Autumn Feels interupted

It comes around each year, without fail…as sure as the seasons itself. The subconscious nod to the weather gods, and the acknowledgment to the rolling in of this golden and colourful seasonal tide; Autumn.

This “nod” we give, often comes out as, “oh, wow, feel that nip in the air?”…or “getting cooler now, right?” We oohh and ahh at the vivid colours that this season of abundance brings. And often poignantly signalled by a little chill in the air that starts to bite you in the bones; Where suddenly your light duvet beckons the assistance of that glorious heavier blanket you’ve long tucked away. Our fluffier gowns get dusted off and shimmied on with great haste the moment our feet leave the warm cocoon of the bed. The air is crisp, but you can still bask in the sunshine on a bench overlooking the ocean, or just people watching.

But really, all that, is just nature’s signal to the body to…Slow down & be present. Wrap up, take stock, take harvest of all that which you’ve sewn. Everything seems to adopt somewhat of a chilled pace. Some might take this as a time to bunker down and get ready for pending hibernation, as they reminisce about the fun that was in recent warmer times. And it’s no surprise though,the song of summer and spring is bursting with activity and possibility. But if Keat’s is anything to go by then you should listen more closely. Closer…Autumn has a song of her own. And it is ripe with possibility indeed!

If Autumn’s prettiness is not enough to inspire you to, well then, the fact that the incessant bloody South Easter wind is gone, should! Hoo-freakin-rah! More than enough reason for me to head out there and do stuff, despite the drop in temps. Or just stay in – whatever tickles our fancy. And that is the beauty of this slightly fickle season; All the options!

And there are so many ways to welcome it in, or perhaps better yet: so many ways that it welcomes us in: The gorgeous and velvety colour pallet it paints across our landscapes and pavements. (who doesnt love them pretty leaves?!) The delicious bounty that comes with harvest-time to make those hot pots of soup with. (and wines – hello!) Take the kiddies out into the autumn sun and run in the park, until the cooler dusk air stings their cheeks, and invigorates the soul…all without having to worry about the sniffles later on.

Find that pile of leaves…and jump in!

You never have to anyone to jump into a pile of leaves…it’s a pretty natural reaction.

Or how about pumpkin pie? Good Lord, do I love pumpkin pie. Thanks to my sister for making me a proper convert years ago at their Thanksgiving lunch – my mouth has done tasted the deliciousness of it all. Apparently my Canadian aunt bakes a mean pumpkin pie, so much so, she inspired my mom to try her hand at it- although, my mom’s is more of a pumpkin bread than pie. I, myself, have also made some pretty kick-ass pie over Halloween in years gone by, but my technique still needs some tweaking, I think, before it’s just right.

So yes, yet another great reason to live in the Southern hemisphere: you get to legitimately do Pumpkin pie twice in the year – during autumn and again during Halloween season. ‘Cause those are the only totally legit pumpkin pie times, right. 🙂 Didn’t you know? I mean,yeah,sure, my family and I totally indulge in the stuff all year long – but we’re just rebels like that. 🙂

This year however, I’ve been a bit slow to roll out the autumn feels in our home..If you follow my blog, you’d know a bit about this.. I think I was heavily distracted by life. Too much to even slow down, never mind take harvest. And exhausted. Utterly and completely exhausted. Still am, and hanging on by tooth and nail, people. And there are so many good reasons to. But also, I know..i know, not even deep down, I know straight up that I need to take time to recharge. But, oi vey, that’s a story and a bit of introspection for another day.

So all of this..that whole long and languid praise of autumn, that rambling prelude…probably an overly-long framing of my point, really…So all of that to say, I’ve done almost none of it. ALMOST..NONE of it.I’ve not followed the natural rhythms of nature and life, and feel like I’ve rushed and dragged my little family along as well. Co-incendently,I’ve only stopped long enough to arrive at this conclusion now – ironically right towards the very end of this fruitful season. It’s like I’ve wanted to get my usual Autumn groove on, but life interrupted. Everytime. Granted, its the life choices I’ve made that have caused these interruptions. So I know I’m actually in control of it – my decisions around it, that is.

So with only a few more days left before we close the chapter on this season, and I’ve only just truly woken up to it. And you know what we’ve decided? We’re going to squeeze and milk all the seasonal fun out of this one as best we can!!

So, if you’re looking for us we’re going to be back here baking breads, busy building blanket forts, slurping down hot soup, crafting up a storm with all our little nature treasures, and catching the last few picnics outdoors in the sun. Of course, all while still getting our travel plans sorted!

Yes, a tight schedule, possibly skinny jeans three sizes to small for me kind of tight, but, you know, I’ve come to embrace the fact that that is what makes me tick… Sure, I speak a little faster, and my eyes look as wide as someone on rentlin, but this eleventh hour stuff? Cramming it all in? That’s what makes me productive! Ask anyone who has studied with me at college. And to be honest, that’s what kind of gives me a buzz.I live for it.

But, aside from being distracted and exhausted, I feel there’s perhaps another reason I’ve not wholly and truly let go of Summer to fully embrace Autumn yet… and I think THAT I’ll definitely share with you soon! Soon-soon!

Oh, speaking of seasons, and other arb shit that seems to make my head drunk with fluffiness, I’ve put together a little montage of our past summer…’Cause, all you need is a montage, right?(Family Guy fans, you feel me?) Anyone who’s received a personalized video/montage from me, knows that I have a bit of weakness for the stuff. Been putting ones together for years, and am really thinking I need to do a course in videography already. I could get lost in the time it takes to put these together.

It’s supposed to be a bit of ode or farewell to our summer. One we’re really enjoying looking at over and over – much like Parker’s Birth Story video. I’ll put that up as soon as I can.

In the mean time, more pix from some of our quality time with our beloved Autumn…

My dad used to point out the shape of the different leaves whenever we went out for our morning mountain hikes or nature walks. He’d then give me little “missions”, find a leave that looks like a heart, find one that is curly, etc. So watchning our little Mugzy taking as much joy in it as I did, may or may not have giving me little thrills of joy…Ok, fine, fine, fine…I glazed over with nostalgia and warm fuzzies…

There was a lot of deep thinking going on here in her selection process… 🙂