The Official Start of Fall

Fall only officially starts after the following happens:

1) Usually in mid to late September, you catch a whiff of it in the air. It's the smell that says something big is on the horizon (like Christmas!) and smells a little sun-warmed and musty but with a crisp, sweet bite to it.

2) You notice the first fall leaves changing high in the mountains and follow the color down to the valleys in the course of only a couple weeks.

3) Sweater and boot weather welcomes you with open arms and realize you can't stand in the chilly shadows anymore without a jacket on.

4) You harvest and juice your grapes, leaving your windows steamy and your house smelling like grape-y autumnal bliss.

 Homemade grape juice is totally the way to kick off the colder seasons, and for us, it's the official start of fall. This year, it was family tradition that Pepster was more than happy to help out with. And, we'll have many a delicious complement to our warm winter breakfasts now. Oh, yeah.