Sunday 2 October 2016

The Joys of Autumn


October, and uneven patches of the ornamental Japanese cherry tree are turning red, while other parts of it hold on to green leaves. The nights are turning cool and soon  the first drifts of leaves will cover beds and lawns. It was already dark when I looked out of he kitchen window at half past seven this evening  and there are still three weeks to go before we change the clocks. By eight the central heating had switched itself on.

Just when I was about to give a deep sigh and moan 'where has summer gone', I remembered that I like autumn, and even winter is not so bad when you think about all the advantages the cold season brings. For a start there is the drama of it, a foreboding of endings; of death, essentially. Spring and summer are much less sexy,  simply too hot and sweaty, doing any kind of work is an effort and only evenings bring relief. Travelling to work on the Underground, the air thick with vaporised commuter sweat mornings and evenings, heatstroke, hay fever, discomfort, irritation and short-tempered exchanges with fellow commuters, co-workers, and other shoppers in the supermarket, that’s summer.

Give me the crisp months of respite. Winter clothing, doesn’t that sound cosy?  Snuggling up in several warm layers, wearing  big, baggy jumpers and coats which hide wobbly bellies and long sleeves to make flabby upper arms disappear. Bliss. And the food! Carbs are allowed again, stews and casseroles and soups! Forget about the lettuce leaf, the raw food salads, barbecues and picnics under vicious attack from wasps and other pests. The only meats are cold meats, semi raw chicken, charred sausages and mozzarella which has curled at the edges. No, civilisation reigns again,  bringing hibernation food; there’s meat and gravy and potatoes, great piles of roasted vegetables, all eaten indoors, at the table or from a tray in front of the telly. and red wine tastes ever so much better in front of the fire than on a muggy night in the garden.

And what about the telly! In the UK all channels suddenly rediscover what they’re for: namely entertainment, and possibly education (good old Beeb, keep your hands off, Tories and Murdoch!), not endless repeats of programmes which weren’t interesting the first time round. We are spoilt for choice all of a sudden, from mid-September onwards. New series start, thrillers and costume dramas and must-see one-offs jostle for viewers. True, it’ll all be over when the Christmas Specials arrive, the crowd pleasers, game shows, unfunny comedians and sitcoms, but until then there’s a glut of entertainment to keep us quiet during the long evenings.

Bedtime isn’t bad either. In summer, after a day of the sun sitting on our South facing windows, the bedrooms are far too hot to allow for comfortable nights. Few private houses in the UK have air-conditioning and even wide open windows hardly lower the temperature. I like the feel of a covering but there are nights when even a cotton sheet is more than I can bear. Now, with temperatures back down to the low teens and under, the feel of a cosy duvet is perfect.

Thick socks, hot cocoa, guilt-free reading and TV sessions, baked apples with cinnamon and toasted almond flakes, box sets, walks in the woods while leaves are drifting, game stews and afternoon tea in front of a fire, hats and scarves and gloves, and the mists rising from the valley floor, these are my favourite seasonal things.

Soon it'll be time to dread Christmas but then, as many of us remind each other at the beginning of October: “In three months’ time it’ll all be over and we can look forward to a new beginning.

But for now and first of all, here’s to a happy autumn!





28 comments:

  1. You have enumerated all the reasons that I like fall. My only real anxiety right now is this awful election season. I'm obsessed with worry, but the last week has helped me sleep a little better. I will love and appreciate November and Thanksgiving, hopefully because the terror is behind me. (you know who) :-)

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  2. You are definitely looking forward to fall and winter.I do some of the things you do , but I don't watch TV.

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  3. Well said, I hate saying goodbye to fall but all of a sudden I'm excited about steak and kidney pud. Simple warm pleasures, fire and pjs and a warm robe.

    XO
    WWW

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  4. I used to like the approach of winter...a fire in the grate again, warm drinks before bed...but I have to say that I prefer not to have to think about chopping and carting wood and cleaning out ash...

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  5. You are preaching brilliantly to this appreciative October acolyte! After 30 subtropical years I am excited about clothes and food and the golden light with freshening breezes! You said it all so well and began with a photo that excited me. How nice to be able to WEAR jeans and boots and sweaters and to NOT be forever in a sheen of sweat - er perspiration. Oh! And the geese! And pumpkins! and.... this IS Hawaii's hottest most unpleasant time you know...all the sweeter

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    1. I hasten to add that I am in a Mediterranean type climate (no snow!) that does rain a bit in winter, but never freezes. We have palm trees here in the San Francisco Bay Area after all

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  6. Hi Friko - your idyllic setting is perfect for Autumn and winter ... though not for heavy snowfalls. Wonderful descriptions ... the thought of different foods brings joy - and the need to change the menu up slightly ... I was given some red cabbage yesterday - better get some pork and apple to go with it for a slow healthy meal or two ...

    TV I've been watching some interesting programmes - not soaps and for some reason we are getting an additional narrator stating the obvious - now it's happened on about 5 or 6 programmes I've watched - all different ... last night it was "Inside the Commons" ... secondary comment was 'now he's putting the documentation into an envelope' - surely we have common sense to see that. It happened on the programme about the botanical artist Marianne North (1810-1860) who left her art work to Kew ... absolutely ridiculous: I'm almost at the stage of giving up my licence ... I doubt I will - but I have to switch off.

    My gripe for early Autumn - good to see such a lovely post about Autumn ... cheers Hilary

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  7. I love your post - agree with most of it!
    The seasons are a whole other story here where I live - but I remember! :-)

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  8. The Autumnal Idyll! I must admit I am looking forward to getting back to England -- and to all the things you have mentioned. But the long dark nights that are coming make me long for summer already!

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  9. Great post
    and this one pleased with early morning open screen doors, with family soon arriving there will be logs in the fire pit. Yesterday a crock pot filled with soup enjoyed with special bread. Just hope the Winter is not to bad but look forward to be able to sit and read for hours...

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  10. You make it sound delicious. Why do we eat the way we do in winter? Most of us have central heating and warm clothes, we don't undertake manual labour and yet we still take in vast amounts of energy-giving food.

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  11. We're not in summer any longer, but we're edging toward autumn, and the joy of our autumn flowers. My new post is awash in fall lilies, and on the prairies? Goldenrod and sunflowers, frostflower and blue mistflower. Even the seed pods are lovely, and faint north winds are lowering the humidity and clearing skies.

    Still, you're right about the pleasures that truly cooler weather brings. I found myself pondering pot roast the other day. It's still too soon, but it will come. Isn't it funny how seasons do dictate menus? I never eat pasta salads in winter, and there isn't baked squash in spring. Ice cream is good in all seasons, though.

    In a week, I'm heading north for a bit of a holiday. I hear the nighttime temperatures are getting as low as 50F -- truly, autumn weather. Maybe one of my projects while I'm whiling away my evenings should be to learn how to turn farenheit into centigrade. :-)

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  12. You nailed it exactly, even the endless TV reruns. I've turned to books for solice. Dogs too love the cooler weather and we can walk them again. Asphalt no longer burns their toes.

    Great post! I'm going to San Diego CA where they know how to celebrate Halloween properly. My second favorite holiday. They call it El Dia de Los Muertos

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  13. Fall is definitely my favorite season and you have captured exactly why. Only difference is that I love the entire holiday season, too. Of course, I am housebound and poor as a church mouse so I don't have to deal with crowds or buying presents so that leaves me with just the joy of the holiday spirit and all that holiday love of mankind. Ahhh! ;)

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  14. Friko, your description of Autumn nails it. Spring and Autumn are my favorite seasons. Summer and Winter I tolerate... and luckily we have air-conditioning and central heat. But you are right in that the foods for winter are more enticing and sitting bundled up by the fire with a hot cup of tea or cocoa is comfortable. What it boils down to (for me)... outside is best in Spring and Fall, inside in summer and winter. Christmas is the exception. As much as I detest all the commercialism, I love Christmas! It's still magical to me.

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  15. Lovely. Only thing to add here is All Hallow's Eve and spiced bourbon (I make my own).

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  16. Friko, how well this post has expressed lots of my own current thoughts. I do love this season! In New York, this could be considered the first month of the cultural year. So many wonderful exhibits, plays, concerts, new books, and it's still a perfect temperature outdoors to encourage long walks.

    My investigation of apple varieties has begun while it's still possible to find beautifully ripe tomatoes.

    Now...if we could just do something about that Presidential election coming up next month.

    xo

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  17. You almost -- not quite, but almost -- have me anticipating winter! Did those words come out of my mouth? Well, not quite. But you do make the grandest case for autumn and I can't help but agree. It feels good to pull on my shawl, cozy socks, settle in for "new" telly shows and enjoy cooking and using the stove again. Yes, I think you nailed it!

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  18. Alright then. You win. It is great to walk into autumn and remember that winter is on its heals. Actually today, I too was looking forward to many of those things you talked about: the warm snuggly clothes, sleeping under the warm comforters, meat and potatoes. I love how you gave us permission to eat all of those carbs, but it will be no carbs for me. I can't fit into my long pants that I wore last winter. I tried them on today and it was not pretty. I will be eating salads, or better yet soups with loads of veggies. I do love soup. Soon it will be soup weather.

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  19. Apples baked with cinammon , sitting on the sofa covered with a rug and reading , candle-lit evenings ... Yes .
    Fog , wet gloves , grey skies ... No .

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  20. Happy Autumn! It is a time of mourning for me because I know winter is almost upon us and too many below zero days which I hate. Winter might be magical for a few days after that not so much and I hate shopping season :(

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  21. You said it all!
    I, too, love Fall.
    :)

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  22. Always look on the bright side - and there's one you didn't mention: the cocooning effect of closing the curtains against the early dark, and settling down in the warm to something toasted and buttery, with maybe a good bad detective story to keep oneself intrigued.

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  23. I like fall especially after high summer but I can do without winter. I hate having to turn the heat on.

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  24. While reading this, yet another wonderful post of yours, I was alternately smiling and shaking my head - smiling, because I sympathize with some aspects of how you feel about the warmer and colder seasons, and shaking my head, because I completely disagree about some others.
    But such is life, isn't it! How boring would it be if we all were the same when it comes to likes and dislikes, wants and needs (although those are pretty similar throughout our species, I guess).
    September was a beautiful month, and October looks like it is going to be nearly as good - except for it getting COLD. It is the time of year when the freezing starts for me. I stood at the train station today, waiting to get home, and could not stop shaking in spite of wearing a coat and scarf.
    And as for Christmas, I seem to be one of the few people around still really looking forward to it, and very much so - nothing to dread there for me.

    Happy autumn to you, too, Friko!

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  25. Ah, you describe all the joys of autumn we also relish when the weather turns crisp. A very happy autumn to you and Beloved, and Millie, too!

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  26. A post after my own heart. I love autumn, love it. Thanks.

    Greetings from London.

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  27. I love everything about this post, well, almost everything, for I eagerly anticipate Christmas at the end of autumn. Today is full of sunshine flecked leaves shimmering in the breeze after a weekend of rain. What's not to like! Leftover turkey from Thanksgiving dinner for supper, with gravy and roasted veg. Autumn food is delicious!

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