• I live in Arizona, where "fall" still feels like the middle of summer. • Every year, I decorate my house with pumpkins, garlands, and faux leaves. • Creating my own version of autumn helps me feel connected to the season.

It's autumn — farmers are harvesting their crops, temperatures are dropping, and leaves are falling… or are they? In Mesa, Arizona, where I've lived for most of my life, none of these classic signs of autumn appear.

Here, we mainly harvest sunshine. Our autumn weather is what the rest of the country considers the heat of summer. Throughout September, we're usually still in the triple digits; it's been 100 degrees on Halloween. Fall color — if we get any — appears around Christmastime. Autumn in the East Valley of Phoenix is more of a concept on the calendar than a

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