Our Five Favorite Things About Fall

Enjoy the breathtaking palette painted by Mother Nature as the most marked distinction in seasons starts to take place. As animals thicken their coats for winter's embrace, trees shed theirs, revealing a brilliant and dramatically fleeting display of color. Die-hards even love the opportunity to exercise, raking piles of fallen leaves that serve as mini mountains in which children can jump.

Few things are crisper than the crunch of an apple picked by little hands right off of the tree. Enjoy pressed cider straight from the farm, chilled to refresh or heated to warm cold bones on a frosty day. Savor the melt-in-your mouth sweetness of both apples and cider battered, sugared, and served almost too hot to hold in a bag that smells so good it makes your mouth water. Apple cider doughnuts are worth waiting for once a year.

Take in a college football game on a Saturday afternoon at Utica College, Hamilton College or Colgate University. Sorry, Syracuse University and the Carrier Dome doesn't count because it's indoors. You need to experience the game in the cool, crisp weather and enjoy the great Fall scenery too. And don't forget to bring the grill and a cooler filled with your beverage of choice for some pre-game tailgating!

What could possibly be more fun than apples, foliage and the spirit of a good football game? Dressing up like a werewolf and mooching free candy from your neighbors! Halloween is my favorite holiday, mainly because every year I get to try and outdo myself when it comes to costumes. Whether it's an attempt at Conan O'Brien or an old-fashioned robot, Halloween lets you be creative without feeling like a hipster or a fool.

Nothing is more American than the sound of a baseball being smashed a nearly unfathomable distance by a person who makes more in one at-bat than you make in a year. Baseball is the perfect pastime, and with the air getting cooler it means we're getting closer to the end of a topsy-turvy season. With so many great teams in the mix this year, there is no telling who will walk away with the championship. Sit down, grab a pumpkin beer and watch the late season fireworks begin.