Goodbye pink scarves

The weather has turned. The mornings are gray and almost damp, and the temperature never reaches above 55. It's fall in Moscow, and the leaves have turned red, orange, gold almost overnight, and are falling onto the ground in loose clumps. The change from summer to fall was so sudden that I felt as if, without warning, everyone had changed into leather jackets and long pants. The berries and dill have disappeared from babushka vendors - now I see straw slippers and hankerchiefs. It's not so bad though...just different. I would expect warm afternoons and full apple trees in September at home...evenings still buzz with locusts and call for long walks and beer gardens and pink sunsets. There's no lingering here. But at least you can sense change, which always seems a bit exciting. Pull out the warm jackets, unfold the sweaters...something's coming.

This is Puskinskaya metro station...during rush hour.