Image Credits: Many images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos. Photos from my church harvest display and from the wildflower meadow taken by me, Allison Symes. Real joy to take them too! Photography is a wonderful thing.
I am fond of the autumn season. Crisp air, the changing colours of the leaves (including on the Virginia Creeper which I see a lot of on my walks), the joy of coming in from a brisk walk with the dog to enjoy a hot chocolate while she tucks into a dog biscuit or two. It is the simple pleasures after all.
Autumn – Love it or Loathe It?
My late maternal grandmother hated autumn. Felt it was the season where everything died. Ironically, she died in the autumn herself. But I can’t see autumn that way. Yes, things do die down but there is the promise of things coming back in the spring. Everything needs a rest period. That is what winter is for.
But you need something to take you into that period which is where autumn comes in. At least autumn eases you into the darker, colder months.
I must admit I dislike the evenings getting darker earlier but that’s about the only thing I dislike about the autumn. Even then there is an advantage. What do the darker evenings encourage me to do? Stay in and read/write more. Definitely an up side to it then!
It is lovely seeing cyclamen coming up. I think of those as the autumnal equivalent of the crocus coming up in the spring.
And I get a regular and healthy workout clearing up the leaves from my oaks every autumn too. Have absolutely no problem filling the garden waste bins during the autumn months (and yes the leaves at the back of our place at the bottom of the garden are left. There is still plenty for the hedgehogs to use. Neither do we have bonfires).
It has been a joy seeing the wildflower meadow at the Recreation Ground blossoming again. I don’t know if it was just me but it seemed to flower later this year.
On the reverse side and, again, is this just me but I suspect the fungi and the blackberries are out earlier this year too. While walking Lady, I met a fellow dog walker who was collecting blackberries recently. Only snag – they had two full black dog bags. Only one had fruit in it. I hope they took the right one home to use in cooking!
Autumn Stories and Plays
I am also especially looking forward to the autumn production from The Chameleon Theatre Group. They are staging Wyrd Sisters, that marvellous story from the late great Terry Pratchett. The play was adapted by Stephen Briggs (who has adapted a number of the Discworld stories). Have not seen a Discworld play before so am keenly anticipating this.
The story itself is more than a nod to a certain play by the Bard of Avon only here it is the wyrd sisters who are the heroes. Do check out the wonderful book. And if you can get to the play, do. The Chameleons always put on a fabulous performance and they will do again here. The material they’ve got here is so strong. The play is on from 26th to 28th October.
I will either re-read Reaper Man by the much missed Terry Pratchett or listen to it again on audio. I try to do this around harvest festival time.
Harvest Time
And that’s another reason to love autumn. The harvest festival displays look wonderful. My church donates the food to the Romsey Food Bank. Nothing goes to waste and I think that’s indicative of the whole season. As the leaves fall from the trees, they eventually become mulch which feeds the trees, which in turn then sprout new leaves in the spring. It is the perfect cycle.
Okay, I must admit I do wince a little as I hear the acorns coming off the oaks and hitting my car roof. These things are not gentle but I do love the oaks and the masses of acorns on them. Lady and I enjoy seeing the squirrels going after the latter, though Lady has different motivations to me here!
We had a nice surprise earlier in the summer in the back garden where a roe deer was munching away, thankfully not on my flowers but on some leaves. We have had muntjak in the garden before but this was the biggest animal we’ve “hosted” to date. She was quite comfortable, thank you, and was happily looking up at me as if to say “this is good stuff you know, I think I’ll have some more” before heading off back down the garden. We think she came in from Hocombe Mead.
The Writing Season
Certain things happen at this time of year for me. I have my Bridge House Publishing celebration event to look forward to in December, train strikes permitting, but before that they release their annual anthology. This year it is called Gifted and my story, Desperately Seeking Talent, is in there. Looking forward to that coming out. You don’t lose the buzz of being published. It is a lovely feeling.
I have also signed up for Flash NANO once again. This is where over the month of November I will be sent thirty writing prompts to write a flash story, one a day, over that month. I did this last year and have several stories for a new collection plus one ended up being broadcast on Hannah Kate’s Three Minute Santas show on North Manchester FM. Wouldn’t mind that happening again! It is an excellent way to produce stories over the autumn!
Conclusion
It is true we have to make the most of the time we have, regardless of the season, but I do have a soft spot for autumn. To me it has more advantages than disadvantages. It’s a pity my late grandmother didn’t see it the same way. And to finish, it’s story time, which reminds me of another reason to love this season. It is a perfect time for curling up in the warm with a good book!
Autumn Flash Story
I thought I’d wrap up this post with a flash fiction story which I will also share on the Association of Christian Writers blog spot, More than Writers, later this month as I am sharing some hints and tips on seasonal writing for them. But I thought it would be fun to share this story here and I hope you enjoy getting the first look at it!
Autumnal Workout by Allison Symes
I have no time for those “and bend and stretch” exercises. I don’t look good in a leotard. Not anymore. Not at my age. I also like my neighbours. There are some sights nobody should have to see.
But I do plenty of bending and stretching, naturally clad in something more suited to my mature years. If I was going to frighten the neighbours, I would have done it years ago.
On a chilly autumn day, there is nothing like bending to pick blackberries from my garden and stretching to collect apples from my trees at the back. I feel virtuous bringing my harvest in but my halo slips only hours later.
Why?
Well, you simply can’t beat an apple and blackberry crumble with plenty of cinnamon in the topping, can you?
Ends.
Allison Symes – August 2023
Related Posts:-
Read interviews with Chandler’s Ford writer Allison Symes: Part 1 and Part 2.
Read blog posts by Allison Symes published on Chandler’s Ford Today.
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