Words written as the introduction to the latest edition of ‘Field Notes for Curious Minds’, our weekly (6-year-old) non-Substack newsletter.
“If I were a bird, I would fly about the Earth seeking the successive autumns”
- George Eliot
Is it gentle, or is it sudden? The change of season is subtle, sneaking up at first. That first heavy dew. Leaves tumbling with the apples. The buzz of the wasps seems more urgent as they eke out the sun's warmth and gather, gather. Average temperatures dip. It that a golden hue on the line of trees on the horizon? Layers, remember layers ... nearly time for a beanie. We crave those moments. We relish the gentle drift into Autumn, we Fall into it happily. We are gathering too. Apples, pears, the last of the Summer sparkle in the beds of tomatoes. Preserving the boldness of the tastes and the colours, a pick-me-up in a jar for the long winter days. But for now, there is still some warmth in that sunshine, but the shadows between the trees nod to scarves wrapped a little tighter, padded jackets. Soon, soon. After the Summer's lack, we have more water than we know what to do with. Perhaps it will freeze one of these days. We had better get ahead with the log cutting, book the chimney sweep, check the oil levels. It feels like a good time to put the potager to bed, to put the cuttings on the compost pile. Prepare, gather, slow things down.
We love the Autumn. It feels like it is arriving gently, colourfully.