When the Mornings Begin to Feel Like Fall
Autumn Watch — Story 3
There is a morning every year in the Finger Lakes when you step outside and know.
The calendar may still say summer. The afternoons may still climb into the 70s, and boats may still be tied to docks along Cayuga, Seneca and Keuka. Tomatoes continue to ripen in backyard gardens, and roadside stands still carry the abundance of August.
But the morning feels different.
The air is cooler against your face. The grass is heavy with dew. A thin layer of mist hangs over the water and settles into the valleys.
And somewhere between the first cup of coffee and the rising sun, you realize that autumn has moved a little closer.
The Change You Feel Before You See
We often think of fall as something that happens to the trees.
It isn’t.
Long before the hillsides become brilliant with October color, autumn begins changing the Finger Lakes in quieter ways.
The sun rises a little later and disappears a little earlier. Nights become longer. Temperatures that once remained warm until morning begin slipping downward after sunset.
That difference between warm days and increasingly cool nights is one of September’s signatures.
On some mornings, the change is subtle enough to miss if you’re rushing out the door.
But if you’re sitting on a porch, walking a country road or standing beside one of the lakes shortly after sunrise, it can be impossible to ignore.
Summer suddenly feels a little farther away.
Mist on the Lakes
One of the most beautiful signs of the changing season can appear just after dawn.
Mist.
On calm mornings, wisps of fog can hover over lake surfaces, ponds and low valleys. From a distance, the water can seem to disappear beneath a soft white veil.
It can transform an ordinary Finger Lakes morning.
Docks fade into the haze. Hills on the opposite shoreline become silhouettes. A lone fishing boat can appear and disappear as it moves across the water.
Then the sun rises higher.
The mist thins.
Within an hour, the scene may look like summer again.
That is part of what makes early September so interesting. For a few weeks, two seasons seem to occupy the same landscape.
Listen to September
There are changes in the sound of the season, too.
The chorus of midsummer is beginning to soften. Birds are becoming more noticeable as migration gathers momentum. Canada geese appear overhead in increasingly familiar formations.
In fields and along roadsides, insects continue their late-summer chorus, particularly during warm afternoons and evenings.
Yet mornings can be remarkably quiet.
Open a window shortly after sunrise and September sometimes seems to ask us to listen a little more carefully.
A distant crow.
The call of a blue jay.
Geese somewhere beyond the trees.
The sound of a vehicle traveling a road miles away through the cool morning air.
The Finger Lakes haven’t become silent.
The soundtrack is simply changing.
The Fields Know
Drive the back roads and another transformation is underway.
Cornfields that were deep green only weeks ago are beginning to lose some of their summer color. Soybeans are approaching their autumn turn. Apple orchards are entering one of their busiest and most anticipated periods of the year.
Farm stands begin looking different, too.
Sweet corn and tomatoes remain, but apples, squash, pumpkins and cider increasingly claim their places.
The agricultural landscape provides its own autumn calendar.
And it rarely waits for October.
A Different Kind of Light
Perhaps one of the least appreciated signs of approaching autumn is the light.
September sunlight doesn’t always look like July sunlight.
As the sun gradually follows a lower path across the sky, mornings and evenings begin taking on a softer quality. Shadows stretch longer. Hillsides can glow during the hour before sunset.
Photographers know this season well.
A barn you’ve driven past hundreds of times suddenly looks different in September evening light. A vineyard row catches the setting sun. Mist rising from a valley turns gold for a few moments before disappearing.
Even familiar places invite another look.
Summer Isn’t Finished
There is no need to rush autumn.
Some of the finest summer days in the Finger Lakes arrive in September.
The lakes are still there for paddling and boating. Trails remain green. Outdoor tables at wineries and restaurants still fill on pleasant afternoons. Ice cream still tastes perfectly appropriate after dinner.
But September gives those experiences a little more urgency.
We begin realizing that there aren’t an unlimited number of warm evenings left.
Soon there will be jackets hanging beside the door.
Soon roadside trees will begin competing for our attention.
Soon farm markets will be piled high with pumpkins.
And eventually, one cold morning will leave frost across the fields.
But not yet.
Right now, we are in one of the Finger Lakes’ most interesting seasonal transitions.
The Autumn Watch
Our Autumn Watch isn’t a countdown to peak foliage.
It’s a record of how a season arrives.
First came the subtle clues that autumn begins earlier than we sometimes realize. Then came those first red leaves—the individual branches and roadside trees willing to announce the change before everyone else.
Now comes something different.
The morning itself feels like fall.
Tomorrow afternoon might feel like summer again.
That’s September in the Finger Lakes.
Two seasons sharing the same day.
So tomorrow morning, before checking the temperature on your phone, step outside.
Stand there for a moment.
Look toward the hills. Watch for mist in the valleys. Notice the dew on the lawn and the angle of the morning light.
Then take a deep breath.
You may discover that autumn has already arrived.
It just hasn’t changed all the leaves yet.
🍂 Follow the Autumn Watch
11 Lakes Magazine’s Autumn Watch follows fall as it moves across the Finger Lakes—not simply when the leaves reach peak color, but through the small changes that tell us another season is taking hold.
Next in Autumn Watch: The Hills Begin to Turn — Following the First Waves of Color Across the Finger Lakes.