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!
Hi, Anne. I imagine you having a wonderfully interesting life professional life in France and an equally satisfying daily French life. I forgot how September can be so unpredictable…here, in New England, after more than a week of chill, yesterday and for the next week, we’ll jump back into summery temperatures but the bird migrations and changing of the leaves will continue.
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!!
Hi, Liz. Juggling bedclothes indeed…last night was back to warm temperatures but it’s a small complaint as the leaves continue their progression into full glory. I have a mountain (very old and smallish) behind me and can hardly wait until the trees will change to a tapestry of colors and I’ll see the hang gliders hovering over them. Looking forward to your next post and I know what you mean about life intervening in good intentions.
You gave a wonderful list of rituals. I believe in rituals and enjoy the ceremony they bring. For fall there is a newness in the air which I invite fully into my life. I consciously wear fall colors and especially sweaters. I decorate the front door and the dining table. I place a fall tablecloth on the breakfast table. I buy mums and fly fall themed flags on our front flag pole. I make soups and more breads. We go to some nearby fall festivals and buy soaps, soups, jams, candles, and candies. What a joy to smell the fall air as I take my walks. Life feels especially grand.
Your list is wonderful, Linda. Fall is the season I get most excited about and feel especially happy to be alive. Taking out fall clothes to wear is like meeting old friends and it’s such a pleasure. While the temperatures won’t be a consistent downward slope, I know in another 4 weeks, we’ll settle into cool sunny days and chilly nights.
Thank you for the mention! Fall is my favorite season, though I don’t know that I experience fall in the Bay Area, or it’s different here. The light has shifted though, more of a slant to the sun. I like to pay attention to that and we’re cleaning out the closets and drawers, a bit of fall cleaning to start the season.
Thanks for subscribing & for the lovely shoutout Frances! I love the idea of seasonal rituals… switching from cotton blankets to a cosy duvet is the first thing I do too!
What a beautiful meditation on this most splendid time of the year! There is already an autumn wreath on the door, and by the end of the day there will be a bronze potted chrysanthemum on the threshold. Since it is warm here, I shall leave the hummingbird feeders out for another week or two, but the “nosh” in the other feeders has been switched to oil sunflower seed and cracked corn. The birdbaths will remain out for another few weeks.
Evenings, I now have hot chocolate or a mug of cider rather than the usual chilled Prosecco. I am still looking for another espresso machine so am making do with mugs of strong coffee. Like you, I think of chilis, soups, stews and roasts. McIntosh apples and acorn squashes are never far from my thoughts.
On clear nights, Beau and I are outside on the veranda to watch the moon rise and look at the stars, and the autumn stars seem almost close enough to reach up and touch. Our rituals are small, and they are certainly simple, but they sustain us and we cherish them. Such gratitude for these seasonal turnings!
I often think of you and Beau on your amblings in the Lanark Highlands and look forward to your photographs and poetic prose describing what you have seen. We've taken a turn back to summer temperatures which will stay for the coming week so another ritual is throwing off the heavier bed cover during the night and reaching for short sleeved tops again, just after they've been put away. You mentioned your autumn wreath and maybe this year I'll finally make a simple one of my own. As always, thank you for your thoughtful comments, Cate.
Autumn is my favourite season. Here, in Montréal, we have the similar 'crisping' of weather, though climate change means we can still the mid-80F day still. But it cannot mess with the light, which is exactly like Leonard Cohen described when he wrote, "And the sun pours down like honey on Our Lady of the Harbour..." The residents go out, at every level, to cafés for coffee or "un verre", knowing the long winter, the days dark by 4:30 p.m. are coming.
Oh, Montreal, what a beauty of a city. Lucky you! I imagine autumn comes a bit earlier than where I am tho not by much. And you’re right about some mid-80’s days which is what is predicted for here for the next week. September always reminds us that summer isn’t gone yet. And your mention of Leonard Cohen…ah, I miss him. And your reminder sets me up for wearing my black t-shirt with a photo of him sitting in a park and the words “Old Ideas” today. Thank you, K.
I think my rituals are a symptom of OCD traits which generally have stood me in good stead. That and a certain rigidity and dislike of being caught unaware. So enough about me...you've got some good rituals going on and I especially like trying to find a routine that works for you. If it doesn't, it won't get done. Apples and winter squash are such a gift.
Thank you for thinking about and commenting on your rituals.
These are WONDERFUL rituals Frances, and thank you for having me as one of them! I'm so very touched ❤️. I used to always swap winter and summer clothes, but now I have just thinned out my clothes quite a lot so they all kind of stay together...but this has inspired me to perhaps put the summer dresses away for the next few months.
Here are some of mine:
- putting away the summer duvet and getting the electric blanket out
- drinking red wine, hot chocolate and turmeric lattes
- lighting candles with smells of autumn and winter: perhaps cinnamon, orange or pine...
- making leek and potato soup from my mum's original recipe
- baking cheese scones for a hot after-school snack
- putting fairy lights up in various places
- digging out my swim gloves and boots ready for the joy of winter swimming
- collecting logs for the fire
I'm about to start watching Kaos - it looks great! Thanks for this beautiful reflection on ritual. It has made me feel all warm inside...
I read this last night, and all morning I've been thinking about seasonal rituals. I don't have many, and that's a symptom of my lifelong city-dwelling paucity of natural rhythms. Let's see, for the fall I do some deep cleaning of parts of my house (or not); launder my winter coat (if I get around to it); and switch out zucchini for winter squash in my cooking. Oh, and apples have started returning to the farmers' market, and I love them. The quote from Mary Oliver is a nudge and encouragement for me: I'm still (after some 3 or 4 years) trying to find a routine for the afternoons that works for me.
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!
Hi, Anne. I imagine you having a wonderfully interesting life professional life in France and an equally satisfying daily French life. I forgot how September can be so unpredictable…here, in New England, after more than a week of chill, yesterday and for the next week, we’ll jump back into summery temperatures but the bird migrations and changing of the leaves will continue.
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!!
Hi, Liz. Juggling bedclothes indeed…last night was back to warm temperatures but it’s a small complaint as the leaves continue their progression into full glory. I have a mountain (very old and smallish) behind me and can hardly wait until the trees will change to a tapestry of colors and I’ll see the hang gliders hovering over them. Looking forward to your next post and I know what you mean about life intervening in good intentions.
You gave a wonderful list of rituals. I believe in rituals and enjoy the ceremony they bring. For fall there is a newness in the air which I invite fully into my life. I consciously wear fall colors and especially sweaters. I decorate the front door and the dining table. I place a fall tablecloth on the breakfast table. I buy mums and fly fall themed flags on our front flag pole. I make soups and more breads. We go to some nearby fall festivals and buy soaps, soups, jams, candles, and candies. What a joy to smell the fall air as I take my walks. Life feels especially grand.
Your list is wonderful, Linda. Fall is the season I get most excited about and feel especially happy to be alive. Taking out fall clothes to wear is like meeting old friends and it’s such a pleasure. While the temperatures won’t be a consistent downward slope, I know in another 4 weeks, we’ll settle into cool sunny days and chilly nights.
Thank you for the mention! Fall is my favorite season, though I don’t know that I experience fall in the Bay Area, or it’s different here. The light has shifted though, more of a slant to the sun. I like to pay attention to that and we’re cleaning out the closets and drawers, a bit of fall cleaning to start the season.
Thanks for subscribing & for the lovely shoutout Frances! I love the idea of seasonal rituals… switching from cotton blankets to a cosy duvet is the first thing I do too!
What a beautiful meditation on this most splendid time of the year! There is already an autumn wreath on the door, and by the end of the day there will be a bronze potted chrysanthemum on the threshold. Since it is warm here, I shall leave the hummingbird feeders out for another week or two, but the “nosh” in the other feeders has been switched to oil sunflower seed and cracked corn. The birdbaths will remain out for another few weeks.
Evenings, I now have hot chocolate or a mug of cider rather than the usual chilled Prosecco. I am still looking for another espresso machine so am making do with mugs of strong coffee. Like you, I think of chilis, soups, stews and roasts. McIntosh apples and acorn squashes are never far from my thoughts.
On clear nights, Beau and I are outside on the veranda to watch the moon rise and look at the stars, and the autumn stars seem almost close enough to reach up and touch. Our rituals are small, and they are certainly simple, but they sustain us and we cherish them. Such gratitude for these seasonal turnings!
I often think of you and Beau on your amblings in the Lanark Highlands and look forward to your photographs and poetic prose describing what you have seen. We've taken a turn back to summer temperatures which will stay for the coming week so another ritual is throwing off the heavier bed cover during the night and reaching for short sleeved tops again, just after they've been put away. You mentioned your autumn wreath and maybe this year I'll finally make a simple one of my own. As always, thank you for your thoughtful comments, Cate.
Autumn is my favourite season. Here, in Montréal, we have the similar 'crisping' of weather, though climate change means we can still the mid-80F day still. But it cannot mess with the light, which is exactly like Leonard Cohen described when he wrote, "And the sun pours down like honey on Our Lady of the Harbour..." The residents go out, at every level, to cafés for coffee or "un verre", knowing the long winter, the days dark by 4:30 p.m. are coming.
Oh, Montreal, what a beauty of a city. Lucky you! I imagine autumn comes a bit earlier than where I am tho not by much. And you’re right about some mid-80’s days which is what is predicted for here for the next week. September always reminds us that summer isn’t gone yet. And your mention of Leonard Cohen…ah, I miss him. And your reminder sets me up for wearing my black t-shirt with a photo of him sitting in a park and the words “Old Ideas” today. Thank you, K.
I think my rituals are a symptom of OCD traits which generally have stood me in good stead. That and a certain rigidity and dislike of being caught unaware. So enough about me...you've got some good rituals going on and I especially like trying to find a routine that works for you. If it doesn't, it won't get done. Apples and winter squash are such a gift.
Thank you for thinking about and commenting on your rituals.
x
These are WONDERFUL rituals Frances, and thank you for having me as one of them! I'm so very touched ❤️. I used to always swap winter and summer clothes, but now I have just thinned out my clothes quite a lot so they all kind of stay together...but this has inspired me to perhaps put the summer dresses away for the next few months.
Here are some of mine:
- putting away the summer duvet and getting the electric blanket out
- drinking red wine, hot chocolate and turmeric lattes
- lighting candles with smells of autumn and winter: perhaps cinnamon, orange or pine...
- making leek and potato soup from my mum's original recipe
- baking cheese scones for a hot after-school snack
- putting fairy lights up in various places
- digging out my swim gloves and boots ready for the joy of winter swimming
- collecting logs for the fire
I'm about to start watching Kaos - it looks great! Thanks for this beautiful reflection on ritual. It has made me feel all warm inside...
I read this last night, and all morning I've been thinking about seasonal rituals. I don't have many, and that's a symptom of my lifelong city-dwelling paucity of natural rhythms. Let's see, for the fall I do some deep cleaning of parts of my house (or not); launder my winter coat (if I get around to it); and switch out zucchini for winter squash in my cooking. Oh, and apples have started returning to the farmers' market, and I love them. The quote from Mary Oliver is a nudge and encouragement for me: I'm still (after some 3 or 4 years) trying to find a routine for the afternoons that works for me.