It’s the time when, as Amy Calder writes, “trees are awash in orange and crimson.” Above, early morning sunshine backlights the ice crystals on a leaf Thursday in Mount Hope Cemetery in Augusta. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

The trees are awash in orange and crimson, yellow leaves flutter down outside my window and last night we had our first frost.

It’s an autumn Thursday and soon those trees will be bare, once the winds wipe them clean, letting in the sun.

The days are getting shorter. In about two weeks we’ll turn the clocks back, and dark will come earlier. The morning sun, also arriving sooner by the clock, will help draw us from sleep.

Thurston, our large orange and white cat, seems to wonder why it’s so cold. He meows at the back door to go out, but instead of romping around until lunchtime, he wants back in. In and out, in and out.

He knows change is afoot. He watched as I cleaned up the vegetable garden, pulled weeds from flower beds and trimmed shrubs around the house.

He, and we, have acclimated to the loss of Bitsy, our nearly 18-year-old gray-and-black tiger cat who died in August and who Thurston had lived with since he was a kitten. Thurston, 7, seems more attentive to us now and less apt to turn away when we ask him to come in.

He loves it when we are outdoors, watching as he chases leaves and scouts the property for squirrels and birds.

Thurston, Amy Calder’s cat, is seen recently scouting for squirrels. Amy Calder/Morning Sentinel

It won’t be long before most of the leaves are down and it’s time to rake and bag. The cat will be thrilled because it means long hours with us in the sun, making piles he can leap into, taking stretch breaks on the deck, listening to our chatter.

It’s nearly Halloween, and the little boy and his mother who live down the street hand-delivered to us and other neighbors paper invitations, sealed with wax, to their annual costume party. There was a time when few children lived in the neighborhood. Now there are lots, and it’s nice to hear them out playing.

Fall is a bittersweet season. Its onset prompts memories of childhood, of family no longer here. The chilly air, sounds of dry leaves falling and crunching underfoot, the scent of simmering apples. It brings it all back.

But autumn also comes with a hint of anticipation. After Halloween fades to black, Thanksgiving is on the horizon. It’s time to start preparing for gift-giving which means, at least for me, taking part in one of my favorite annual rituals: holiday shopping. Contemplating what might make friends and family members smile, taking advantage of early sales, and the camaraderie shared with others on a mission — it’s all happy business.

But before that time comes, we’ll take part Nov. 5 in the most important event of the season — Election Day. We will exercise our right and privilege to vote in what may be the most consequential presidential election of our lifetimes and, yes, every vote counts. Collectively, we’ll determine the trajectory our country takes for the next four years and beyond.

It’s a big year for transition that, unlike the shift from summer to fall, we have the power to dictate.

Both, though, can be beautiful. It just depends on how we embrace the season — and check the ballot.

Amy Calder has been a Morning Sentinel reporter 35 years. She is the author of the book, “Comfort is an Old Barn,” a collection of her curated columns, published in 2023 by Islandport Press. She may be reached at acalder@centralmaine.com. For previous Reporting Aside columns, go to centralmaine.com.