What is your favorite season

[Scepticalscribe]

I like all equally - probably spring (first birds and plants) if I had to choose. Since my last name is Winter I grew a irrational soft spot for that season. Would probably hate it otherwise..

That is an excellent reason to like winter; a lovely surname, but awful season.

Always fair and impartial our twietee.

Well, I wouldn't dispute that reason - I think it is a good one.

It depends on where I am.

Excellent point.

Many of those who have posted so far are clearly from the US, where summers are trying, hot and humid.

As someone from the British Isles, I have a radically different perspective on just what exactly constitutes summer.

Summer. As a Brit, any extended period of sunshine is something to celebrate.

Though I had a soft spot for Autumn. It marked the beginning of the new academic year, and I always started on a high. You feel super optimistic about term, all your books and whatnot are fresh, and campus would always look beautiful with the old stone buildings and leaves about.

Agree absolutely re autumn and university life (but not school); I used to love autumn when I was teaching at university, and yes, you are right, the ivy on old stone walls, crisp days, crisp books, new courses, new students, and yes, you did feel super optimistic about term, an optimism that would have eroded by mid November when rotting leaves were clogging ancient drains, and gutters, and you ran dripping, from class to class in the bleak November rain, and you realised that you had a few hundred student scripts to correct, grade and return before Christmas…..

I've never been able to answer this question well. I find pros and cons to every season.

I DREAD the onset of fall - the days get shorter, the morning are dark, and that really screws with me. Seasonal Affective Disorder. I'm very in sync with the sun and hate waking up in the dark. Every morning is a challenge. I get moodier, less energetic, more tired, less motivated, less social, etc. The problem is not so much depression in the sense of hopelessness and poor self esteem- just the significant drain of energy.

I love fall days though- a nice cool breeze, leaves rustling in the wind, the leaves changing color, etc. It would just be nice if the mornings didn't suck.

I need to move out of New England.

I sympathise. Can't stand the darkness and light deprivation of winter, myself. Actually, the quality of light is one of the things I have most loved about working abroad for long periods of time.

I love summer in Scotland. This year it was a Wednesday.

But a most memorable Wednesday, don't you think? It is imprinted on my memory, the memory to be passed via my DNA to generations yet unborn.

 

[maflynn]

Well, now that we're in November and for us in the US, day light savings ended, the autumn feeling will definitely be moving on to winter. Stores and what not won't be helping that since we will now see Christmas decorations and what not, since halloween is behind us

I will say that I'm liking day light savings the day after halloween just for the fact that my kids get an extra hour of sleep. Its 7:06 right now, but effectively by their body its 8:06

 

[mirz2000]

Spring! Love watching the colors emerge and the weather warming up... Close second is summer.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Well, now that we're in November and for us in the US, day light savings ended, the autumn feeling will definitely be moving on to winter. Stores and what not won't be helping that since we will now see Christmas decorations and what not, since halloween is behind us

I will say that I'm liking day light savings the day after halloween just for the fact that my kids get an extra hour of sleep. Its 7:06 right now, but effectively by their body its 8:06

But how long will it take their body clocks to fully adjust? Not all that long, I'd imagine.

Mother was a bit bewildered last week when the clocks went back here, but she seems to have adjusted remarkably quickly to the new altered time reality.

 

[TheAppleFairy]

Hunting season is the best season.

 

[maflynn]

But how long will it take their body clocks to fully adjust? Not all that long, I'd imagine.

They didn't even realize the clocks had changed. I think the adjustment in the fall is lot easier then that in the spring.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

They didn't even realize the clocks had changed. I think the adjustment in the fall is lot easier then that in the spring.

Actually, I must say that I love that adjustment in the spring. Suddenly the sun is setting nice and late in the evening - say around 8.30 p.m. the trees are putting forth leaves, there is a hint of growth and optimism in the air and you realise that summer is around the corner, and that long evenings will be a feature of the coming five months. Bliss.

This time of year, the arc of the sun is pretty low in the sky - and getting lower still until late December.

 

[maflynn]

For the change is more jarring and I'd rather have more sun in the morning

 

[Ulenspiegel]

Spring. It is like genesis.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Spring. It is like genesis.

A heartfelt amen to that.

There comes a time in mid March - usually a few weeks before the clocks go forward for the summer - when the quality of light suddenly dramatically improves and you let out a massive sigh of blessed relief that winter has finally departed.

 

[JamesMike]

I enjoy the summer the best because of the heat.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I enjoy the summer the best because of the heat.

Yes, I love summer, too, (for the same reason, heat, warmth, light….)

I thrill to spring, and enjoy the mellowness of autumn. As for winter, well, if hibernation was an option, I'd seriously consider it…..

 

[Scepticalscribe]

The problem with the hibernation option is that one would run the risk of emerging, blinking, in the brightening spring sunlight, stick thin and scrawny (perhaps not really an issue if you are a middle-aged and slightly overweight European female professional half-tamed by excessive education - these days, there is such a strong and bizarre cultural preference for the scrawny, skeletal, visible ribs look), ravenously hungry, and embarrassingly, nay, insanely, wildly, randy.

Perhaps a re-think is in order and other options may have to be considered if one is to avoid winter in the high latitudes of Northern Europe….for I can see that hibernation may come with considerable drawbacks.

 

[Renzatic]

It's been a very strange Fall this year for me. Not so much in the mood, but in the fact that there wasn't a gradual transition like there usually is. More like a sudden demarcation.

Despite the fact it was nearing the end of October, it seemed more like the end of Summer than middle Fall. It was still nice and warm, and the leaves only had the slightest tinge of color to them, none of which were falling. Then last night....BAM! The skies cloud up, and a good storm comes sweeping through the area. Rain hammered the side of the house. Wind howled for hours on end. You could hear the chimes on my breezeway jangling about like someone was down there shaking them as hard as they could.

I wake up this morning, an hour earlier than usual according to the clock, and suddenly it looks like late Fall. The sky is heavy and overcast, mist gently rolling off the ridge. And the leaves? Trees that were full Friday are now half bald. My driveway is covered to the point I can barely even see the asphalt underneath. It's wet. It's chilly. It's suddenly almost winter.

It's like the weather suddenly realized it was lagging behind, and decided to hit the fast forward button to get caught up again.

 

[spencers]

Autumn. The beautiful colors. The crisp air. The sight of leaves on the ground and the smell they make.

And pumpkin spice lattes (j/k)

Until we decide to turn off DST. Then everything goes to crap.

I just wish everyone would delay all the Christmas ******** until December and actually live and experience the lovely season of Autumn.

 

[63dot]

It changes from year to year, but since it was unusually hot for my area, I like late fall when it starts to cool down here. It's darker earlier and it's nice to kick back early and watch TV.

There was no in between on weather and it went from high 70s to mid 60s during last week of September. It was fully summer (beaches and surfing) and then suddenly fall with no Indian summer (which has aspects of summer and fall) this time around. The rain is here and the leaves have fallen and we are awaiting perhaps an early winter.

 

[Renzatic]

Autumn. The beautiful colors. The crisp air. The sight of leaves on the ground and the smell they make.

The only reason why I'd say that Fall isn't my favorite season is because it's the last hurrah before Winter comes. There's a little too much clingy desperation involved to be able to simply enjoy it for what it is.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

The only reason why I'd say that Fall isn't my favorite season is because it's the last hurrah before Winter comes. There's a little too much clingy desperation involved to be able to simply enjoy it for what it is.

Very well said, and I'm pretty much in agreement with you.

'Clingy desperation'? Yes, agreed; there is more than a touch of that.

If one was able to divorce the depressing thought of the imminence of the approach of winter, the crisp nights of autumn, the harvest suppers, and the leaves in stunning shades of terracotta, red, apricot, deep yellow, peach, and burnt orange - especially against a blue sky - can be spectacularly beautiful.

 

[Renzatic]

If one was able to divorce the depressing thought of the imminence of the approach of winter, the crisp nights of autumn, the harvest suppers, and the leaves in stunning shades of terracotta, red, apricot, deep yellow, peach, and burnt orange - especially against a blue sky - can be spectacularly beautiful.

Sometimes it's very easy to get lost in the atmosphere of the season, to the point where you're able to enjoy it to its fullest. But all it takes is one cold snap to bring you back to reality. This is it. The last of the good days. The cold, bare, dead winter? It's coming.

The only consolation I have is that I live in a place where Winter is basically two and a half months long. The trees won't be entirely bald until early December, and it won't get truly, consistently cold until a week or after that. January and February are miserable all around. March? That's the wild card month. It's either the pleasant ramp up to Spring, or the most brutal month of the year.

Errrg. God. I've already started counting down the days when Spring arrives. It's going to be a loooong Winter.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Sometimes it's very easy to get lost in the atmosphere of the season, to the point where you're able to enjoy it to its fullest. But all it takes is one cold snap to bring you back to reality. This is it. The last of the good days. The cold, bare, dead winter? It's coming.

The only consolation I have is that I live in a place where Winter is basically two and a half months long. The trees won't be entirely bald until early December, and it won't get truly, consistently cold until a week or after that. January and February are miserable all around. March? That's the wild card month. It's either the pleasant ramp up to Spring, or the most brutal month of the year.

Errrg. God. I've already started counting down the days when Spring arrives. It's going to be a loooong Winter.

Yes, that is pretty much the way I see it, too.

Apart from the cold, wet, sleet, snow, of winter, and factoring in bare trees, and short days, what really depresses me is the dismal quality of the natural light in winter (unless you manage to get those days where the sun shines).

Agree about January and February; depressing months, even though the days are lengthening.

And yes, March is a wild card month, but - I seem to notice a massive change - for the better - in the quality of light around the middle of the month, which improves my mood no end.

 

[spencers]

The only reason why I'd say that Fall isn't my favorite season is because it's the last hurrah before Winter comes. There's a little too much clingy desperation involved to be able to simply enjoy it for what it is.

Stop waiting for the future and enjoy the present.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Stop waiting for the future and enjoy the present.

Ah, well, alas, re winter I very much doubt that it is a case of 'enjoy the present' as much as 'endure the present'.

 

[Renzatic]

Yes, that is pretty much the way I see it, too.

Apart from the cold, wet, sleet, snow, of winter, and factoring in bare trees, and short days, what really depresses me is the dismal quality of the natural light in winter (unless you manage to get those days where the sun shines).

Agree about January and February; depressing months, even though the days are lengthening.

And yes, March is a wild card month, but - I seem to notice a massive change - for the better - in the quality of light around the middle of the month, which improves my mood no end.

I'd say that the days when the sun shines are actually worse in a way. It's a flat, dead light, illuminating nothing but swaths of brown grass, and stark, bare trees. The strange contrast somehow makes it even more depressing. Cloudy days are somehow more fitting for the season.

And though I haven't been officially diagnosed, I'm fairly sure I suffer from SAD. In the dead of Winter, I always find myself in a low, sluggish mood.

 

[Solomani]

My favorite season? Rabbit season!

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I'd say that the days when the sun shines are actually worse in a way. It's a flat, dead light, illuminating nothing but swaths of brown grass, and stark, bare trees. The strange contrast somehow makes it even more depressing. Cloudy days are somehow more fitting for the season.

And though I haven't been officially diagnosed, I'm fairly sure I suffer from SAD. In the dead of Winter, I always find myself in a low, sluggish mood.

You have my profound sympathy.

Well, I haven't been diagnosed, either, but I am pretty certain that I suffer from SAD, too.

I find that I respond very strongly to light and hadn't actually realised this until my two most recent long terms postings abroad.

Each of these were to counties a lot further south, where the quality of light, even in mid December, approximated to autumn light - say September levels of light - in the northern temperate latitudes of the British Isles where I come from. Despite the other - let us say, challenges - of the work, I felt gloriously happy inn climates where the sun shone for months on end, and while winter meant short days, but rarely, bleakly dark ones.