Punxsutawney Provo: I've decided it is now fall, by far the best season of the year no matter where you live, but especially so in Utah where it is distinctly different from the other three seasons. If you look at the calendar, you'll notice it is not "officially" fall, which begins Sept. 22 with the Atumnal equinox. This is of no concern to me. It is fall.

I first noticed it was fall on Monday when I woke up to rain and temperatures in the 60s. (No, I did not put on a jacket. I enjoyed the cool, crisp air like any sensible fall-lover would.) I went outside and kept my hands in my pockets, for the first time in months feeling the need to apologize to the person shaking my cold hand. Fall is the only time of the year when you can go outside and enjoy being in the sun because there is enough cool air around you to make it bearable.

I made a batch of salsa the other night and canned it. That's what you do when it's fall. (Or maybe it's not salsa for you, but it was for me. That and blackberry jelly and apricot jam.) It was the first time I had made it myself and I think I put in too much vinegar, or too much salt, I can't tell. And my wife cleaned up a pile of pepper seeds and unwittingly stuck her fingers in her eyes and nose, leading to a sort of crisis. I'm looking forward to making many apple, berry and other fruit pies, which are my favorite dessert. In about 50 days, I'll head to a farm to pick out a pumpkin and maybe bring home some apple cider (which is fantastic when added to doughnuts or pancakes).

I watched lots of college football, which is as closely tied to fall as anything. I told BYU football coach Bronco Mendenhall (through the TV) that this week in practice he ought to focus on ball control and on establishing the running game. Usually he and I are on the same page. On Saturdays I run between the couch and the kitchen, alternately watching and baking. My coffee table gets very messy. In fact, it still smells like the salsa-bound onions I chopped on it while watching college football. That's fall, folks.

-- Logan Molyneux