“She calls it “stick season,” this slow disrobing of summer, leaf by leaf, till the bores of tall trees rattle and scrape in the wind.”
The day is cloudy with the possibility of rain. When I woke up, the house was only 62°, and I was darn cold. Obviously Fern and Gracie were too as both of them were leaning against me in bed. I warmed up the house so I can take a shower when I finish here, but it still feels damp and chilly.
Life has gone back to the mundane. I’ve started my daily list of chores and was busy yesterday with the trash, the litter and the dump. Today I have wash. Just over a week ago I was a world traveler. Today I am a washerwoman.
The time is close to shutting down the deck for the year. I’m already lamenting. It was my morning spot for coffee and the papers and my afternoon spot for my books and an occasional nap on the lounge. When the sun was shining, the breeze blowing and the leaves rustling there was no more pleasant place to be. Now I’m sitting here in the den wearing my winter slippers and a sweatshirt and seeing a dreary day through the window.
I am sorry at the close of summer but here on the cape fall is the nicest time of the year. The tourists are gone except for those on buses as this is the bus tour season. The riders are always old, at least far older than I. The women walk together as do the men. They are the generation that sat the women in the back seat when couples went out to dinner so manly talk could be made up front.
Because we barely have a spring, we are rewarded with a long autumn with cool but beautifully sunny days: today, of course, being an exception. I love taking long rides down cape this time of year. The leaves are mostly red but they are striking. The farm stands are filled with mums and gourds and apples. I always stop. I can’t resist.
Explore posts in the same categories: MusingsTags: apples, cape cod, cold, damp, end of summer, gourds, mums, tour buses
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September 20, 2011 at 1:31 pm
The rain was pouring down here most of the day and its rather chilly both out- and indoors as well. I have a fire in th stove and that makes it rather nice after all.
Most leafs only gets yellow for a short while and then turn brown before they fall here Even many maples are like that. But when thinking back to when I was a child I only remember how flaming red they turned. I like my memories better 🙂 🙂
Have a great day!
Christer.
September 20, 2011 at 10:07 pm
Christer,
The day did get warmer and the rain never came, but I still needed my warm slippers and a sweatshirt.
We have very few maples, mostly oak. The salt air isn’t knid to many trees so they don’t grow here.
I love the fall colors.
September 20, 2011 at 3:25 pm
Hi Kat,
Back to the mundane world. Ah, well. When it’s minus 10 degrees outside you can remember the warmth of Ghanaian sun and Ghanaian smiles. 🙂
You are thinking about closing down the deck and I am thinking about using my front porch. Now is the season when that south-facing, glassed in spot starts to become a warm and inviting place to sit during the day if the sun is shining.
Enjoy the day, even if it is a laundry, dump, and rain day. 🙂
September 20, 2011 at 10:10 pm
Hi Caryn,
It’s true-back to the mundane world. I figure the memories from that trip will keep me warm a very long time.
My deck faces the west so it doesn’t stay warm as the day fades. I’m sorry to lose one of my favorite all time spots.
Thanks-it was a good day despite the chores and errands. I figure any day I can choose what I want to do or not is a good day.
September 20, 2011 at 5:25 pm
You could always spend the winter in Florida. That would make you feel like a world traveler. Leave the squirrels at home. You should try it one year. This is the best time to enjoy our Sunshine State October to May. We never have four seasons. That I miss. But, on the other hand, you can always go back to Ghana in your mind.
September 20, 2011 at 10:11 pm
Z&Me,
I may complain about the winter, but I love living in New England. Besides, without the cold and snow, what would I gripe about? All my friends and most of my family are here, and I would miss them all too much.
September 20, 2011 at 7:26 pm
The last weekend of September is the end of our patio. I need kids to help and everything goes back in to the basement. I know there is little chance that we will sit outside again.
On and off planes this week. NYC tomorrow and Chicago on Thursday. Won’t be worth much on Friday 🙂
September 20, 2011 at 10:12 pm
My Dear Hedley,
Most of my furniture gets covered and the decorations go into bins and are covered with a tarp and put under the deck. Only the fountain motor and the flamingo come inside for the winter.
I am still finding I am tired after my trip despite being home a week.
September 20, 2011 at 10:14 pm
My Dear Hedley,
My furniture gets covered and the decorations go into bins which are put under the deck and covered in a tarp. Only the gnome, the flamingo and the fountain motor come inside.
I am still tired from my trip and I’ve been a week home already.
September 20, 2011 at 9:54 pm
The end of September and the beginning of October are the best weather months in North Texas. The State Fair of Texas, which is the largest state fair in the country, runs from the last week in September through the second week in October every year. Usually we get beautiful days like today where the sky is clear and the morning temperatures are in the 60s rising to highs in the lower 90s. Our foliage doesn’t change until late November around Thanksgiving when we get our first freeze of the season.
Now we can all get ready for the baseball playoffs and a root for the Rangers to bring home the first World Series victory to North Texas to match the Mavericks sensational season. Then, we can all get excited as America’s team, the Dallas Cowboys, try to win in the world’s most expensive stadium. And maybe for the last season the University of Texas will play the University of Oklahoma in the 100 year old classic Red River Shoot Out football game during the fair.
That just about describes autumn in Texas.
September 20, 2011 at 10:17 pm
Bob,
We will have lovely weather through October and, if we’re lucky, the first couple of weeks into November. Some years we have appetizers on the deck Thanksgiving Day, but they are rare. Your weather sounds lovely, and it has been well earned after the summer you’ve had.
In your last paragrapg, I agree only with the University of Texas as I have no allegience on that level. As for the rest, I am a New Englander and root, root, root for the home teams.