welcome, autumn

Ah, October the first. Crisp mornings, crunchy leaves underfoot, appley-cinnamonny smells wafting from the kitchen...well, in reality it has been raining since yesterday afternoon. The leaves are mostly still on the trees. And I used up most of our apples last weekend. But we have plenty to be excited about.

Today in Kindergarten we celebrated the festival of Michaelmas with bowls of steaming Dragon's Tail soup and still-warm bread rolls baked by the children. In this season, we remember how St. Michael, rather than slaying the dragon in a fit of blood-lust, instead calmly tamed it with his sword. We are reminded that we do not have to solve all our own problems; sometimes it is enough to acknowledge them and work with them with courage in our hearts. It is a time of gathering, of harvesting, of preparing for the long winter ahead - also with courage and warmth in our hearts.

For many years I have found this time of year to be challenging. I grew up in Florida - the Sunshine State. My cells and my bones and my goodwill crave sunshine and warmth. But southwest England is reknowned for slate skies, impossibly green fields, and swathes of earth that remain damp for nine months of the year.  Fortunately, I have found that I can prolong the feeling of late-summer warmth by bringing it indoors. Warm colours, foliage that was at its best at the last moment of summer, images of cosy Autumnal life. These things help me to see the beauty of the new season, rather than the long, cold, grey months stretching before us.