In recent years, I’ve noticed that autumn doesn’t really arrive at full force in Central Jersey until right around the turn of November. True to form, Saturday was a gloriously moody day, a kaleidoscope of sunshine and clouds that set off the luminous foliage to its best advantage.

Of course, it was also probably the windiest day of the season. There was a price to pay for the mesmerizing whirl of fallen leaves, in that now a lot of the trees stand in varying degrees of undress. Also, may I just say, the clean-up crews are a little to vigilant with their leaf-blowers – which I think should be banned, in any case – so that all too often the lawns and streets are left as barren presentiments of bleak winter. I want to crunch through shriveled leaves, dammit, and collect the damp ones that still cling to life and color.

Be that as it may, now that we’ve more or less put away the Hallowe’en decorations for another year, it’s time to fully embrace the season in music, so expect a fair amount of autumnal color to dress up my playlists over the coming week.

Alongside the usual birthday celebrations, I’ll be itching for a leaf battle, between 4 and 7 p.m. EST, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.