Saturday 5 October 2013

IN LOVE WITH OCTOBER

"I'm so glad to live in a world where there are Octobers."  Lucy Maud Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables
From my first memories as a young child through to my adulthood, October has, hands down, been my favourite month in the year. You can argue all you want for June, July and August, but I won't budge. Nope! October, it is!  October, it remains! Jim and I even chose to be married in October. Imagine!
Mother Nature's magic paintbrush dramatically sweeps a change in her palette from a mixture of sun burned, heat-faded greens to a riotous canopy of oranges, reds and vibrant yellows. Albert Camus wrote of October as "the second spring when every leaf is a flower". Leaves drift like feathers on the crisp autumn breezes as they journey to the ground where they form autumn's crunchy sidewalk and street blankets. How I love that sensation and sound beneath my shoes. I wonder how neighbours would view a woman in her sixties jumping into a their freshly raked piles of leaves. Mental case, probably!  Ah! the fun-filled memories of childhood.
The musky scent of burning wood invites images of curling up, great book in hand, before a roaring fireplace. For Jim, it is football season at long last! 
Heady aromas of cinnamon, baking apples, pumpkin and mulled cider commingle to create the perfume of our kitchen. Comfort foods- stews, soups and pastas - make their welcome return to our table. And my favourite colourful harvest root vegetables abound. Not to be forgotten is the bounty of Thanksgiving's turkey or, even better, it's scrumptious leftovers.
Gone is summer's often stifling humidity, replaced by cool, fresh, breathable breezes. Sleep at night descends easily, window open, snuggled under a downy comforter. Cooler daytime temperatures allow me to don once again my favoured jeans and sweaters. How I treasure this timeframe, albeit short- lived,  between sandals and boots.
As the month draws to a close and Jack Frost threatens with his first tendrils of chilly, frosty northern air, all manner of pumpkin faces are carved and ghostly, ghoulish apparitions, treat bags in hand, haunt our streets cheerily demanding "trick or treat" from 'spooked' householders.
October is "the time when everything bursts with its last beauty, as if nature has been saving up all year for the grand finale" . (Lauren DeStephano). Yup! October is upon us. And I, for one, intend to savour it!


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