Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter don’t come this far south it seems.

In lieu of the standard climate seasons, Lower Alabama has a different way to measure the passing of time.

Instead of Spring, Summer, Winter and Fall, I’ve started to pick up on the seasons that fill the calendar in Lower Alabama.

Down here there is Mardi Gras, The Invasion, The Furnace, football, Festival season and finally the Holidays.

Shortly after the start of a new year, Mardi Gras season consumes the region.

Although relatively short in duration, Mardi Gras season is packed with parades, dances and revelry not known to most parts of the country.

Not a bad start to the year.

The Invasion, as you may have guessed, is the portion of the year where the beaches – and roads – in Baldwin County are filled with visitors from across the country.

Who can blame them? We’ve got beautiful beaches, great food and entertainment options too aplenty to list.

Some of you may not notice the Furnace season, but being from Ohio, I certainly do.

The Furnace begins in May and last until … the following May.

Heat and humidity define this season in Lower Alabama.

As the heat begins to fade away, the Football season settles over the region. Taking up roughly three months of a calendar year, this is one of the more celebrated seasons down here.

Whether talking about high school, college or professional football, everybody here seems to have a favorite team and one or two things to say about a rival team.

For some – namely, sports talk radio callers – football season seems to never end, but thankfully, that isn’t the case for everyone.

Overlapping the football season is the festival season.

Baldwin County boasts more festivals through September and October then one could hope to attend in one year.

Festivals of all sorts give local plenty of entertainment options.

I’m excited to clean off my camera card and head out to as many of these festivals as I can to capture all the fun.

Admittedly, I’ll be trying more of the local grub, too.

Rounding out the year is the holiday season. With parades, tree lighting, visits from Santa and countless other events, the holiday season is no cool-down period.

While I do miss the snowfalls of winter and the cooler summers I grew up with in Ohio, I must say I’m enjoying the different seasons that fill the calendar here in Lower Alabama.

Foley for me.

Jay Sowers is the photo editor for Gulf Coast Media. To reach him, please email jay@gulfcoastmedia.com.