Tis' The Season To Be Jolly!

Ah yes, the summer winds have come crashing, from across the sea. August is waning, and the faint hint of walnuts on the forest floor is discernible on my hikes. Soon it will be Labor Day....no, not the time when my wife gives birth, but the weekend that traditionally marks the end of "summertime". I have to admit that the summer loses some of it's power when you finally leave school and are employed on a 12-month schedule. No more days spent entirely at the pool, and the Residence Halls really get going early on in August...so the end does not feel quite as bitter to me.

The fall in recent years has elevated much on my list of favorite times of the year. I used to think of fall as the time before the earth turned into a cold, frozen, hellish wasteland of depression and snow(maybe I get a touch of seasonal depression), but now I have a new found respect for two large reasons.

First of all, fall marks the time in many places of this country when the grapes are ripened, or have been ripe and are being harvested off of the vine....of course that means it is time to start the process of production of my favorite sipping treat....wine. Now, I love everything about wine. I love to drink it of course, but I really love all the other stuff surrounding wine. I love the geography and history of where wine comes from and how it has been produced according to local customs. I love visiting vineyards and wineries, especially smaller ones off of the beaten path, where families grow and produce special wines that no one knows about. Fall means it is time to start pressing the grapes and allowing the process of wine making to begin...the grapes coming off of the vines, we may not even get to taste until 2007-2008 in some cases, what mysteries of greatness lie in store? In the fall, visit a winery if you get a chance....one of my favorites is in central Missouri, Adam Puchta Winery in a little German town called Hermann, MO...which needs no introduction to lots of folks. Adam Puchta makes some of the best semi-sweet white wines I have ever tasted...try the Vignoles or Vivant if you love Riesling....can't be beat. The Adam's Choice is also very good. All of these wines are perfect for fall days or evenings.

The other reason I love the fall, is of course, for football season. I love football. High school, college, or NFL, I love to watch the action. The teams I root for are diverse...the Bears are the only pro-team I root for, although with my involvement in fantasy football I root for many individual players. At the college level I cheer for my undergrad alma mater, Eastern Illinois University. However, my big teams are the Tigers from my graduate alma mater, The University of Missouri-Columbia; and the home team of my youth, The Fighting Illini. It will be exciting to be a Tiger fan this year, but I suspect hard to be an Illini fan again. At any rate, I currently work at the University of Northern Iowa, and they have a great I-AA football team. My joy with football is also enhanced by my love of tailgating, for at least 3 hours before every home football game. I drive the SUV out to the parking lot, hoist up my gazebo, get out the washers set, light the grill, and pop a cold one. Now the nice thing about UNI is that we are able to avoid a game in the cold because we play in a Dome. I really miss being outside for games, but I love the warmth in the Dome, and man does it get loud in there. Still two weeks until our home opener, but I am fired up and ready! UNI plays Iowa State on Sept. 4th...Lets hope for a big win.

At any rate, I hope you are celebrating the Fall as well. While it means colder weather, it also means a lot of great things are on the way!