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Eddie from Ohio has it right. "Give me sweet Virginia for the fireworks of fall," the folk band declares in its song "Old Dominion." Who can argue? On a sunny autumn day, the Blue Ridge Parkway between Mabry Mill and the Peaks of Otter is beautiful beyond words, from the fiery foliage to the cobalt sky.

Those spectacular leaves will soon be in sodden piles under bare trees, though, and the sky will be dull gray. If you're not fond of winter, autumn is the prophet of gloom. Daylight hours shrink alarmingly. We set out for work or school before sunrise, and we come home in the dark. On weekends we don't cook out anymore -- we clean the gutters and pull up the remains of the vegetable garden. We pack away the charcoal grill and crank up the furnace. We dig out our boots.

Some folks even slip into a depression -- or at least a long recession. People with seasonal affective disorder, aptly known as SAD, start sleeping more, craving carbohydrates, and feeling sluggish, grumpy and anxious. According to WebMD, lack of sunlight may cause SAD by upsetting the sleep-wake cycle, or circadian rhythms. Or changes in light might mess with the brain chemical serotonin, which affects our moods. Whatever the cause, the symptoms usually start in October and last until April or May.

If you're one of those SAD-affected folks, autumn won't be your favorite. Spring, with its promise of renewal, may be your time. Lisa Holdren of Hoges Chapel in Giles County was born in April, and "I've always felt in sync with spring," she said recently. "I like the whole rebirth thing. This is beautiful, but soon it will all be dead. Besides, winter is dark."

Winter generally gets a bad rap. The myth is that depression and suicide rates rise, though statistics don't bear that out. As for those infamous holiday blues, maybe January is the real culprit. The presents have been opened, the parties are over, the visiting relatives have gone home, and the bills are starting to arrive. People lament that they overspent and ate too much -- again. The holiday goodies have settled around the midriff, it's too cold to exercise outside, and it's a long haul until spring break.

There may be other reasons why a person prefers one time of year over another. A lot may depend on the past.

"People anticipate certain outcomes based on their experience with the seasons," said Russell Jones, a professor of psychology at Virginia Tech. If summer means vacations and picnics, time relaxing with the family, folks will be eager for its arrival. The winter holidays can stir warm memories, too, Jones said, though for some they may bring wistful thoughts of family members no longer here. If a season has generally brought you happy times, then anticipating it will put you in a positive mood.

What is Jones' favorite season? It's fall, and not just for the foliage. It's the start of the academic year. Students return to campus, reconnect with their friends, rally around the football team and take up their studies again. For Jones, autumn is the time of renewal, an opportunity to contribute to students' lives by sharing his knowledge and insight.

In Southern California, people joke that they have four distinct seasons: drought, wildfire, mudslide and earthquake. Floridians say they have just two: tourist and hurricane. Southwest Virginia's gentle transitions through the year may be less dramatic but are unequaled for pure visual impact and lessons in patience and regeneration. Look at the sugar maple. It surrenders its dazzling orange autumn leaves, stands bare all winter, then puts up a deep green canopy for high summer. Now picture whole forests of maples, poplars, oaks. Whether green in summer or bare in winter, they are awesome.

Eddie from Ohio would second that: "Past the Blue Ridge Mountains, you'll find you've passed the best."

Giles County native Deanne Estrada is the communications coordinator for a global agricultural program managed at Virginia Tech.