First Day of Autumn

Leaves fall, cool air, harvest moon, and plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. These elements of autumn symbolize the closing of a year. Here are some ideas to celebrate the Autumn Equinox:

* Make scarecrow dolls out of straw and old clothes and set up a tea party with them on your front porch.
* Burn pumpkin spice or apple cider scented candles.
* Make dolls out of pine cones.
* Create fall place mats: collect colorful leaves and arrange on an orange or black paper. Place between two pieces of wax paper and place between pages of a heavy book. After a few days remove from the book. Take off the wax paper and laminate the page with the leaves.
* Take a scenic drive to see trees in fall color.
* Visit a local public garden.
* Take a walk through a forest or along a river.
* Decorate your house with autumn wreaths; pumpkins and other fall vegetables; orange, red and brown ribbons; bouquets of autumn flowers, etc.
* Rake leaves into a pile and jump into them: see how much crunching noise you can make.
* Collect leaves from the neighborhood and make a collage.
* Carve pumpkins.
* Visit a lake or a pond and watch the geese or ducks prepare for their journey south.