I immediately answered "October."
But September is great, too.
Yes, winter in the upper midwest can be rough but as far as I'm concerned, it just weeds out the weak. They all end up living under a bridge in California. Which explains a lot about California.
The world is packed with beauty. It's everywhere you look and comes in a million different flavors. I love the change of seasons because it's like living in several different countries (or even planets) without ever having to move. This summer was long and hot and dry. We're in the midst of a multi year drought so the creek and lakes are low but that also means that recreationally, the weather has been spectacular! We've had so few rainy days you could count them on one hand. The heat has not been too extreme; we've only made it into the 90s a few times this whole summer and thanks to the drought, it hasn't been very humid. It has been unusually windy but we don't mind: the wind brings a lovely breath of freshness into the house.
But September is always one of the best months of the year. The humidity of summer is usually over, the sun is still fairly high in the sky, the days are hot but the nights are cool and a new, bronzy undertone appears in all the green. The sky and the surface of the lakes turn an unbelievably bright blue, thanks to the low angle of the sun.
If you could capture a day in crystal to preserve it forever, Tuesday, the 20th of September, 2022 would have been the day you'd want to keep. The last time I recall a day so evocative of Eden was October 6, 1994. You remember a day in which you look around and think "This is it. This is the most beautiful day that ever was."
I had had lunch with my Mom and she kicked me out at 1:00, because she was being picked up by an old friend to go play bridge all afternoon. So, a little after 2:00, Jay and I walked around Lake Harriet. The temps got up to 90 in the sun but there was no humidity, a lovely breeze off the water and tons of shade around the lake. The sky was indescribably, the lake reflecting the blue and sparkling like fresh cut diamonds. There were one or two sailboats on the water and a handful of kayakers and paddle boarders. With school back in session, the lakes are pretty deserted. The trees are beginning to show signs of autumn: an occasional hint of yellow or red every once in awhile but overall, the greens are tipping into the warmth of gold.
Don't believe everything you read about Minneapolis: the government is nuts (where it still exists at all) but Lake Harriet is still an oasis of peace and one of the most beautiful places on earth.