What is it that undeniably, indisputably signals fall for you? Is it a quality of the air in the mornings, or that first golden-yellow leaf sailing ground-
For me, when we get this shot, I know fall has finally arrived. Our favorite spot. Every dog I’ve owned has his picture taken with this mountain in the background.
ward? Do our dogs sense it? Maybe that’s what seals the deal: their first amped-up field trip full of vim and vigor they recognize in their subconscious as beyond summertime conditioning sessions. I wonder if it’s the subtly increased pace of their run or that lilt in their step as they
jet from objective to objective.
Some critters stir, others hunker. All change their routine and we notice it. Days get shorter and we change our own routine. Kids head back to school, like-minded friends speak in hushed tones about favorite places and opening day strategies.
More mundane omens push us to another look at the calendar: the Cabela’s fall sale, the distant “crumpf” of big-game hunters sighting in rifles, the smell of old canvas filling our nostrils as tents are unfolded.
But for each of us there is a personal harbinger that our time is almost here. For me, it is that first intake of breath on a morning with temperatures below freezing. The smell and feel of icy atmosphere, bracing lungs physically and hearts psychically.
What’s your signal?
Scott Linden Outdoors 
Yellow and red leaves with a crisp air that you can breath the smell of the forest in. The dogs get squirmy, knowing they can run in the cool of the day and collapse under the shade tree in the back yard, back rolling in the grass. But the ultimate harbinger is that morning campfire that is really needed to get you warm after the cold night in the tent.
Fall when the crisp morning air is full of promise of a morning hunt. Leaves turn color, dogs are frisky, and the smoker is putting the final touches on a turkey.