Celebrate Color: What Fall Means to Me...

Oh boy...What fall means up in Alaska is a lot different than fall in the lower 48. I have always known this, but after reading some of the other amazing blog posts, it became a vivid reality. I need to step it up! What does fall mean to me in my great state of AK?

September is when our fireweed bursts into flames, then slowly smolders into white puffs of cotton.

 Cottonwood leaves turn yellow overnight. A brisk autumn breeze brings them swirling to ground, coating it a crunchy brown. The sunlight gives everything a golden hue that looks much warmer than it feels.

Termination dust starts to creep down the mountains, getting dangerously close to the ground until an unseasonably warm day chases it back up.

October brings with it the first snowfall of the season. We usually plan our Halloween costumes around whether or not it will fit over a snowsuit. Some years we are trick-or-treating through a foot of snow, while other years bring us a wind that is blowing so hard we can barely open the doors to all the decorated homes and the town swirls with escaped candy wrappers. And some years are just plain bone chilling cold. I'm not selling anyone on my home, am I? It truly is a magical time of year, with a little bit of temperamental weather.

Trick-or treating with my mom in Alaska

November is winter in Alaska. It is cups of cocoa and tea, curled up on the couch with a quilt, listening to wind blow. It is family and Thanksgiving and my wedding anniversary. My parents were married in November, and I followed in that tradition. We were married 11 years ago, and our rehearsal dinner was a Thanksgiving feast.

A crisp November wedding

As children, my brother and I would help put the Christmas tree up the day after Thanksgiving. My own children now help me. We poor some eggnog, put on the Christmas music, and gently unwrap each ornament as if it were a gift. I tell them the story that comes with every ornament, some home made, some from my mother's collection, and some from my husband's past. I teach the children about their grandparents, so they will not forget. I carry on my mother's traditions because she is a part of the season.

How does all this translate into my own fall color pallete? Deep fireweed red, fallen leaf browns and tans,  Halloween lime greens and oranges, crisp snow and wedding gown white as a brilliant contrast are my fall colors.