“There ought to be gardens for all months in the year, in which, severally, things of beauty may be then in season.”
My official acknowledgement of autumn was yesterday. The back screen door is now in the cellar and the storm door is in its place. The nights had been too cold to leave the backdoor open so Gracie didn’t have access to her dog door. She would ring the bells to go out, and I’d have to go running to open the door then wait for her. Now Gracie can come and go as she pleases.
The days seem darker to me, the sun less bright. I figure it’s mostly my imaginings at the transition in seasons. The cat still sleeps in the morning sun streaming through the front door so she is content. I am not. Every day seems to bring a change as we rush toward winter. The fall flowers are at their peak. The mums in my garden have all bloomed. The new flowers are planted in the front garden. The deck looks desolate and has pine needles, small twigs and branches and the hulls of sunflower seeds strewn about. Some days I sit in the sun in the afternoon, but I wear a sweatshirt against the chill. The days of short-sleeves have ended. We do have plenty of autumn left so my lament may be early, but the nights are cold. They feel like the first touch of winter.
I’m wearing my slippers and a sweatshirt. The house was cold this morning, colder than when I have the heat going, but I can’t bring myself to start the furnace: it’s the final surrender.
When I go to my old town, I always follow the route I used to walk to school. I notice the changes and remember what used to be there. The house where my friends grew up is gone. It was a pretty white house with red shutters and a trellis by the back door. A house near it was always a favorite of mine. It was an old house, one of the first on the street. It too is gone. In their place is a small brick apartment building, an ugly building with no character, with no homeyness. I am glad I don’t walk that route any more.
Explore posts in the same categories: MusingsTags: brick buildings, cat in the sun, chilly nights, fall blooms, fall flowers, morning sun, mums, old houses, rushing toward winter, Storm door, sweatshirts, walk to school
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September 26, 2013 at 12:23 pm
Hi Kat,
I caved yesterday morning and turned on the heat for one cycle. I couldn’t face showering in a 60ºF house and I couldn’t find the little space heater. Brrr.
I’m wearing long sleeves, jeans and flip flops. No socks. It’s warmer today but the sun keeps disappearing and when that happens it’s not so warm any more. When the sun appears, the porch gets nice and warm. I’m trying to figure out how to move all that lovely warm air inside the house where it’s much cooler.
My grammar school has disappeared under a cul-de-sac of single family McMansions with pretensions of antiquity. The school was authentically old and ratty but the fake old manses are just tacky and wrong. Sort of on a par with the supermarket that had to look like the old factory it was demolishing so they did it in brick facade and added in fake bricked up fake Palladian factory windows. (Insert confused doggy head tilt here.) 🙂
It was sunny but the clouds are increasing a bit. They are friendly, puffy white clouds but they are still blocking the sun and reducing the warmth.
I need to make a plant run. My shocking burnt orange mums require something in another color to accent them. Maybe I will find some bulbs, too. And grass seed.
Enjoy the day.
September 26, 2013 at 1:01 pm
Hi Caryn,
If my house had been that cold, I would have caved too. Mine was 67˚ which is okay by me. It is the same here with the sun appearing and disappearing. There is a breeze which cools the day even more. I have kept my bedroom window open, and the room is chilly so I’ve used a comforter the last few nights. I lust like all that fresh air.
My old school was built in 1911, and it is in good shape and still being used. It too is brick. The covent across the street was sold-not enough nuns anymore, and they wanted the money to use to pay for a church addition. They did a great job on the addition as the church is lovely, and the new building across the street works okay into the neighborhood.
I have a library event at 2 and have to buy cookies before I go so I’m getting close to needing to be dressed and out the door. Maybe I’ll hit Agway on the way home!
Have a wonderful afternoon!
September 26, 2013 at 1:45 pm
And so the Detroit Tigers clinched the division for the third successive year and opened the chance in the post season for a match up with the Boston Red Blouses. A possibility almost too delicious to consider. A few meaningless games with the Marlins during which Mr Peralta will reappear, reinvented as a left fielder and then on playoffs at the Oakland As and their sewage ridden dug outs. Bring it on and hoping for Tigers and Dodgers in the classic
Meanwhile in North London Tottenham start the weekend of fun with the early kickoff at home to Chelsea. On the NBC sports station at 7.45 am on Saturday morning. The Prince will be in residence and clucking at his Pumpa’s potty mouth during such events.
Pumpa in the meantime has decided to call it a day and will retire at the end of this year. I am thinking about starting a blog called “Turn the coffee off” but am worried about Stookenator type violations. Maybe some consulting or maybe one long nap on the sofa with years of unread books and bizzaro music links sent to me by Mr Austin. The time has arrived just before the big 60 but it is time.
Other than that its a lovely autumn day in Detroit, nary a little fluffy cloud to be seen and perfect for my never ending walk to lose weight program.
September 26, 2013 at 4:18 pm
My Dear Hedley,
Watch your mouth!! Blouses! The Red SOX are more than ready for the purring kitties from Detroit. I was sort of thinking the Sox and the Dodgers for the october classic.
I suspect that the Prince already knows about his Pumpa’s potty mouth during a Tottenham game.
Wonderful name for your blog!! I applaud your retiring. I have found life is wonderful when each day is mine to do with as I choose. I was 57, too young said my mother, but I have never regretted my choice.
The day stayed chilly here but the sun was persistent and beat out the clouds.
September 26, 2013 at 5:04 pm
Is Big Poppy still playing for the Red Blouses ? The Bengals will certainly be hoping for a go around with the East Coast hopefuls. Having seen a few games at Chavez Ravine I have a soft spot for the Dodgers even though they went potty in the D’Backs pond or pool or whatever they jumped in after securing their division.
I was glad that McCain found enough time to put down his video poker game and express outrage over the Dodgers celebration.
Right, lets get this started
“We’re all behind our baseball team…….Go get ’em TIGERS
World Series bound and picking up steam….”
September 26, 2013 at 5:23 pm
MDH,
Big Papi is hitting over 300 for the Sox!
The Pats need some work in the red zone. Tom was angry at himself instead of his receivers this week.
My soft spot will always be for the Cubbies.
You need to change that pronoun from we’re to I am behind…
September 26, 2013 at 2:01 pm
utumn is definitely here now, it fell to as low as 24,4F yesterday morning, I watched the thermometer in my car and it was colder there than by my cottage. I have no fire logs at home so no fire in the stove today, I’ll buy more tomorrow so it’ll last at least a week.
Still very sunny here and it’s so bright it almost hurts the eyes 🙂 But hopefully we’ll have a cloudy night so I won’t have to scrape the car windows tromorrow morning. I could place my car in the garage but too many mice have eaten the cables by the engine too many times by now so I hesitate to do that 🙂
Have a great day!
Christer.
September 26, 2013 at 4:21 pm
Christer,
That is far too low for my liking especially this time of year. It does get down to the 40’s at night but less that that would have my heat going and the comforter on my bed.
I used to get up very early when I worked and had to scrape the windshield too many mornings. Now the sun does that job for me!
Stay warm and toasty!!
September 26, 2013 at 6:21 pm
Congrats to MDH on a very wise decision. I have a feeling he prepared for retirement MUCH more successfully than I (as in AT ALL), so his idle time probably won’t be very idle. Even though I’m poor as a church mouse, I don’t regret hanging up my typewriter.
And I think we owe Mr. Bryan Ferry a shout out for 68 candles on his birthday cake. As he sings, “Ain’t No Big Thing.”
September 26, 2013 at 6:37 pm
im6,
I had a savings account which I depleted by redoing my house, taking some trips, paying the vet bill for Maggie then buying Gracie. I don’t regret any of it. I have enough to live on, don’t need to do a thing to my house and have every day to do what I want. Life is just fine.
68 candles on his cake-wow-that is so difficult to believe!
September 26, 2013 at 7:08 pm
Xoxoxo im6, I can probably keep my Beach boys CDs.
I will be a fellow without a pension but I have always known that
Love Bryan Ferry, only saw him once at the (Finsbury Park) Rainbow with Roxy Music – so long ago that Brian Eno was till with them. The recent Roxy Music Boxset is one of my better buys as the sound quality is spectacular. I am hoping that they do the same thing for Mr Ferry.
September 26, 2013 at 7:18 pm
I’ve seen Ferry twice. Once at the Arie Crown Theater at McCormick Place and later at The Riviera, both in Chicago. Both times he did NOT disappoint. I’d be scared to see him now, however. Have you heard anything from his latest, “The Jazz Age?” What I’ve heard just makes me sad. I appreciate how he was trying to play his material in a retro fashion, but it’s one big snoozefest!
September 26, 2013 at 7:30 pm
I listened to but did not buy the Jazz Age, I thought it was just plain awful
If you check out the cover of Another time Another Place, you will see Bryan is wearing a square faced watch. I saved and saved and bought a square faced Omega Deville watch which I loved and I wear to this day. It didn’t turn me in to Bryan Ferry but it as been with me for 40 years.
September 26, 2013 at 10:35 pm
While the Red Sox, A’s and the Tigers have clinched their division the Texas Rangers will make it to the American League wild card games and then go on to the World Series defeating all others including the Dodgers. Before I was a Ranger fan I was a Brooklyn Dodger fan. You see the Rangers are just now peaking while the other teams have peaked by capturing their divisions too early 🙂 Crazy things have happened before such as the shot heard around the world when Bobby Thomson hit that winning home run for the Giants in 1951 in the National League playoff game between the Dodgers and the Giants at the Polo Grounds.
I refuse to visit my brother in law and sister in law in New Jersey in May or September. He is like a New York land lord. Heat comes off on April 1st and doesn’t go back on until late October. He can squeeze a penny so hard that Lincoln screams. We are still running our AC because the afternoon temperatures are still in mid 90s.
September 27, 2013 at 10:09 am
Bob,
The Rangers have been self-imploding in September, losing too many games. The Sox only have five days between games so I don’t think they have peaked too early. Besides, they have led their division all but two weeks of the season, and they are still in the fight for home field advantage.
A more recent crazy thing is the 2004 Red Sox beating the Yankees after being don 3 games to none.
I will turn on the heat if I am cold, but i find a sweatshirt enough generally. I refuse to be cold in my own house.