Did you know that Rimmey Road Farm held a pop up market a couple weekends ago called Punkins for the Pigs? There were vendors and a DJ and if you brought your leftover Halloween pumpkins (pigs love them!), you got $1 off a sausage sandwich!

Cute (and practical), right?

I’m deeply regretting that I didn’t learn about this event until it was already over and can’t wait for next year.

That same November weekend, we turned back the clocks and the 10-day weather forecast foretold the first snow flurries of the season.

My husband Justin and I are feeling great about having kept our October calendars as flexible as possible this year, so we could take full advantage of optimal autumn weather. (It’s one of the best times to be here, after all!)

In true State College fashion, my Fall Highlight Reel is gathering memorable experiences both big and so small that you might totally miss them if you didn’t live in a place that allowed you to regularly slow down and notice.

For example, my brother came to visit for the weekend so that he and Justin could undertake a self-designed 100km “Tour de State College” on their bikes.

I drove to meet them at the finish line (Voodoo Brewery) with extra layers of warm clothes and mom levels of pride and picture taking in celebration of their accomplishment.

As I pulled into the parking lot, I passed a color explosion of mums outside of Maine Bay & Berry next door.

I did deliver the much-needed warm clothes, but then rushed back outside to stand in front of said mums and mutter and smile to myself about how beautiful they looked before rejoining the post-ride after-party.

Small moment. Could easily have gone unnoticed. But standing there grinning like a fool and appreciating those flowers felt like fall “extra credit.” Like dropping a few extra bonus coins into my “This Season is Just So Good!” experience piggy bank.

I felt the same way about giving into temptation and plopping into an impossible-to-resist leaf pile on Garner Street.

And about the display of sunny, peaceful, waterfront fall foliage at Colyer Lake.

A friend and I had found a flexible Wednesday morning to meet and hike together before easing into the workday. We were so caught up in talking that the orange and yellow woods filtering 9am sunlight faded into the background. But coming around a bend in the trail and being confronted with the vibrant lakefront required a pause, a few breaths, and a picture.

I’m doing my best to intentionally scoop up and soak in these “catch them while you can” moments before they’re gone again for another year. And I’m fully appreciating that they’re harder to come by for city-dwelling family and friends!

So with one more juicy month of fall ahead of us, just waiting to be loaded up with “extra credit” moments, what’s left on your bucket list?

We’ve still got lots of time to slow down and appreciate the things that make this season so special.