I live in Malaysia. We don’t have autumn. But we have entered our “fall.” There are several characteristics of our fall which occur each year. First, the weather turns dry. The almost daily rain of October, November, & December comes to a screeching halt as the skies turn a permanent beautiful azure blue. The days are gorgeous, the ocean looks amazing. This is the first characteristic of our fall.

But it doesn’t stop there. Without rain, it gets hot. I mean penetrating hot. The kind of hot where you’ll sweat by breathing. You will seek the air conditioning during our fall. That’s another characteristic.

But, just like any fall, it also has leaves, dry and crinkled on the ground. Sometimes, the wind blows hundreds off the trees at the time just like I might experience back in Pennsylvania. On mornings like this, I can trick myself into feeling the cool morning autumnal air which only exists in my dreams (or in the movie theaters here.)

The final characteristic of our fall is this:

Dying grass. The beautiful lush green turns an unappealing crunchy brown. I only have to mow every three weeks, if even that. I used to water it, but such a vain task means nothing here. As soon as the March rains return, the grass will turn an envious shade of Irish green. So why bother?

It’s not my favorite time of the year here, but it is a little different from the monotony of tropical living.

By the way. I love the monotony.

I’ll leave you with a another picture of our yard.