Friday, March 01, 2013
March
In March the air feels cooler, softer
Leaves turn crimson red
Then when they flutter to the ground
We make a pile and tumble round
Some fall on baby's head.
We plant some bulbs, a daffodil
They hide till Spring, so dark and still.
- Jane Godwin, All Through the Year
The leaves haven't turned yet but we're waiting, waiting.
I have a soft spot for Autumn. It's the humble season, an opportunity to slow, nurture and nourish. Last night the cool came, right on cue, and we gratefully said goodbye to the humidity that had been lingering for weeks. It's almost time to slip into long-sleeves and carry a cardigan - just in case.
Soon there will be a box of fine new-season apples to eat and I'll happily line the kitchen windowsill with picturesque pears. I'll start to close the doors and windows early, light beeswax candles, and settle in. My seasonal menu is homely and inspired; pumpkin soup, chicken stock, jeweled rice, apple turnovers, pear and ginger cake. There will be chai; almond milk infused with spice, and I'll think of the ashram as I stir.
Autumn is for gumboots and slippers, tea and good books. I need a few interesting reads for the next couple of months, what do you recommend?
For those of you ready to embrace the light and newness of spring, there's a seasonal series just for you.
33 COMMENTS
Labels: autumn : a seasonal series
so beautiful! i adore autumn!
ReplyDeletekw ladies in navy
i love autumn! and hopefully spring will arrive soon for us in the other side :)
ReplyDeletei love autumn, it's my favourite, we are awaiting spring here in the UK! It's odd to see the seasons change across the globe at differing times, you in heat us in snow! as for reading, oh boy, you just have to read 'a field guide to now' by Christina Rosalie, it's beautiful! here's a link to it, i couldn't put it down, in fact i read each chapter twice to make it last longer...is that a bit sad? x http://www.amazon.co.uk/Field-Guide-Now-Mindfulness-Present/dp/0762778563/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1362074104&sr=8-1
ReplyDelete"Mr Pip", Lloyd Jones.
ReplyDeleteOh this was sweet! A lovely gentle read to get you into the swing x
DeleteI loved this book too ... but found it really terribly sad and disturbing - especially considering such atrocities and horror was being lived/endured by our closest neighbours, right on our doorstep, and there was almost no coverage in the Australian news.
DeleteWildwood and Under Wildwood - strictly speaking they are YA, but oh handled in such gifted hands (the prettiest illustrations). The story will have you throwing on your boots and exploring the wilderness with great excitement I promise.
ReplyDeleteI also loved Jeanette Winterson's The Daylight Gate - such a wild imagination.
It is such an exciting time, a change of season - new adventures. The bush is less dangerous now the snakes will turn their minds to sleeping, and the ticks go else where. Your chai with almond milk sounds delicious.
The leaves have started turning down here, but I suppose it's because we're lower down? I'm ready for Autumn, it's my favourite season.
ReplyDeleteWhile looking very much forward to spring right now, I really, really love autumn too. Especially those early warm days where the colours quietly begin to change so you can see it's not summer anymore while it's still almost as warm.
ReplyDeleteHave you read Wife 22? It's nice, lovely and and just in time for autumn evenings. Thanks for spring pics. I look forward to the spring sunshine.
ReplyDeletefirst day of autumn, cool and overcast here right on cue. i already have plans for chai later this morning to celebrate. i have chicken stock bubbling away on the stove as we speak and the pears are looking beautiful on the kitchen bench! we are speaking the same language jodi!
ReplyDeletehave you read the snow child? beautiful read. also i would recommend 'wild' by cheryl strayed. x
I love Autumn, and you have encapsulated the moods this season inspires beautifully.
ReplyDeleteBook recommendation - I just finished Room, but Emma Donoghue. A friend passed it on and I finished it in two days. It's very hard to put down!
I've loved summer, but autumn is a favourite. Looking forward to the colours, the fresh winds and wearing drapey scarves..x
ReplyDelete...especially the scarves ;) x
DeleteAlthough Summer is a firm favourite of mine, Sam looks forward to the cooler weather of Autumn & Winter, & it's because of her I am learning to appreciate these seasons too.
ReplyDeleteIt's overcast and cool today - such a perfect way to herald in Autumn. We've too are sipping chai and lighting beeswax candles this morning, and picking up our favourite books for a read in the evenings - I adore Falling Leaves . It's a beautiful memoir of an unwanted Chinese daughter.
Wishing you a lovely first day of Autumn, Jodi.
Sar xx
happy autumn to you! it's my favourite season, and I too love wearing the scarves..
ReplyDeleteWe drove around the lake today - and near the National Gallery the wind was swirling and tossing up the leaves. Such a typically autumn Canberra scene (for me)...I'm interested to hear the book recommendations. I haven't read for ages and would love some inspiration too. Did you ever read The History of Love? (Nicole Krauss...there's a lot of similarities with another of my favourite books, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close - written by her husband, Jonathon Safran Foer!) x
ReplyDelete"The History of Love" is in my top 10 of all time....and "Extremely Loud..." is a book I've always been meaning to read but for some reason I never have. And they're husband and wife?! Imagine their scrabble games!
DeleteI've been reading lots of non-fiction lately, which I will share soon. x
You might like Extremely Loud then (although I enjoyed History of Love a little more - also in my top 10). If we have similar taste in books you might like to try Middlesex (Jeffrey Eugenides)...and I'm sure you would have read another of my all-time favourites, The God of Small Things? Love to hear more of your top 10 in case there's a goodie I haven't read...x
Delete(I've been reading non-fiction lately too...but i'm so ready to lose myself in a little tale) x
DeleteI'm just starting to wind-back the summer garden and plant for winter. We haven't yet lost the humidity up here yet, but I can feel the change on its way :)
ReplyDeleteSweet read!!! I like the picture, its is soothing to the eyes!!!
ReplyDeleteHow I adore Autumn! I have plenty of books on my bedside table at the moment - Buddhism for Mothers (very dog eared and much loved), The Way of the Happy Woman, An Everlasting Meal (re-reading for the change in season eatin), Sibella Court's Bowerbird and a half finished copy of War and Peace...I will finish that book!!! Hope you've kicked your cold and having a lovely week :) x
ReplyDeleteThe cold is officially kicked! "An Everlasting Meal" - I must get it! x
DeleteThings are just starting to warm up in my part of the world, but I definitely prefer autumn over the hectic schedule of spring. If you've never read Watership Down, it's a great book. I think it can be enjoyed equally by adults and little kids. A lot of my friends had it read to them as children, but I just read it last September and loved it.
ReplyDeleteAutumn is my equal favourite season (with summer). I love the change of seasons in general though. We've had a lovely summer weather-wise, but I have to admit I'm really looking forward to Autumn this year!
ReplyDeleteThis brings back fond memories of my own table basket, filled with pears not too long ago... though I'm looking forward to our warmer months, I too will always have a soft spot in my heart for autumn. Lovely words x
ReplyDeleteAnother reading Sara Avent's The Way of the Happy Woman, Also reading Half The Sky. Am not in the mood for fiction at the moment according to my goodreads log this year.
ReplyDeleteMangrove Mountain is so beautiful this time of year. Your line about Chai makes me think of it too. I am determined to get away there for a night this year - it's been too, too long.
x
The Rosie Project is a wonderful, laugh out loud, quirky tale about finding love. I didn't want it to end. Autumn really is a lovely season..leaves and reading in cosy cafes. x
ReplyDeleteSuch a wonderful book! I adored it - and laughed out loud so many times I regularly woke my sleeping husband. Oh weren't you just cheering him on at the end!
DeleteLooking forward to reading more of your series on autumn as we head (very slowly) into spring here. I have just finished 'Before I go to sleep' by A J Watson which was unputdownable. One of my favourite authors Maggie O'Farrell has just brought out another book 'Instructions for a heatwave' set in the 1976 heatwave in London. May be quite appropriate given your hot summer! I loved her last book 'The hand that first held mine' so am desperate to read another one. Love her writing style.
ReplyDeleteI love your seasonal series!
ReplyDeleteAutumn is my favourite season, I love to prepare our home and the family for the coming Winter. Pull out and wash the woollens, stock up on beeswax candles and stack the firewood. Making sure I have ingredients for tea and planning and preparing warming meals.
I heartily second The Rosie Project! Wonderful read ... and wrote a review of some of the books I've read lately here http://blockaday.com/recently-read/ Autumn truly is the season for reading.
ReplyDelete