Locals find ways to fake fall in the Valley
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Illustration: Maura Losch/Axios
Fall technically started Monday, though we'll forgive locals for not noticing amid the Valley's triple-digit highs.
What you're saying: So we asked our readers what they do to embrace the season when they can't count on colorful foliage and brisk temperatures. Here's what you told us:
Decorate: Guy Finney puts LED lights along the roof, which he changes seasonally — blue for winter, green for spring, yellow for summer and red for autumn.
- "We buy those fake cobwebs from the supermarket and drape them over our succulents and bougainvillea. It looks less 'spooky haunted house' and more 'the garden is having a mental breakdown,'" Glen Loveland told us.
- Maleah McDonald, a student at ASU's downtown Phoenix campus, said, "love to trick my brain into thinking that I'm experiencing the same fall as the other states," including by decorating her home with autumn colors.
Eat, drink and be merry: McDonald also welcomes the season by making her room extra cold and sipping "a hot cup of pumpkin spice flavored anything."
- In addition to fall candles for seasonal decor, Megan Slattery told us she makes a crockpot apple pie dump cake with ice cream.
- Loveland's fall traditions include "finally firing up the outdoor grill without fearing third-degree burns from the patio furniture," and eating outside for a "harvest feast."
Explore: If you want to see the more traditional trappings of fall, you can still head out of town.
- "We drive an hour and a half uphill just to see a single maple tree that's turned a faint shade of yellow. We take a photo of it like we've discovered a new element," Loveland said.