I came to the conclusion this summer.. that I am not one to worship the sun.. not as I used to in my youth.. basting myself in suntan oil and cooking to a crisp on some sun baked beach. I am definitely a cold weather person.. relishing the first nip in the air and lagging myself with layers of clothes against the elements of colder seasons.
Yesterday.. there was a taste of autumn in the air. The subtle shift in the way the light played on the trees and the earlier evening sun, glowed with a faint bronze tint. September for me, has always been my favourite month. I love the arrival of that drop in the mercury, the scent of wood smoke from the first bonfires of the season and the mellow colours of the turning leaves..
There is also something immensely satisfying about harvesting your own produce.. however modest the crop..and this year our small strip of garden has rewarded us with many fruits.
The sturdy little apple tree has groaned under the weight of all the fruit and such sweet and crispy apples they are.. 
The garden I adored from my childhood, was an old apple orchard that gave such a plentiful harvest each year, far more than we could cope with.. 21 cooking apple trees would keep us supplied with stewed apple for most of the year.. much to my disgust. I was not a fan and preferred the cinnamon apple pies or blackberry and apple crumble that were a welcome departure. One year my mother dabbled in making apple wine.. only to discover on returning from our holiday in the half term hols in October, that the cellarage had been raided by my older brother, who had taken a shine to this new beverage!
The colours of autumn are naturally fiery and red.. 
All the better to warm the cockles..and these are no exception.. lethal if you rub your eyes after picking and not washing the hands first.. as I found out recently...
The discovery of an unwelcome bramble growing up through our hedge earlier this year, had me threatening it with some secateurs.. until of course these tasty treats arrived, now it is most welcome.. 
There is something quite primeval about the desire to make the cave cosy and tempting for daddy bear to come home to .. and the best way is through the stomach with some good old carbs .. most effective insulation!
Out with the salads.. in with the cauliflower cheese!
Lighting the fire for the first time is quite an occasion and one I am so looking forward to.. 
It will announce the official arrival of autumn... and that's something I relish!
There are only 4 months to go before my new year resolution expires.. learning how to crochet.. Haven't picked up the book let alone bought the wool..but there's still time and what better way to while away the hours of an evening in front of the fire.. other than acquiring chilblains.
I also have a stack of unread books next to the bed.. so the longer evenings will provide some time to catch up with another rip roaring read..
Am I alone with this preference for colder climes..? Not everyone welcomes the passing of summer..
For those of you who share my love of autumn, enjoy your foraging for the fruits of nature and all that this season brings..
Poster for sale in Milly & Dottie's EmporiumI hope your baskets brimmeth over!
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36 comments:
Autumn really is the best! I cant wait to be down your neck of the woods for my annual visit to Westonbirt...Many bloggers seem to be loving the season change...maybe a group of bloggers should be known as an 'Autumn' of bloggers?...crikey, I'm rambling!
x Philippa
Oh, I am SO with you on this one. I LOVE autumn and like you September especially. The evenings are cool enough to snuggle into a wooly jumper, curl up on the sofa and find a good book or a good TV programme to while away a couple of hours.
And that first lighting of a fire, well why watch tv when you can sit with a chilled glass of wine and watch the flames dance and flicker......mmmmm
Sue xx
Spring and Autumn are my favourite times of the year. I am almost afraid to admit that I hate the summer months! They are built up to be the pinnacle of the year and yet mostly the summer's are disapointing. Now the cooler months are ahead of us I can get down to some proper crating.x
I am completely with you. I LOVE the fall. I have been desperately seeking out signs of its imminent arrival. The fact that my AC isn't running 17 hours a day anymore is a very welcome indication. I can't wait until the leaves start changing colors and my little girl will get her first taste of trees in colors other than green. Unfortunately, I think we're still a month away from that where I live. I'll accept the slightly lower temps in the meantime though.
I adore this time of year and my basket is definetly overflowing!
M ~ Beautifully evocative post! Less time in the garden and perhaps more time making .... for a certain Fair?
I love Autumn too.
Good luck with the crochet - I think I've finally cracked it (but I can only do squares so far! LOL!!)
April xx
I just love the seasons, you know that the year is turning and I like that cycle. I couldn't bear to be somewhere with a constant climate of any description and I feel excited at the first signs of the change as it were!
Your rosehips are magnifique! and I really love the illustration you have used at the end of this post.
Happy Blackberrying!
Love Sarah x
I too love Autumn and we are just waiting to light the log burner and toast our toes.
Autumn is absolutely my most favourite time. I always think it's to do with having a September Birthday. I love the smell of woodsmoke at any time of the year but even better right now. I love starting the ritual of lighting candles in the evening and making the house cosy. Definitely love hearty winter food best too. Give me a good stew over a salad any day. I do love summer but somehow it's always a tad disappointing. It's just never quite as hot and sunny as we hope yet with autumn and winter it's a little more predictable. Also, I feel much more that this is the start of the year than January is. I'm feeling refreshed and ready for new challenges right now than I ever do in January.
i love autumn, crunching burnt orange leaves and collecting conkers, lighting a fire and listening to the logs crackling ever smaller as the light fades, and the promise of winter, christmas and maybe snow, crochet and hot chocolate im not really a summer person atal! fliss xx
Lovely homage to autumn. It is my favorite time of the year as well.
smiLes
DarLie
aka :LiBBy BuTTons"
I think its the homebirds that love the autumn and winter months best. The thought of snuggling up to an open fire with a full belly. Being all together in one room to keep warm is my idea of perfection ~ Ban the central heating!!!!
In the summer months everyone is out doing there own thing. Auntumn, Winter and the cold brings us together. Lucyxx
I couldn't agree with you more, except that Summer is the season I least like saying goodbye to... I know it doesn't make sense (but then, neither do I most of the time!). I love the smell of September. the bright crisp mornings on the way to school... A time for long walks, lots of carbs and the odd birthday pressie!!!!!
Lovely post, as usual
Mx
ah dear M, you and me both eh? you write so beautifully... can't wait for your new novel. xxx (ps. see you in the morning at the crack!)
Yes - I'm a September lover too (usually!!) though our September in Cumbria has started very wet and windy - not the usual mellowness at all.
Have you read the book 'September' by Rosamund Pilcher? One of her characters says the reason she loves September is you can finally stop hoping for good weather - Summer is always such a disappointment in Scotland where the book is set.
I have to agree that September is the loveliest month of the year. I've been shopping this morning and although the sun was shining it definitely had that crispness and bite of autumn......bring it on.
Tracey
I completely agree. This is my favourite time of year. I love the rich autumn colours and the seed heads forming ready to catch the frost in the winter. I really look forward to cosy winter evenings.
Adele
Love autumn like you Michelle. I suggested we light the fire last night and got an are you daft look as he was fine in just a t-shirt. Can't wait for cosy and eating lots of food to be hidden under lots of layers. Old films in front of the fire, cake and crochet all pretty good ways to spend the time. Just switching my brain off to the thought of buying tons more oil. Don't like reality so much.
You'll be crocheting by the end of the year I bet. Once I had completely cocked something up I worked out what I should be doing and then the penny dropped. The beret I made was dolls size and very fat. Have fun.
Lisa x
I do love all the seasons & autumn & winter are lovely......but we could have had a *tad* more sun this summer!
I'm already thinking about switching the Aga on & ordering wood for the woodburner!
X
As you know I don't do sun all that well, so autumn and spring are best for me!
I thought we might have to light the woodburner last evening, but then it seemed to warm up again.
Love the look of that cauliflower cheese ... mmmmmm !!!!!
Not to worry about Friday - duty called for the rest of us so it was abandoned anyway!!!
Sue xx
I love Spring and Autumn as well. MOst people I know seems to love Summer so it's good to know there are others out there who feel the same.
Autimn is the perfect time to learn to crochet. Sitting in front of the fire on a dark night, perfect!
Please tell Basil.... we are THRILLED he is now permanently part of Cowboys and Custard's home! So thrilled!
Love,
Jake and Fergi
I am also always looking forward to the next season; It's always like this:
During the holidays I will finally have time to... or
Once school has started again I will certainly...
I think my favorite season is next season! Which makes me a happy person actually. I have crocheted about 10 flowers, which means that I have made one resolution into a good end: crochet in 2009, I hoped for an afghan blanket, but one musn't be too harsh to oneself! Your prize is in progress..
Have a great week!
I loved your post! It was like enjoying a cool crisp break from the heat here in Arizona.
I too enjoyed the sun (iodine and babyoil!)and heat when I was younger. Now I miss Autumn and the change in September.
The smell of crisp apples and cinnamon and cool air on the face.
Thanks sooo much for sharing
xoxox Tina
Gorgeous pictures! I always feel wistful in the autumn (it's that "back to school" feeling, from childhood), so it's lovely to see the happy things of autumn celebrated!!!
I think I like all the seasons - it's the changes that stir the heart. Warm weather after cold, cold after warm. All I wish is that we had hotter summers and crisp cold winters. I hate the year-round dreary tepid rain, we get so much of round here!
Michele, I loved your post heralding the arrival of Autumn, I love harvest time, the colours and the glut of fruit and veg, however I am a sun worshipper, I don't have to be basting and roasting, but I do love the feeling of heat and warmth. I loved your photo of the fireplace. (Ireland had a very watery summer and we have had temperatures no higher than 18 for the last month). We have been lighting our stove for the last week. Hugs, Margie.
The summer is a favourite month of mine, as I like the longer daylight hours, and do feel quite miserable when it is drawing to a close, and then start counting down the months until spring! Saying that I don't dislike the months inbetween, and couldn't live in a country where they don't have the different seasons. In the garden I love the sedum at this time of year. Keep an eye on your bramble, I lost sight of ours, and this year it has gone mad! Yes, we had lots of stewed apples and custard for pudding as a kid too. x
I agree with you on so many levels, I love the colours especially the trees and the fire in the sitting room, wearing big wooly jumpers, knitting big wooly jumpers and snuggling under blankets....I would much prefer to be cold than warm, I remember covering myself with oil and vinegar in the 80's...how silly we were then....lovely post...love H
Hurrah! Autumn, you say? Well blimmin bring it on, Missy! I am not good with summer, oh no, indeed when people say 'Oooh, isn't it lovely and hot' I have to smile and pretend I am loving it. I am definitely a Winter Girl. I can't wait to layer up in jumpers socks and boots, dig out the winter coats and scarves and get pasty again!
I was determined to teach myself crochet this year too-so far I am GREAT at casting on and doing wibbly squares. Cannot do granny squares, and NO they are NOT easy peasy, I don't care what anyone says!
Hope all is well with you Custardo, and that Mr C is doing ok xxxxxx
Yes, as we become older we are so muh more aware of the changing seasons. It's the mornings that are the most noticeable, that indescribable 'freshness' in the air. I have resorted to having the fire on in the evenings yet yesterday it was like a summer's day again. I am now tired of salads and look forward to more heart warming dishes and nursery food!
Ruth x
Hello Michele! I took a blogging hiatus and now I see all I have missed on your blog - and you have an etsy shop to boot! I so missed your gorgeous photos of Bath and the UK!
I LOVE autumn! All my boys (and girl) are also gone during the day now as well (for the very first time in 14 years I don't have a little one at home with me during the schoolday). With this change of season and change in motherly duties I started a new blog (I was WhisperingPoppies ~ Louise). =)
Happy Autumn!
I am totally with you, autumn is the best time of year, but those first flushes of green in the hedgerows and primroses peeping out of old leaves has to come a close second. I am always relieved when we dont have a heat wave in the summer it does not bother me if it rains but again I am enjoying these sunny days, even more as there is that autumn nip in the air in the morning! I too had resolutions to do things this year that I have not done, your not alone! Hope you enjoy Devon. Jane xx
Oh WOW, this is a great post & you have the most gorgeous site here. I had to stop by to leave this comment for you – and to say hello of course ! Your posts are creative and original and you have interesting pictures. It's all perfect ! Thank you for sharing your site and best wishes....
Autumn is my absolute favorite season. Can't stand all those folks moaning and groaning about summer coming to an end...Autumn is wonderful! Thanks so much for stopping by my blog, was lovely having you.
xo Country Girl
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