Autumn’s the mellow time. – William Allingham

Cab·in fe·ver [kab-in fee-ver] (noun) – extreme irritability and restlessness from living in isolation or a confined indoor area for a prolonged time; origin: 1918, Americanism.

Blessed Fall. In October, after an extended steamy summer, we usually experience the first twinge of coolness in the air down here in South Florida. Cabin fever starts to go away. South Florida’s cabin fever works opposite from cold-weather places for obvious reasons–we want to be indoors, AC on, during the hot months (of which there are MANY); we don’t want to be outside unless we’re submerged in some cool refreshing body of water. Once the barometer dips down, we all want get the heck out of our houses. There are the glimpses of pumpkin patches and gourds and squash, which make you squeal like a 5-year-old girl (well, they make me squeal anyway, but I admit that I’m obsessed with pumpkin/squash–wondrous thing, this fruit family!). Some of us get excited about Halloween. People decorate their homes with Fall signage in earnest. November’s come along and it’ll be more of the same greatness, with steadily cooler spells and the Thanksgiving holiday.

Cooler air, light breezes, pumpkins, and festivities. Cabin fever–so long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, adieu. ***Please click to enlarge photos.***

In Autumn, great stuff comes out of the ground and my grocery store has the best stuff ever:

In Autumn, Floridians are willing to sit outside for extended periods of time, even for complex, artfully directed family portraits:

In Autumn, people become the stuff of their dreams:

In Autumn, South Florida begins to dry out just enough to make that dreamy, grassy, marshy, watery place of ours accessible again: