I woke up this morning to a fog so thick that for a split second, my sleep-befuddled brain thought it was snowing because it was so white outside my window.
(Incidentally, wouldn’t that be a great opening line for a story?)
The summer heat has worked its usual magic, and I find myself looking as forward to autumn and – dare I admit it? – even winter as I was to spring and summer this past March.
Autumn and spring are my favorite seasons, each in its turn. I love the awakening that comes with spring, the glorious warmth and light after an inevitably long, cold, dark winter. I love to see the world turning green, the birds returning and filling the air with song, the flowers and plants pushing up from the ground. Everything is fresh and new, and returning to life, and my soul expands with it.
It is a quieter delight that comes with the autumn. The summer has (usually) been hot enough to make me long for cooler days and crisp nights. Even if its a cool summer, I still find myself looking forward to the richness of the autumn colors, the leaves changing and the apples ripening, and soon, the snow starting to fall and all the joys that come with that.
My writing always flows so much better with the changing of the seasons. Watching life start again in the spring, as well as seeing everything settle down in autumn, both start my inspirational juices flowing. My other creative interests seek outlets then, too – usually my quilting picks up for the cooler months, while gardening and photography interest me in the spring and summer.
Our life has taken an unexpected twist this past month, and we have no idea if we will stay in this house for the next month, season, or year. But I know that wherever we are, whatever we are doing, the earth will continue to turn, and the seasons to change. There is great comfort in that, great hope. Great trust.
Do you have a favorite season? Are you happy to see summer drawing to a close, or does the very thought of cooler weather make you cringe? What times during the year are the best for your writing, or other creative outlets?
I couldn't agree more! I am always so happy to pick up my hobbies again once it cools down (though next year we will be installing AC on the main floor which may help), such as baking, candy-making, writing bad poetry, and doing crafts or decorating the house- which is a slow WIP. :)I also agree that seeing the change in the seasons brings my creativity back. For some reason I tend to feel busy and fatigued most of the summer. We don't even take vacations then, usually, but we travel for weddings or to see family, and maybe part of it is the haunting fear that the symptoms of Lyme or my fibro will awaken again. I'm hoping to go apple-picking this fall, finally, and maybe either start blogging or start writing again, as I haven't really done either for about a year now, due to a variety of energy sucks and brain fogs.
The first snow is as exciting as the first time you can go outside without a jacket. I love to watch for crocuses in early March and colors in the leaves in September. Sometimes I just cheat and say "Christmas" is my favorite season. It's called a "season," too, right?
I ADORE Autumn, which is, you know, why God put me in a state that doesn't have one, to teach me self-sacrifice. I don't know that I'd love it as much if I had to stay behind, when the colors and harvest-richness give way to bleak chill and gray skies. I was not fond of Colorado winters, and I think I'd like New England ones even less, the occasional appreciation of the sparkle in the snow notwithstanding. I don't mind Winter in the south, as it's generally mild – just enough cold for you to enjoy a few fires in the fireplace, quilts on the bed, crock-pot stews and breaking out the sweaters – then packing it all away again come March, which is our golden month here.I think human beings desire both change and familiarity – we love the change in the seasons because it is both new and predictable. It has the same comforting quality as church liturgy; God's calendar, keeping us cycling, returning, renewing. There's an inherent /rightness/ involved, and I think it's what prompts us to treat the change with some amount of ceremony. I don't think it's at all coincidental that we have a major holiday with every seasonal transition (except Spring to Summer – and why don't we? I nominate it for a new one. July 4th doesn't count, not universal enough.)
Beautifulmonday – I so wish we lived close enough to go apple picking together! It is our absolute favorite fall activity. I don't suppose you guys want to take a trip out to Albany in a few weeks? We have a GREAT PYO orchard nearby (the cider donuts are diVINE).Rockinlibrarian – Yes, crocuses (which I always want to call crocii in the plural), and daffodils, and snowdrops if you live in a place where those blossom – no thrill like seeing those first tiny bursts of color after a long, cold stretch of white and grey! And the colors on the trees after the summer green has faded and worn is just as thrilling.Sunrise – I honestly can't imagine March being a pleasant month. Despite it being my birth month, it is always so miserable, anywhere I've lived – slushy, snowy, and muddy. Winter overall can be pleasant, if it just didn't drag out so long here in the north. It was even worse when we were living just south of Canada. Winter six months out of the year wasn't really a joke! And YES to the idea of familiar changes. The liturgy of nature – it seems to me I've heard that idea somewhere, but I can't remember where. It is a beautiful thought, in any case.
Sadly my love we have a lot planned for fall, as we never really took more than 3 days of vacation all summer. But should we be in your neck of the woods I will certainly hasten to let you know!!!
I love summer but am looking forward to Fall. When we lived in LA, I missed the changing seasons the most. I hope the unexpected twist works out okay for you. Life does throw some twists. I'm glad you can find some stability in nature, and in the changing of the seasons.
Well, that just means you need to plan a trip to FL in March. File that away for when the girls are old enough to enjoy Disney. 🙂 I know some pretty neat people here who could help you with that.
Kirsten – we are hopeful about this twist. I'm not trying to be mysterious! Just waiting until the threads have untangled enough for me to be able to write coherently about it. Sunrise – I've never had any desire to visit Disney, I must confess, but escaping the bleakness of March in the northeast AND visiting friends at the same time is quite appealing.