Just as I was eager to put Winter behind as I looked forward to Spring, now I am ready to put Summer away and begin Autumn/Fall. You may have noticed I did not mention looking forward to Summer. That was deliberate and I don’t.
An integral part of readying myself for Autumn/Fall seems innate, just as squirrels gathering acorns is for them. Rituals are important not only for convenience or preparation but it’s also as markers for events. In fact, they create Ceremony, acts which seem to have less of a presence in our lives these days.
My readying for Fall is sparked by Labor Day. I know many people who see this unofficial ‘end’ to Summer as a reason for a cook-out. Not being one who does her own cooking on the grill, this is something I forego tho I’d be happy for a hotdog if offered. But tonight, the end of Labor Day is extra special because the temperature overnight will go down to 46 degrees F. (7.77 C.). and even better, for as far ahead as AccuWeather predicts, this is just the start of cozy nights. Ah, good sleeping weather as we say around here. So off came the light blue paisley comforter and shams and on went the heavier one in rich fall colors. It’s way too soon for the down duvet and its cover but those days will come and for a month or so when temperatures are at or below freezing, I’ll delight in the coziness and then begin to whine for at least 5 months. We humans are funny that way.
There was an article in the NYTimes about it being alright to ‘mourn’ the end of summer. My reaction was to say to myself, “Stop being so dramatic”. The use of hyperbole is a curmudgeonly complaint of mine just as was another one about Cairo, a city in which I lived (actually the suburb Maadi)… someone was talking about the extreme heat and people staying up all night…”dead men walking” was the term used. Perhaps we could save those terms for the more than plentiful extreme events going on in the world right now. But I digress.
So back to Rituals for the coming season. Here are some of mine and then please kindly tell me yours:
Putting away summer clothes until next year and gathering a pile to donate
Taking in the hummingbird feeders and putting out feeders for sunflower seeds, spring-loaded to somewhat prevent the dastardly squirrels from eating them all
*scratch that…a bear was on my porch the week after I wrote the ‘Evening Visitor’, went to the back and ate the suet and destroyed the gold finches’ thistle feeder so I’ll wait until the end of November for what will now become the winter bird feeder ritual*
Taking in the large bowl with the floating solar fountain and storing that until late spring of next year (you notice I say ‘next year’ as though it’s a guarantee there’ll be one for me but the older one becomes the more it might be a ‘possibility’)
Drinking Japanese Kuki Cha Green Kamakura Tea
Drinking red wine, hot cider with brandy, a decaf espresso in the afternoon (got my third machine from my favorite thrift store at 10 % of the cost new with fingers crossed that it won’t give out before the year is over, as can happen)
Cooking soups, stews, tarts (just made a tomato tart this week), roasting chicken, pork loin, making applesauce, enjoying all the many beautiful winter squashes, roast potatoes, French onion soup, vegetable pizza with pre-made crust because I’m no baker
Ordering fall planting bulbs and putting them in the raised planter cart brought from the deck and now on the protected front porch to over winter until spring
Buying mums and leaving them in pots in the above planter, hoping they last for 6 weeks or so
Buying and placing a Cinderella type orange pumpkin on the porch
Thinking about and setting some intentions for indoor fall and winter activities
Attending the annual Hawk Migration on the near-by mountain
Doing some ‘tame’ walks to watch the progression of leaves turning or walking in the deep woods with at least one other person
Back to watching the night sky when it’s less overcast
Getting out the flannel dog coats for my old boy who is now so thin and definitely on the downhill
Making a wish list of all the books to read just before sleep ( now finishing Tim Powers “The Drawing of the Dark”, described as the best of mythology and real history from the 1500’s and it is
Buying
’s just published in the UK first book “Breaking Waves” because she is a wonderful writer I can’t recommend enough and you can read her hereRejoined Netflix for the umpteenth time to watch ‘Kaos’ with Jeff Goldblum as Zeus…he’s his quirky sardonic self. It’s a very dark sometimes comedic series about the Olympian gods which has more than a few scenes of graphic violence and sex and which I’m still evaluating as to whether I’d recommend it or hope for a season two. I remind myself that many of the Greek gods were no paragons of virtue; they were every bit as narcissistic, power hungry, adulterous, incestuous, and murderous as this lot is
Just subscribed to some new-to-me Substacks and looking forward to the posts of
, , , and . Substack is an enormous buffet and a welcoming supportive community. The only difficulty is that there never is enough time to read everything
Those are my Rituals. What are yours?
And one last thing…not a poem but a Mary Oliver quote:
“What some might call the restrictions of the daily office they find to be an opportunity to foster the inner life. The hours are appointed and named… Life’s fretfulness is transcended. The different and the novel are sweet, but regularity and repetition are also teachers… And if you have no ceremony, no habits, which may be opulent or may be simple but are exact and rigorous and familiar, how can you reach toward the actuality of faith, or even a moral life, except vaguely? The patterns of our lives reveal us. Our habits measure us. Our battles with our habits speak of dreams yet to become real.”
Hooray, I’m all for seasonal rituals :) For me it’s mostly noticing the changes in plants and bird migrations. Since most of this is so gradual I always thought it was strange to jump straight to an autumn mindset as soon as September hits, but France has been plunged into a frigid cold front for the last week and that gradual shift is temporarily abolished. Last year it was quite the opposite. Looking forward to exchanging seasonal noticings!
Yes to the pleasant anticipation of cosyness! It's a glorious sunny day here in southwest England but with a definite autumnal tinge to the air, so I too have been juggling bedclothes! Thank you for the mention Frances, Beautiful Stranger! I'm close to publishing a new post, but life keeps intervening!!