Here’s what the first day of fall looks like across Minnesota

Monday is the September equinox, better known as the first day of fall. It’s a time of the year when day and night are approximately equal length, and our sun will be directly above the equator at 1:19 p.m.

We say goodbye to a summer that’s been warmer and wetter than usual, with a bit of smoke. But we’ll look forward to harvest time, falling orange leaves and crisp morning air.

Here’s what the morning looked like, as captured by Minnesota Star Tribune reporters stationed across the state.

I like rainy days, how whatever light there is softly illuminates everything around us. But even I’m sick of all the clouds we’ve had lately here in Rochester. I know I’ve shared this wonderful trail along the Zumbro River before, but I was struck yesterday (and this morning) by how many leaves had already fallen. Two weeks ago, the pavement was practically bare. Here’s hoping we get a bit more sunshine this week.

— Trey Mewes

On a whim just north of St. Peter, I drove down a windy gravel road in a valley cloaked in dense morning fog. An old barn decayed on one side of the gravel road. Fallen leaves lined the shoulders of the minimum-maintenance road. “Travel at your own risk,” a sign said. But the fog kept drawing me in. I saw a cow skull on a gate. A wooden outbuilding, tipped over. A small brook running along round rocks. I thought of my teenage years when I tore down river roads in my first car, my mind racing, in search of something new.

Eventually I climbed out of the river valley. Looking down the rows of corn, everything faded into nothingness in the distance. I drove through fog so thick that it seemed like oncoming trucks materialized suddenly, as if from a different dimension. But then I arrived near St. Peter, and the sun came out of hiding, and the cornstalks, tall like NBA forwards, shined in the golden rays.

I came to my favorite spot in Minneapolis, the Lake Harriet Bandshell, three months ago to the minute to welcome summer. The welcoming of fall felt different: Instead of a perfect summer morning, it was a hazy fall morning after thunderstorms the day before, with airplanes heard but not seen overhead. There are two perfect seasons in Minnesota: the end of spring, and the beginning of fall. The upcoming forecast shows it: highs in the 70s for the next two weeks! On Monday, the first day of fall, one fisherman cast his line near the scores of sailboats. Another sat alone in a boat in the middle of the lake. Runners ran and cyclists cycled, knowing this perfect season will be glorious but short.

— Reid Forgrave

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Always one for dramatic flair, Juniper shielded her eyes from the first smattering of crunchy leaves strewn across her St. Cloud backyard: Maybe if she doesn’t see them, they don’t exist. Sorry, Juni — the sun has set on summer, and fall arrived with clear skies and a wee bit of humidity in central Minnesota midday Monday.

But fret not, dear doggo: The arrival of autumn beckons shorter evenings that mean more time for snuggling and hibernating on the couch. For pups, fall means (generally) crisper air for walks, the arrival of pumpkins to be carved (and the innards eaten), and the time of year that locally grown apples are abundant in the fridge (and also shared with four-legged friends).

— Jenny Berg

Bruce Hartman, 69, sat on a bench overlooking the Mississippi River on Monday shortly after the official moment of the fall equinox at 1 p.m. Asked if he felt as balanced as the seasons, he said “I would say so, sure.” As for the weather on the first day of fall, he said “Oh, I just love it.” Me too.

I stopped in Little Falls en route to Detroit Lakes from Minneapolis. It’s been a busy life of a reporter covering Lakes Country and the occasional basketball game at Target Center. But even as I’m so busy rushing around, I’m always observing the beauty that surrounds us here in Minnesota. On my equinox route north, I gazed at an eagle soaring above Becker, smiled at a man in a flannel shirt driving a stretch limousine on I-94 and wished I had time to stop at an adorable pumpkin stand south of Royalton. I love the small towns that make up the majority of Minnesota and it’s a blessing that I get to explore many of them for my job that’s hard to call work on days like today.

— Kim Hyatt

A fly agaric mushroom sprouts near Tischer Creek in Duluth on Monday morning.

It was quiet on Hill Lake on this first day of fall, just outside Hill City, Minn., where residents were preparing to bury a Korean War vet whose remains were recently identified. There was just a hint of color to the leaves on trees near the glassy lake, situated just south of Grand Rapids.