"Jack Harrison" wrote in message
m...
In S England, there always seems to be a date when it can be said
"autumn has arrived". This date varies from one year to the next
of
course, but by remarkably little. (a week perhaps?). The onset
of
Autumn, unlike other seasons, always seems clearly defined.

In 2004 it can probably be said that Autumn began on 10
September -
bang down the middle of the range of dates as well as I can
remember.

In truth, it's a fits-and-starts job, isn't it ... just like spring?
And I think we're all agreed it varies greatly geographically,
and it's (almost) entirely subjective. I like the measures other
people have mentioned: shutting the upstairs window, wearing
socks again, etc, to which you might add picking up your
first conker, clearing the fallers out of the grass before cutting
it. I'm surprised no-one's mentioned the day the moisture
from overnight rain or dew doesn't disappear from shady
corners, even though it might have been a sunny day. (That's
the day the ground is wet pretty-much continuously until
the next March or April).

I always notice the first chilly night, usually in late-August,
when the air temp drops below, say, 7ºC ... this year it
was September 1 here. But it's an excellent exercise to
try to do this without reference to meteorological or
astronomical (measured) parameters.

Philip Eden