Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Nose for News by Sarah Stultz

As I walked from my car to the front door of my house a few days ago, I noticed a few leaves had fallen on our otherwise dry lawn.

We had opted against watering the grass this summer, so it is more brown than green and now sprinkled with leaves.

I looked up at the tree in our front yard and saw most of it was still green. Then I looked back down at the ground, which is scattered with leaves.

I imagine with it being so dry this year that the trees will be dropping their leaves earlier this year.

Last night I went to my garden to make sure everything was in tact and to harvest any produce that was ready.

Several of my pumpkins in my garden are orange, and others are beginning to turn. The leaves around them are starting to die off. Soon I will pull them and bring them to my house to enjoy decorating outside.

When I think of pumpkins, I think first of Halloween and then of the fall season in general.

Is it fall already?

I typically venture out to the garden in the evening, and I’ve noticed it getting darker earlier — a full hour earlier than it was during the height of the summer.

It’s clear the tide is changing, and little by little, the signs of fall are starting to creep in.

Though at this time of year I am still busy processing our harvest from the garden, in about a month, the garden will be cleared and we will be bracing for colder weather.

Don’t get me wrong, I love fall and I love a little bit cooler weather, but I’m not the biggest fan of what’s to follow —and I’m especially not a fan of how long the winter season lasts in our state of Minnesota.

I love sweatshirts and cozying up in a blanket with the best of them, but speaking for myself, the long Minnesota winters can be challenging.

For now, I’m going to savor the bits of summer and fall we do get to enjoy.

I love the changing colors that will soon be happening, visiting apple orchards and pumpkin patches and attending fall festivals.

I love decorating for fall, and much to the dismay of some, I love anything pumpkin-flavored. Whether it’s scents, food, you name it — I love it.

It’s time to gear up for a new season.

Sarah Stultz is the managing editor of the Tribune. Her column appears every Wednesday.