It seems fitting that Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, falls in September.  

In Southern California, while the seasonal changes are not as dramatic, (it doesn't get as cold, there is not an abundance of deciduous trees losing their leaves, plants continue to bloom, crops continue to grow) there is still a shift in the climate, a change to the smell and the feeling of the wind.  

Santa Ana winds.

Tomatoes and avocados come into abundance. Whether you eat them as salsa and guacamole, grilled and chopped and diced or just plain ripe slices, they are as important to Californian eating as air is to breathing.  

Fall is peak dry season and monsoon and tropical cyclone season in some regions. While mighty weather is mighty exciting, a rainy year has thus far spared my neck of the woods from the massive wild fires fueled by Santa Ana winds.

Autumn... a dramatic new cycle for all things flora and fauna.

Autumn marks the dramatic beginning of new seasons for performing arts companies as well. New productions and performances of the opera, the symphony, the ballet and theatre and dance companies all around the globe. On my list so far... Cosi Fan Tutte and La Boheme at the LA Opera, The Nutcracker at the San Francisco Ballet, Juno and the Paycock at the Abbey Theatre.

And Fall is also the new season of freshman scripted television shows and the heavy-hitter dramatic films hoping to win awards. On my list so far... the new Prime Suspect series with Maria Bello and Terra Nova (hello, dinosaurs), and the films The Debt, Drive, J. Edgar and Anonymous (Vanessa Redgrave as Queen Elizabeth I is so juicy).

So bring on the wooly scarves and witchcraft, pumpkins and apple cider.  

What are you watching in your magic circle?