Now that fall is really sinking in to our mild Seattle skin, I’d like to take a moment to appreciate the joys that await.

1. Thick cloudlets that sit right up against the hills. All over the city, usually in the mornings, there are little whitish grayish puffs that obscure the view of, say, the buildings downtown, or Kerry Park on Queen Anne. They don’t last long, and it’s unclear if they contain rain (our own personal thunderclouds!), but almost any given morning one can take an extra hour to venture out and look for them. In the event that you stumble out of your front door, so early that you can’t even see straight, I suggest you stop, blink a few times, count to 30 - you might be smack in the middle of one yourself.

2. The random deciduous trees that turn orange and red. For those of us who grew up in more eastern areas, fall means color. The everlasting evergreen of this emerald city is a force to be reckoned with, however, so the true flames of autumn are hard to come by. Walking down a street and finding yourself underneath one, however, makes it seem like the whole green world has faded away, and the sky you see through the crimson leaves is one that you left behind long ago.

3. The low-cutting arc of the sun’s path. Who’s got south-facing windows? Daytime under these circumstances is almost beachy with it’s sunlight rations.

4. The multitudes of color in the water. With clouds overhead sometimes, and mists overhead others, and any other weird combination of weather patterns, the bodies of water surrounding us are a virtual kaleidescope. Here pastel green, there silver-blue, and sometimes the color of no color at all - the lakes and the sound offer much entertainment if you take the time to watch them.