Love an Autumn girl and you will know warmth: low slanted sunshine warmth, spices, steaming mugs and nubby, fuzzy, woolen blanket warmth.

She’ll jump the gun in late-summer September and declare it sweater weather. Lend her your jacket. Admire the riding boots she slips on when the temperature dips below 70. Tell her that her eyes are every shade of topaz, because they are.

An Autumn girl bakes. She prefers pie to cakes. Take her to the farmer’s market. Fill her basket with harvest fruits and fresh, brown eggs. Kiss the back of her neck while she kneads the dough and let her stuff you with cobblers, crisps and turnovers.

Present her with pumpkins for her porch. A cord of cut wood will go over equally well. Kindle nightly fires to cuddle up beside.

If she is restless, take her outside, even in the rain. An Autumn girl needs the fresh, crisp air and the sound of dry leaves crunching under her toes. Pull her close, bury your nose in her hair and breathe in the faint smell of smoke.

Rake her front yard and let her jump in the leaf piles. Then rake them up again. Hone your carving skills and impress her with elaborate jack ‘o’ lanterns. Nurture your creativity because this is what excites her and then win your Autumn girl’s heart forever by suggesting ideas for couple’s costumes. Tell her you will always be the Clyde to her Bonnie, the Desi to her Lucy or the Gertrude to her Alice.

Every Autumn girl embraces her dark side. At times she will be as mysterious as the fog rolling silently through a cemetery. Scare the hell out of her (gently and with a laugh). She smiles at the spooky. Explore a haunted house, shudder through a ghost tour, play paranormal investigators together. Let her clutch your hand and drag you into a corn maze. Don’t worry, she always finds her way out. Eventually.

The Autumn girl is a cheerleader and a homecoming queen. She has team spirit and never misses the playoffs. Some cold, Friday night take her to a high school football game. She appreciates nostalgia too. Afterwards, warm up with hot chocolate at a roadside diner.

Gift her with hayrides, amber bottles of pumpkin ale and intricately painted, sugar skulls. Mull her wine and dunk her apples in caramel. Buy her new scarves and soft piles of jewel-toned, cashmere cardigans. Together, toast the season with sparkling cider.

Be glad and be ready, for an Autumn girl is adventurous. Hike a rocky forest path. Canoe on a mirror-still lake, take the paddles and let her lie down for a long rest so that she may look up at the fire colored trees against the bluest sky.

Gratitude is her greatest virtue. Above all, an Autumn girl gives thanks. She knows her worth and will show you the meaning of true abundance because life to an Autumn girl is a cornucopia spilling over with fun, beauty, adventure and delight.

Love elephant and want to go steady?

Sign up for our (curated) daily and weekly newsletters!

Editor: Catherine Monkman

Photo: aworkerb/Flickr