The pumpkin patch was a sweaty place to visit this year. My friends and I made our annual trip to Maryland to buy apple-cider donuts, admire the changing leaves, and get lost in a stunningly complicated corn maze—but we hadn’t accounted for the sun beating down on us, peaking near 80 degrees in early October.
As I swatted the yellowjackets away from my food, I longed for the October I had experienced just two years ago, on a trip to the same farm: the cool, misty weather; the prevalence of knitwear; the diminished threat of sunburn. Finally, weeks later, the autumn I love is creeping back. Here are some stories I’ve compiled for the sweater-wearing, Halloween-observing, pumpkin-spice-drinking readers.