It's partly a sports thing, I'll admit. Autumn brings baseball's pennant races and playoffs, college and pro football, NASCAR's race for the championship and golf's FedEx Cup. All, by the way, look great in high definition.

But for me, fall also brings high definition to the outdoors. The colors of summer are muted: the baked green of grass, trees, tobacco and corn against a sky washed out by an oppressive sun. In autumn, leaves of bright red, yellow and burnt orange stand out against a sky that is suddenly bluer and more inviting.

As odd as it might sound, autumn is a season of renewal for me. After the heat of summer has drained my energy, the cool days of autumn return the bounce to my step. It's as though my internal battery recharges when the morning air falls below 60 degrees.

Fortunately, fall brings plenty of opportunities to spend that energy. Fall festivals abound across the Triangle, the State Fair returns to Raleigh and the UNC women return to the soccer field. (Soccer outings are a daddy-daughter thing in the Bolejack household, along with field hockey and, if we're lucky enough to score tickets, UNC football.)

A bonus: My grass stops growing in the fall, giving me time to go and do all of the things there are to do. (How annoying it would be to have this renewed energy and be forced to spend it in a yard that is as much weed as grass.)

I know that fall is fleeting, especially its colors. Before I know it, the maple tree in my front yard will turn from bright yellow to barren, and the sky will turn from bright blue to gray. The temperature will get too cold, and I will be forced to take my morning walks in the controlled environment of the Medical Mall.

But for a while, from now through mid-November, I'll be hard-pressed to find anything to complain about. My wife and daughter, I know, will be relieved.