It’s finally over!  Summer, that is.  We’ve had glorious autumn weather these past few days — not really cool enough for a jacket, but cool enough to turn off the A/C — and signs of autumn are everywhere.

For me, one of the first signs that fall is on its way (not counting the Halloween stuff that appears at the craft stores in July, and anything related to back-to-school), is the Golden Raintrees bursting into brilliant bloom:

The blossoms give way to seed pods:

And soon the trees are covered in papery salmon-covered seed pods:

Another sure sign that fall is on the way, is the arrival of pumpkins at the grocery store. It seems like each year there are more and more colors and shapes to choose from:

Soon, Halloween decorations creep into the landscape.  I always get a kick out of seeing all the ghosts and graveyards popping up around the neighborhood:

Disco ghosts

My friend Bill and I went to the fall Herb Fair put on by the South Texas Unit of the Herb Society of America this past weekend, where I stocked up on their special herb blends, including Rosemary’s Cookies, Spaghetti Zip, and Royal Salt.  I also bought some interesting-sounding jams, and of course, herbs:

As the parent of two high-schoolers, Homecoming is another sign that fall is here.  For my daughter’s last high school Homecoming Dance, we hosted a fajita party at our house before the dance, which the kids really enjoyed.  At the last minute, I ordered a tres leches cake from one of my favorite bakeries, Ideal Bakery.

As the sun-faded sign in the window declares, “te encantara!” which translates to something like “you’ll love it!”

The bakery is filled with tempting Mexican pastries of all sorts, and it’s always fun to grab a tray and pair of tongs and select a few from the cases.

 Special for Halloween

How do they get the sugar coating to do that?

The cake was delicious, and true to its word, everyone loved it.  One caveat — although their baked goods are delicious, spelling is not their forte:

The couple working at the bakery were so sweet, and made me a cake on very short notice, and when they brought it out and asked if it was OK, I just had to smile and say, “It’s perfect.”  Which it was.