This Saturday is the first day of Autumn. You can always tell where someone lives by how they talk about this season.

For people who live up north, Fall is the unfortunate end of summer, and the sign of snow in the future.

For South Floridians, Fall is the relief from the brutal summer heat, a joyous occasion when temperatures drop into the upper 80's :). And the transition to our near-perfect winter.

Athough we don't get to enjoy the incredible explosion of color from the changing of the leaves that accompanies the cooler northern temperatures, we do have lots of pumpkins available to decorate ou homes and to fill our pie crusts during the many Fall festivities and family gatherings.

To make choosing a pumpkin a festive event, Coconut Grove is hosting the Pumpkin Patch Festival the last weekend of September at Peacock Park. I figure with some 2,000 pumpkins to choose from, there has to be one that's exactly what you're looking for.