Walking By Faith: wacky wednesday - you know it's officially autumn in arizona when...

In some parts of the country October means it's time for sweaters and hot cocoa and a fire in the fireplace. Leaves change colors and the air is crisp and cool. In other words, autumn has arrived in full force.

Not so here in the Valley of the Sun. We use an entirely different measuring stick to gauge when autumn actually arrives - and it's not the official date on the calendar. It pretty much has nothing to do with the thermometer since we are typically still swimming in quite comfortable, unheated swimming pools until the very end of September.

1. The arrival of Starbuck's "Fall Drinks" - Pumpkin Spice Latte and Salted Caramel Mocha. These perennial favorites are available around October 1st and are a consistent prophesier of the arrival of fall in places where the thermometer is no help. They are around for a limited time, like fall, and lead into the Holiday Drinks of winter.

I always get a Pumpkin Spice Latte (full fat and with all the bells and whistles!) in a real cup at the beginning of the season!

2. Large, prominent Halloween displays as soon as you walk in the door of any grocery store. It seems the marketing people have determined that placing such displays within four feet of the door ensures you will trip over it and something will fall in your grocery cart. In any case, they show up the week that has October 1st in it making it a dependable autumn indicator.

These displays tend to be a little scary with witches and jack o'lanterns as tall as scarecrows!

3. The arrival of pink everything to promote Breast Cancer Awareness month. Just about everything from yogurt lids to shoe laces turns pink in October. It is a vivid forecaster of the advent of autumn because it contrasts so dramatically with the normal "earthy" autumn colors.

My personal favorite uprising of pink is the painting of the P.F. Chang's horses which occurs on October 1st. They stay pink through October 31st.

4. Multi-colored gourds and pumpkins magically appear in food stores. The colored gourds are fun to decorate with but the larger, jack o'lantern-type pumpkins don't last long in the heat once they are cut. Nevertheless, these colorful fruits are accurate autumn prognosticators.

Everything about pumpkins - their color, their smell, their taste - screams "AUTUMN!"

5. And lastly, turning over the calendar page! The October calendar picture ALWAYS depicts some aspect of autumn and lets us know we have officially left summer behind. It is the ultimate, most accurate indicator that autumn is really here.