There is a crisp presence in the air, Halloween decorations are beginning to make appearances in stores, and all around there are advertisements for pumpkin spice everything. It is officially fall, one of my favorite times of year. 

I am a huge fan of pumpkin spice, fuzzy boots, cozy sweaters and most of all, Halloween.

I enjoy haunted houses, carving pumpkins and the beauty that comes when the leaves change.

Fall is also a time for many festivities, and Jessamine County is bursting with them: events such as KCAL’s “Halloween Fright Night,” the Wilmore Arts and Crafts Festival and the First Vineyard River Blast, all of which are happening this weekend. ComicSurg at the Jessamine County Public Library, the gallery walk, and a Ghost Hunt at Camp Nelson are later this month. There are also many others I didn’t mention. 

It warms my heart to know that I have moved to such a fall friendly area. 

Usually, when the seasons change I try to make it somewhat of a fresh start. Mostly because so many things around me change. Not just the weather and the environment but also clothes, decorations in the house and sometimes, when you compare summer to winter, how the day is conducted.

This season, I took change to a whole new level. I took a new job in a place I had only visited a few times, I got a new (used) car and I moved. 

My whole day to day is so different than it was only a few months ago. As refreshing and exciting as change can be, it can also be scary. Though I enjoy my surroundings, I’m still adjusting to my new settings and the demands of my new job.

I finally have furniture now and my place is starting to feel more like a home, rather than just a shell I come to sleep and eat in after work. I’m slowly starting to meet my neighbors as well, and they seem nice. 

Change, like the alternating seasons, is a part of life. In change there is unknown, but with that unknown comes beauty, like the vibrant orange, red and yellow leaves that eloquently fill the trees around us.

And just as we start to get comfortable, the seasons change again.