Legends of the Fall

Although we live in Minnesota, and the weather is already starting to get cold (we've already had days with frost and flurries), this past Sunday we had a perfect Fall day, and we took Guster for a walk around one of the nearby lakes. Days like Sunday remind me why Fall is my favorite season. Today I found myself thinking about how the season got its name, and I realized that I really didn't know. I had some vague notion that Fall implied something about fallen leaves, but that sounded sort of convenient, and I wasn't sure that was actually true. Then I started to think that this is exactly the type of question that Gus would someday ask, and I wouldn't know the correct answer. Great.

So I decided to take a look and confirmed that, in fact, Fall does denote a connection to fallen leaves. The word traces its origins to old Germanc languages. Although the exact derivation is unclear, the Old English fiæll or feallan and the Old Norse fall all being possible candidates. However, these words all have the meaning "to fall from a height" and are clearly derived either from a common root or from each other. The term came to denote the season in the 16th Century, a contraction of Middle English expressions like "fall of the leaf" and "fall of the year."

Also confirmed: Gus has a big nerd for a Dad.

The other thing that Fall makes me think of is raking leaves. A few weeks ago, the family had a yard work day. Rain had prevented us from mowing our lawn for a few weeks, and the leaves were starting to drop, so on one clear dry Saturday, we hopped to it. Pictures of our day are below:

Suited up for work.
Helping Mom mow.
Posed.
I wonder if I can get this whole thing in my mouth?
It's good!