Autumn Splendor

I have always loved the fall season.

It's a time of beginning in many ways, even though it's the end of summer and will lead us toward the end of yet another year.

I love the crisp cool air, the smell of burning leaves and the splendid colour of the trees.

Another thing I've always loved about fall was the start up of groups and classes. The lazy days of summer are over and it's time to get back to other interests, things to do to fill the long winter nights to come.





In the complex where I live there's a knitting, a yoga, and a card group. I used to be more of a joiner, maybe it was because I needed the break from housework, the kids and work. Classes were an opportunity for female bonding and some socialization. It didn't matter if it was knitting, an exercise group or ceramics, I've done then all. It was a chance to be me, not the wife, not the mother, not the nurse, just me.

Those roles are behind me now, except for the mother, that stays with you forever, and gets better when it becomes grandmother.

I now get a lot of my learning and things to do from the internet, and have more projects on my 'want to do list' than I will ever find the time or energy to complete.

Autumn brings us Thanksgiving, which in Canada is next Monday. Early in the season compared to the American holiday, and I like that there's a break between these feasts of turkey with all the trimmings.

Fall brings an end to the growing season, particularly apples and the pumpkins grown for Hallowe'en.
The Farmer's Markets are resplendent with the last of fall's bounty, and all those apple and pumpkin pies, need I say more.



Fall is the time for that last hurrah at the cottage.

A chance to bundle up, sit on the dock with a cup of coffee and enjoy the beauty of an October sun as it sets over the lake.

A last bonfire, roasting marshmallows.

Raking leaves.

Officially closing the doors on another summer.



For those without a cottage there are studio tours, Fall Fairs and Festivals to celebrate the harvest.





 I like to take a day and drive north, driving the back roads to take pictures of the countryside, stopping at some of the village shops before they close for the off season.

It's that final breath of air before the wind and rain, the damp cold of November drives us inside to prepare for winter.

 

 Happy Anniversary John and Yvonne