autumn

Most of us brag to our friends and family (and nod to each other) about living in one of the most beautiful places in the country. The "City of Trees" is amazing. Until it's time to rake.

If you've got those brown bags full of leaves stacked in your driveway and you're wondering when someone is going to pick them up, the answer is...soon! Boise crews are a little overwhelmed with fall right now, but help is on the way.

It feels like fall is finally here, and there's more to be excited about than just cozy hoodies and autumny-tasting lattes. We've got a lesser chance that wildfires are going to creep up on us now too, and a big part of our region is in the same boat. Camping trip on!

This is the sweet spot in a pumpkin's life. Thousands of pumpkins that have grown up in a patch are off the vine now, and the clock is ticking before the dreaded shrivel and rot happens. So how long do we have? And there is at least one thing we can do to get pumpkins to last longer.

Fall foliage is going to peak soon, and if you know when to grab the camera and capture the leaves changing colors, you'll be the autumn champion of social media. The fall foliage prediction map is out, and it gives us the best times and places to truly soak up fall.

The fall foliage in New England makes all the magazines and postcards, and seems to be the gold standard for how the orange and brown leaves should really look like this time of year.  Want some? There's a company that will ship them to you.  Because apparently they think they can "out-fall" our pretty trees here in Idaho.  Really? What should we send back from Idaho?

For all practical purposes, fall probably started three weeks ago with the pumpkin spice world takeover.  That's more noticeable than this scientific equinox stuff anyway. But do you know what's actually happening to the earth today?  Here is the "Cliff-Notes-busy-mom" version of what the Autumnal Equinox really means.