I put on my fall jacket yesterday.
Reluctantly, I have to admit. In fact, it made me sad.
Now, I probably have no right to feel this way, I also admit. We’ve had an incredible summer weather-wise. Our typical 6-week high pressure ridge stretched out to approximately double that.
Some said it was too hot some of the time. For me, though, it was perfect. I can handle plenty of high 20’s, and a few 30’s, weather days.
Some said we deserved this summer after the last winter Mother Nature dealt us. It’s easy for me to buy that, though I’m not so sure Mother Nature cares a wit about justice. Nor can I really find any logic for us making a claim on any just desserts from her.
So let’s just acknowledge that it was a great summer, better than average.
So why should I be sad that the weather has changed if I have no right to be? Because it’s not about “rights.”
Some people love fall. Not me. Sure, I like the coloured leaves. And I like it that the coloured landscape lingers so long into the autumn. Where I grew up–the prairies–the leaves changed colour, then dropped off within the span of a week or two. Where I grew up, the wind started with the beginning of September, and rarely let up before the end of November. And though we got little, or no, snow throughout that season, there was the constant fall chill in the air.
I should be happy about the fall we get here in the Southwest corner of BC!
But, it ain’t so. I still dislike fall. I hate the onset of rain (though I was glad that Tuesday’s precip came in a series of downpours that lasted one day rather than gentle rain lasting many days.) OK, I just don’t like rain; I like sunshine.
But, I think I’ve figured out the real reason I always get melancholy at this time of year. It’s not just about the weather. It’s not just about wrapping up the summer play season. It’s not about the change of schedule (necessitated not so much by my activities but by those of society around me). Here’s what it’s all about.
It’s about the shortening days! It’s precisely at this time of year that we notice that the most.
And, it’s not just an illusion. It’s not just that twilight comes, at this time of year, at a time of day when we take greatest notice of it. It’s not just that the decreasing day length that has been invading ever since June 21 is finally catching up to us, and we’re saying “Enough is enough already.”
Here’s why we actually do notice the shortening days most at this time of year (can we get a little scientific here?) It’s because days actually do shorten faster in September. Day lengths do not decrease, or increase. Because the earth is round, the difference in day length is very minimal at the solstices. That difference gradually accelerates toward the equinoxes, when it reaches its maximum marginal change. So, at this time of year, the days actually do shorten at their fastest clip of the year. (On the brighter side, the pace of shortening will gradually decrease between now and Christmas.)
I think that’s why the onset of fall seems to catch up with me so quickly. Why gloom tends to characterize my seasonal adjustment. Why sadness grips me as I put on my fall jacket.
I probably don’t have any good reason to feel melancholy. But, I do have a good excuse.
At least, that’s how I see it . . .
Happy Autumnal Equinox!
Rent 2 Own tip
Although the real estate market (like the weather) does not have a fixed cycle, it does tend to follow a general annual pattern, with two high periods. Typically, the highest peak is in late winter and spring, but there is usually also a peak in fall—October to mid-November. Low periods tend to be in the two months surrounding Christmas, and in the summer.
That’s not always the case, though. External factors such as government policies and regulations can affect the pattern. Stronger and weaker economic cycles, both here and in areas that influence ours can affect the pattern. And, most of all, the mood of the people, optimism or pessimism (which, to be sure, may be related to the afore-mentioned factors), affect the pattern.
This past summer did not see a significant dip in housing demand, though demand may have been a little softer than it was in spring. Does that portend a levelling off of the fluctuations so that fall will not see the typical upswing? Or will it suggest just the opposite, that a typical fall upswing will start at an already elevated level in the cycle, and thus have an increased effect?
Either way, one is a gambler who plays the “wait-and-see” game.
