Attempting to Rank the Seasons

Autumn is in full swing: the leaves have changed colour and are starting to fall, the skies are often grey, the air is cool, and nights are becoming long. I love fall. But is it my favourite season? I’m not sure. I decided to examine the pros and cons of each season and try to rank them from favourite to least favourite.

Some context: I live in southern Ontario, Canada, where seasonal change is pretty extreme. Winter is long, dark, and freezing cold. Summer is long, hot, and humid. Spring and fall encompass dramatic changes in day length, temperature, and the natural world. It’s not unique in this regard, and there are certainly places where seasonal temperature variation is much greater (Siberia, apparently), but I think it’s fair to say that every season in this region is kind of a lot.

I’ll start with fall since it’s the current season.

Pros of Fall

• The weather is cooler (eventually). Autumn brings cooler temperatures around mid-October. I can finally open the windows after many months of air conditioning and I don’t get sweaty when I go for walks.
• It’s the end of allergy season (eventually). Once we’ve had a few good frosts, I can finally put away the allergy medicines.
• Night comes earlier and morning comes later. I like darkness, especially after a long, bright summer.
• There are more cloudy, rainy days, which I find pleasant.
• The leaves change colour. I’m fortunate to live somewhere with a lot of trees and I enjoy seeing yellow, orange, red, and brown leaves everywhere I look.
• Birds are migrating. Fall is a fun time to watch birds because there are more species to spot, including rarer birds you won’t see hanging around in summer or winter.
• It’s the best season for fashion. In the summer I have to wear whatever’s coolest; in winter I have to bundle up. In fall I can focus on expressing myself through clothing.
• There are some great festivals and events in fall. My two favourite arts festivals, my favourite local historical reenactment event, and all the local and local-ish Pagan events happen in autumn.
• Fall sports are fun. I’m a baseball fan and I enjoy watching the exciting end-of-season games in September and October. I don’t know much about football yet but like watching or chatting about games with my football-fan family members when football season begins. I used to run a very silly and casual fantasy football league, which I might like to start up again in the near future.
• It’s the best time to visit parks. They’re not very busy and you won’t get too hot hiking them. I visited Rocky Mountain National Park and Garden of the Gods in October and Arches National Park in November and those were some of my best travel experiences. I doubt they would have been as enjoyable during peak tourist season (or in the middle of winter, for that matter).
• Goth is in. I like black clothes, melancholy music, romantically dark stories, and classically scary figures like ghosts and vampires. I like these things year-round but fall is when they’re really “in season.”
• There are winter holidays to look forward to. Winter holidays typically mean time off school or work and fun activities. In autumn, those days are in the near future.
• It’s a season of predictable change. The weather always gets cooler, the nights become longer, the leaves change colour and fall, and routines change. Chaotic change can provoke anxiety but I find the rhythmic, day-to-day differences of autumn dynamic and energizing.
• It’s a time of magic and otherworldliness. The possibilities of magic feel greater, spirits and ancestors feel closer, dreams feel more meaningful, and transformation feels more possible than at other times of year. I’ve felt this way since I was a kid, long before I knew it was more or less common thought in Pagan circles.
• I feel better overall. Whether I have spring-onset seasonal affective disorder (possibly) or it’s something else, I always feel happier, more energetic, more optimistic, more creative, more connected, and more magical in fall.

Cons of Fall

• The beginning of fall is always still hot and humid, even as the days grow shorter.
• Early fall is aggressive wasp season. I am afraid of wasps and I loathe having to fend them off every time I step outside in September.
• I’ve often felt like the start of school was a bit of a bummer, since it meant early mornings and a loss of freedom.
• American Thanksgiving can be stressful. It’s not a holiday in Canada (Canadian Thanksgiving is in early October) so we don’t get the day off. My family and my husband’s family – all of whom live in the States –  want to celebrate with us, but taking time off and planning who’s doing what where, when, and with which family can be difficult.
• I have at times experienced a creative slump in November.

Pros of Winter

• Snow is beautiful. I never get tired of seeing falling snow and fresh snowfall on trees.
• There are often birds at the feeder and bird water dish. Seeing them, especially against a snowy backdrop, feels like a treat every time.
• People put up lights and decorations. I love seeing Christmas and Yule decorations (with the exception of those inflatable monstrosities). Sparkling lights, evergreen wreaths, and shiny ornaments make the season feel exciting and special.
• Cold weather means I rarely have to deal with feeling too warm.
• Winter holidays mean time with friends and family, special events, parties, presents, good food, good drinks, and time off. What’s not to love?
• Longer, colder nights continue to help me sleep better and feel better mentally.
• Winter is a good time to visit places that are overcrowded in summer. For example, Niagara Falls is basically a ghost town in winter, and I once managed to spend a day at Disney World when there were no lines for even the most popular attractions.
• Winterlude in Ottawa is an amazingly fun festival of music, ice sculpture, winter sports, and tasty snacks in early February right when winter is starting to drag on. I’ve been lucky enough to go several times and in a perfect world, I’d be there every year.
• This is a small thing, but I appreciate how quickly laundry dries in winter. If I hang clothes to dry, I can be confident they’ll be wearable in just a few hours.

Cons of Winter

• Post-holiday letdown is no fun.
• Snow on the ground makes every kind of transportation difficult. Driving can be hazardous and nerve-wracking. Taking the bus means risking getting splashed by grimy salt water at the bus stop and climbing through huge piles of slush to board. Walking usually results in salt-stained boots and pant legs and if you’re unlucky, wet socks. Bike lanes are rarely plowed adequately. And I discovered last winter that snowy sidewalks are often completely unnavigable with a stroller.
• The options for outdoor fun are greatly reduced. There are a lot fewer outdoor community events and you can’t just hang out outside.
• The lack of observable change in the natural world can get depressing. If you walk the same route every day, you’re likely to see the same exact things. Moreover, those things are dead and/or covered with snow, so they’re a lot less interesting than they are in the other three seasons.
• Shorter days mean less time for projects that require daylight. By the time I get home from work or put the baby to bed, it’s too dark for photography.
• Dry air is hard on the lungs. Sometimes I feel like I go straight from allergy season to dry cough season.
• It’s impossible to keep puddles of salty water out of the house. We don’t wear shoes past the foyer but the foyer always gets messy. So does the dog.
• Winter lasts far too long.

Pros of Spring

• The natural world changes by the minute. Nothing is more exhilarating than watching the Earth come back to life after a long, cold winter.
• The return of warmth and light are always a welcome change.
• It’s warm and bright but not unpleasantly hot yet. Windows can be opened and walks are refreshing rather than freezing or baking.
• Spring bulbs are my favourite flowers. Watching snowdrops, crocuses, daffodils, hyacinths, and tulips emerge from the ground and blossom is always a highlight of my year.
• The woods bloom with spring ephemerals. Trout lilies, trilliums, jack-in-the-pulpit, bloodroot, wild ginger, and many other beautiful and delicate flowers fill the forests.
• There’s something to see everywhere you look. After the comparatively dull views of winter, spring is a feast for the eyes.
• The sounds of spring are lovely. Cardinals and chickadees begin to sing early in spring and peepers call from the wetlands. Later, migrating birds return and the dawn chorus gradually becomes louder and more complex.
• It’s time to start gardening.
• I love spring holidays. The Spring Equinox and Beltane are two of my favourites.
• Pastels are in. As much as I love the gothic look, I also adore pastels. Spring is the season when pastels appear on clothing and décor everywhere.

Cons of Spring

• Spring means the return of allergies.
• It’s too short. Before I know it, spring flowers are withering and the heat of summer is setting in.

Pros of Summer

• There’s plenty to do in the garden. Taking care of plants and watching them grow is rewarding. Vegetable season begins in earnest and new flowers bloom every week.
• There are lots of outdoor activities to enjoy. Summer brings festivals, plays, swimming, picnics in the park, visits to historical sites, and much more.
• Summer is typically a less-busy season at work, which means most vacations happen in summer.
• My birthday is in early summer.
• There’s plenty of light for working on projects and staying up late.
• Summer is the season for grilling and eating on the patio in the evenings, and maybe enjoying a cold drink outdoors.
• Summer thunderstorms are fascinating and awe-inspiring.
• Fireflies sparkle among the trees in the woods and parks.
• In late summer, a chorus of insects fills the night with their music.

Cons of Summer

• It’s hot. Really hot. And humid. Spending any length of time outdoors without shade or indoors without air conditioning can be unpleasant.
• Having the AC on and the windows closed for weeks on end can feel stifling.
• The sun rises and shines in my bedroom window well before I would like to be awake.
• Summer is peak allergy season. Even with medication, I suffer.
• I have to drive distances I could walk in other seasons. The heat and/or sun exposure are often just too much to endure for very long, especially while exercising.
• It’s usually sunny for days on end. I like sunny days – I wouldn’t want to live somewhere with near-constant cloud cover – but I wish there was more variation in the summer. It’s only rarely cloudy and/or rainy, and rarely for very long.
• Fashion takes a backseat to “whatever clothing will prevent me from overheating and is easy to wash.”
• Like winter, summer lasts far too long.

So which season do I like best? Honestly, there’s something to love about all of them. I listed more pros than cons for all four seasons. Fall and spring are definitely my top two but I don’t think I could choose between them. I don’t dislike winter or summer; I just wish they were both shorter. I’m glad I live somewhere with four seasons that are so different from one another.