Welcome, October!
{FOUND // Pinned HERE}
Tag: fall (page 5 of 13)
Goodbye, Summer! Hello, Fall! Today is the Autumn Equinox and it truly felt like fall on my morning run. It was 46°F when I left the house; the sun was streaming through the leaves, the ground was still wet from yesterday’s rain and there was a mist rising off the fields.
The earth was littered with almost neon yellow leaves and the apples are now full and lush on the branches. The grasses around the pond are beginning to turn varying shades of a chocolatey velvet brown. All of the webs that were spun last night, were glistening with morning dew. It was glorious!
Next week the weather is supposed to turn warmer again and I just want it to stay cool and crisp. I’m ready to live in a hut in the middle of a field of pumpkins. I’m ready for all things fall, I mean it is almost October!
This weekend we have errands to run and we need to finish off planning our weekly menu. But, I’m hoping for some downtime in there, where we stroll through the woods, breath autumn in, in all of her golden glory and where we drink coffee and listen to music while laying in a heap on the couch.
There always seems to be a particular vibe to summer. This summer I was definitely in a 70s mood and among other things, we listened to Bob James’, Touchdown album a lot! We had this record playing almost non-stop. I don’t care that it sounds cheesy, cheesy is good! Who doesn’t love a good saxophone?
So here’s to the beginning of Autumn. And, here’s to a wonderful weekend!
I don’t know why and I know that it just isn’t me, because everyone I’ve spoken with today has said they feel as if this has been the longest week ever!
The woods were so quiet this morning. I only passed one other person out with her two Jack Russells. The sunbeams were distilled through the leaves, moving in and out as the breeze shook the branches; little tracks of light making the path glow. I could see my breath. It was a perfect autumnal morning.
I love the way the light changes this time of year. The shadows become longer. The light becomes whiter. My Nana’s dining room was at the corner of the house, so light filtered in from the front and the sides. Near one of the windows in the corner she had a Christmas cactus that sat on a tall wooden plant stand.
The afternoon autumnal light would be so pure the cactus almost appeared as it was glowing. The light would move across the dining room table and come to rest on the opposite wall. I would sit at the kitchen table watching the light dance about. It always made me think of Cranberries, by Andrew Wyeth.
We hardly ever turn on the TV, but last night the Mercury Prize Awards were on and Mr. Michie wanted to see some of the acts perform. Sampha, won the prize and we were both very happy with the judges decision. He played, “(No One Knows Me) Like the Piano”.
I have no idea why, because there was not a piano in the dining room, or even in my Nana’s house for that matter. But, this song makes me think of her home. I suppose it speaks to me because her house knew me well. I used to clean for her and my other Grandmother for pocket money. I was usually saving up to buy Christmas presents. Her walls heard my voice, her furniture knew the touch of my hand. Her stove was incredibly fun to cook on, this perfect 1960s avocado green beauty. I think this song makes me feel nostalgic. The changing of seasons makes me feel that way as well, excited for what is to come and sad to let the previous season slip away.
We’re in that strange part of every season, where one season is slowly slipping in to the next. Our days are starting to feel more autumnal. The mornings are cooler, followed by rainy afternoons and the leaves are beginning to metamorphose into brilliant shades of crimson red, gold and tangerine orange. The shadows are transforming too and the quality of the light is altering. It’s getting darker sooner. Gone are our summer nights of light till almost 10pm. I’m okay with that, I welcome new seasons with open arms. But, right now I feel stuck in the space in-between.
I see my woods change every day as I walk through them. I use them as my seasonal barometer. There are bales of hay in all the fields, slowly drying out. The air smells different. As refreshing as I find it, moving from one space into the next, this space in-between is making me antsy lately. After a few cool days here and there, I’m ready for sweater weather, for hot chocolate nights and pumpkins everywhere. I’m not ready to have two days of being bundled up and then back to shorts and t-shirts and then back to being bundled up again.
Maybe it’s where I am personally right now. I’m ready for some major changes and we are working hard to make those goals happen. I’ve also teamed up with a marvellous woman on a project we are embarking on and we are slowly and surely finding our feet and picking the right route for us. I’m ready for the ball to roll a little faster. But life is going at the speed it is supposed to be for me right now and I have to accept that.
Autumn will come entirely into her glory when she is ready. I will simply have to take a page out of Mother Nature’s book and be patient. To just enjoy where I am right now, to enjoy this Indian Summer we are in. To look at this time as a renewal and a refresh before we fully move in to leaves crunching under foot, crispy apple scented air and the smell of wood fires permeating the world.
{Image FOUND // Pinned HERE}
The first of November has brought a cold spell with it and it’s making me deliciously happy! We’ve been wrapped in a blanket of fog all day. The wind is twirling golden and red leaves down the street and the trees are swaying. Inside our house the candles are lit, a cup of tea sits by my side and my little heater is humming away keeping me cozy.
I’ve been quiet here again. I got the flu last week and it knocked me for six. I’m still not back to my old self yet. But, slowly and surely, I’m getting there. I can’t even tell you the last time I had the flu? Fingers crossed this is my only bout of flu this season!
I’ve returned from the land of adorable children with sparkling blue eyes and babies who sweetly smell of milk and sleepiness.
It’s amazing how your heart just expands with love for this new person who has entered your world and I can’t imagine our family without her in it! I can’t wait to hold that bundle of love again. My sister and her husband make beautiful babies.
This morning, I walked out with Mr. Michie and went for a stroll. The sun was just starting to rise. It was cold. I could see my breath in clouds above me as I ran down the quiet streets. The golden leaves that had fallen were stuck to the wet black pavement. It was striking to see such rich colour against the coal black of the road.
By the time I made it to my woods the sun had risen. The woods were just mine for a few moments. The squirrels and birds were flittering around. The wind was blowing the tops of the trees as if they were dancing. The ground was wet and littered with golden, pumpkin orange and reddish tinted leaves.
My IPod shuffled to a Pat Metheny song and it was perfect. I captured a few photos and then my furry friends who I pass on my walks came bounding down the path to greet me. I get lots of licks along my walks and that makes me happy.
Now, I’m bundled up with a cup of tea. There is a dampness to the air today. It feels like fall. There is a beauty to England this time of year. The blush of colour on the trees stands out so starkly against the normally steely grey skies. It makes you long for scarves and hot chocolate and candles lit everywhere.
After a Saturday night bubble bath and new Halloween PJs were put on, we took a night time ride through the neighbourhood to see all the Halloween lights. A pumpkin stack glow stick was definitely in order for the occassion. There were lots of “Ooohs” and “Aaaahs” as well.
Sunday morning brought with it a cool morning so we made a batch of pumpkin pecan spice muffins and dusted them with “snow”.
This morning we woke up to a touch of frost, but the sun is shining and it feels like Fall.
Today felt like an Autumn day. The morning was cool and slightly misty. The day warmed up, but in the shade it remained cool. We’re moving into an Indian Summer.
We spent the first day of October visiting a pumpkin patch and a park. Tonight we grilled out cheeseburgers. Savouring those last few bites of summer. Pumpkins and fall leaves are appearing on porches all around. Trick-or-Treating is just around the corner.
{Pinned HERE}
I saw my first pumpkins of the season today in my beloved Blue Ridge mountains. And they made me very very happy!
This is my last Copenhagen post. I just wanted to share with you some of the beauties of autumn that crossed our path.
