1. Sweater weather! Dido models a little Acadia National Park number in our TOC.

2. Boating is almost poignant in October. There’s nothing like viewing spectacular shore foliage from offshore.

3. Tourtières! It’s not just about pumpkin spice. Other cold-weather comfort foods start reappearing on the menu. Taste the joy of our Franco-American heritage to the soundtrack of Josée Vachon’s singing/guitar-playing/clogging in The Traditions of Québec and Acadia: www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Q8WOdfMWKU.

4. Warm-hearted, hot-headed Scorpios, start celebrating our birthday (October 24 to November 21)! It’s time to get your sting on!

5. The lines have thinned, so now you can grab a slice of beach pizza, sidestep the gulls, and walk to the end of the pier at Old Orchard Beach under the stars. It’s National Pizza Month!

6. Mysterious, apocalyptic fall high tides. The surfers all turn out.

7. Not every month boasts 31 days. The first letter looks like a pumpkin, and the last day is a doozy. Sometimes we get two full moons!

8. Fires in the fireplace. Who isn’t drawn to a warm fire on a cool night? My wife is drawn to the fireplace like a cat, and actually, what creatures aren’t?

9. The last frames of The Hunt for Red October take us to Maine. Luckily, we’re already here. www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCqR0_a6_so

10. It’s not March.