Fall In Minnesota vs Fall In North Carolina

It was only two weeks ago that my wife and I were wrapping up our vacation on the Outer Banks in Corolla, North Carolina, but given our forecast for tomorrow morning here in Minnesota that includes a four-letter 's' word that rhymes with "Noooo!", it seems like it was forever ago!

This was one of the views from the house we stayed in. Yep, it was right on the Atlantic Ocean. And even though it was mid-September-- after the peak vacation season on the Outer Banks-- the weather was still just about perfect: Mainly sunny, with highs in the upper 70's. The ocean breeze made it seem a little cooler, but you could still swim in the ocean, soak up some sun on the beach or enjoy some time reading a book in an Adirondack chair on the deck.  Like I said, that was only two weeks ago.

Fast-forward to now, and checking our Weather-Eye forecast for southeastern Minnesota, I see that our lows tonight will be near freezing, and yes, there's even the chance at some of the 's' word-type showers-- the kind of precipitation that occurs when it's below freezing. (I just can't bring myself to type-- or say-- the word yet).  Which, of course, meant that this morning I had to make sure our fireplace was ready to go for another season.  We have a gas fireplace, so really all I had to do was ignite the pilot light and make sure everything fired up as it should. Not nearly as rugged as building a wood fire, but it's still waaayyy too early in the season, if you ask me.  What a difference a few weeks-- and some geography-- makes!