Fall in Silicon Valley

Ever since I was a kid I would enjoy the Peanuts Gang a.k.a. Charlie Brown and friends. I have been a fan for as long as I can remember, the words "blockhead", "the great pumpkin", "Ugh!" and "sweet baboo" are quotes from the cartoon that I know. On Valentine's Day I loved watching their special on TV, on Halloween and Christmas they were always enjoyed.

Everytime I watched the cartoon in the fall season I would dream of jumping in a pile of leaves. It looked like so much fun and most importantly watching the leaves fall to the ground as they turned red, yellow, brown symbolized the change of season. Something in Southern California I did not experience. I don't remember ever getting to see fall in all its splendor. 

I dreamed of one day moving to somewhere where seasons do change and you can see the signs of it around you. You can feel the weather change and your wardrobe transition to a warmer or cooler items depending on the season. 

Back in March when we were planing our move to Northern California, I honestly did not think of the experience with nature we would have. I knew seasons were different here, but did not realize how different it would be. In summer you feel the heat and then as September begins you start noticing a difference in what you wear and the air is lightly cooler. By October it is definitely a must wear sweater season with the occasional hot day -just like in Southern California that you must wear flip flops and shorts. 

This past week with the Holiday break we traveled to Southern California and Baja Mexico. We enjoyed the warmer weather with me wearing a sleeveless top and pants to our Thanksgiving dinner. As we returned back to Northern California I began noticing I was feeling cold, leaves were turning a dark shade of red and some were golden yellow. 

Today as I drove our daughter to school I couldn't help but notice how many leaves were on the ground and how much it reminded me of all those Charlie Brown cartoons with the pile of leaves. How much I dreamed of it and now.... now it is real. I'm here blessed with enjoying watching leaves fall off the trees in my neighborhood and stopping to take pictures of it all.