksgiving Day – or the fourth Thursday of November. This year that is 87 days.  Winter starts the day after Thanksgiving, and runs until the day before St. Patrick’s day (March 16). For the coming Winter, that is 107 days. Spring, then, starts on St. Patrick’s day (March 17^th), and runs until the Thursday before the Memorial Day weekend. For 2014 that will be 67 days.

I am a Summer person, of that there is no doubt. The other 3 seasons are something to be endured until Summer returns.  I am, though, striving to make every day count, so I cannot just ignore the other 264 days of the year, so I am making an attempt to list 25 reasons to tolerate Autumn.

I like Apple Cider (1), and visiting Cider Mills (2) so I can have some fresh cinnamon donuts (3). In Autumn there are fresh, honey crisp apples everywhere, and I love eating those (4).

Leaves change color, and a casual drive on a crisp weekend day to see those fall colors (5), is something to enjoy. A Fall camping trip (6) seems to extend the summer, and will include a bug-free walk in the woods (7). If we go during the week, the campgrounds are quiet because school has started (8)

We have beautiful chrysanthemums in our front yard. Ours happen to be orange, but I love looking at, and photographing mums (9).

The days continue to get shorter during the autumn, but the good news is that when we turn the clocks back we do get that extra hour of sleep (10).

Cooler days and nights mean that I will enjoy a good cup of Hot Tea more often than in Summer (11).

Halloween is among my most favorite of holidays (12). Everyone – young and old – enjoys dressing up and having a good time. I especially like donning my own costume (13). And, last year I discovered the fun of carving my own pumpkin (14).

Autumn is the time of Football, so I get to enjoy the NFL (15), great College games (16), and the occasional Saturday morning spent watching College Game Day (17). With the NFL comes Fantasy Football (18). You probably won’t see Fantasy Football on my winter list of things to like, because my team is usually out of contention before Thanksgiving.

I am a Baseball fan in the deepest part of my heart. The playoffs and World Series happen in the Autumn (19). I am also a NASCAR fan, and The Chase happens in the Autumn (20).

Although I finish them in early Winter, I do most of the work to make calendars for family and friends in the Autumn (21), and that is a true labor of love.

The Thanksgiving Holiday (22), starts with the Macy’s Parade (23), includes a delicious turkey (24), and ends with a slice of pumpkin pie (25).

So, there you have it. The twenty-five reasons I tolerate Autumn. I will check back during the season and tell you how things are going. And, I am not ruling out a future post called “a whole lot of reasons I hate Autumn”. But for now my optimism runs high, and the possibilities abound.