This time of year in the Rio Grande Valley makes me think of:
The bluest skies,
misty mornings,
apples,
hot air balloons,
and days that make you sweat.
Unexpected rain.
Ditches running with muddy-brown water.
The most intense colors.
Light that makes everything look crisp.
Did I say apples?
And still mornings, the most brilliant skies.
Smells. I should mention smells.
(Green chile roasting, and hay warmed by the sun.)
The best yard sales.
Sweaters in the morning.
The color yellow, and green turning to yellow.
Not quite pumpkins. But definitely apples.
What does autumn make you think about?
This Morning, photos taken in the early days of October by ybonesy
and her Farmer Jonesimbonesy, © 2007 by ybonesy. All rights reserved.
This Time Of Year
October 5, 2007 by ybonesy
29 Responses
Leave a Reply
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What does autumn make me think about?
Apple pie
Spiders
Getting the heavy wool Mexican blanket out of the closet
Using the car heater in the morning and the A/C in the afternoon
Schools, green chalkboards, and bulletin boards decorated with paper borders
Marigolds and mums
Fresh ristras
Every year goes by faster
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I never associated this time of year with spiders, but come to think of it, I had to kill three today. All were venemous (OK, maybe not, but potentially so, and scary as hell) and in places they shouldn’t be (my irrigation boot lining, behind the stove, in Em’s bathroom by the toilet).
I love the car heater in morning, a/c in afternoon!
Are you a teacher?
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Nope, I don’t teach, but I do evaluate school facilities so I visit school buildings a lot and I just love it. Fall is the best time at school – everyone is real excited about all the stuff they’re going to do all year. Remember the feeling of new supplies and maybe a new outfit or two? I could never sleep a wink the day before the first day of school.
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What does autumn make me think of?
There are no chestnut trees where I now live, and one of remembered pleasures for me is to find fallen conkers and extract the chestnuts (love the edible type!)
The mists and fogs are so welcome and beautiful, except for driving in at night.
Digging out the socks, scarves
People’s silhouettes change to increasing girth, their shapes become simpler, wrapped and their movement more constrained.
Smell of burning leaves and wood-burning fireplaces, although that is becoming increasingly rare. This morning that smell was strong and brought back many memories.
Waiting for the fall rains after which there are leaf-ghosts imprinted on the concrete sidewalks.
yboney – car heater in the morning and a/c in the afternoon? Just how hot does it get in the southwest this time of the year? It was 3C here this morning. brrr. G
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The subtle shift in the morning light, the smell of grass on the football field, fading green of grass in front yards, the cool overnight air coming in the window at night, socks to sleep in, not knowing what to wear when the days starts cool, gets hot, then slowly cools down again.
I like autumn. September is my favorite month followed by April.
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I love this time of year:)
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Fall days in the desert mountains of NM can get to mid-80s, but even 72 degrees in the car, with the intense sun, can cause you to put on the a/c. And it cools down quite a bit, especially in the river valley. They say we’re always five degrees higher in the heat and five degrees colder in the cold, from the moisture.
I’m a wimp — I’ve already stopped sleeping with windows open. The other night I left the screen door open before going to bed, and it was so cold in the morning.
September and October are my favorites. I like April and May, too. November is nice in NM, and last Dec, we had lots of thick snow, so it was fun. I only don’t like Feb and March (too windy), and July and Aug can get too hot.
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Hey, Jackie, are you the Jackie who I think you are??
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Early morning fog.
Leaves raining down.
Orange moons.
Color, color, everywhere. Leaves, sunsets, sunrises — all are intensely colorful.
Earthy smells.
Goldenrod.
Getting the house and land ready for winter.
Doing all the work outside I didn’t get done during the summer because it’s finally cool enough and the mosquitoes die down once the nights turn cold.
Chopping and splitting wood.
Hanging laundry out to dry on cool, breezy days.
Taking a last row around the pond before we put the boat away for winter.
Hiking (and wearing bright orange during hunting season so the hunters don’t mistake us for deer or other game animals).
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You know what’s strange – I don’t remember getting one mosquito bite this year in Minnesota. I don’t know if it was too dry or what.
Fall, I love it. I always have. It takes me to:
diminishing light, reflective darkness
the edges of frosty winter
dank smell of decaying brown leaves in October rain
bright deep burgundies and burnt yellows
wrapping up safe in jackets & sweatshirts
layers of blankets peeling away on hot fall days, covering up in the cool ones
walks through the forests in leaves that fall like rain
memories of the first days of school
hibernating V’s of Canadian geese
battening down the hatches
putting the motorcycles away
the crispness of Halloween
wrapping close in the arms of the person I love
long hot showers in the morning to warm up
cold stainless steel Braun coffee pot that needs to be warmed before brewing
surfaces of 10,000 lakes turning from glass smooth in the morning to ocean waves at dusk
curling up with a good book
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BTW, ybonesy, I really love that shot of the apples against that brilliant blue. Look at how unique each apple is in all shades of healthiness. It reminds me that now that we shop for food at supermarkets, we forget the imperfections of growing our own food. Nothing is perfect…least of all nature. And yet, it is.
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ybonsey, I am not sure. I am the Baltimore Jackie (if that helps).
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I love fall in NM. The Sandia’s are glowing with many shades od red, hot air balloons fill the sky, sitting in the patio for breakfast with a tasty green chile burrito and a warm cup of coffee. It’s also a time to make carmel apples, apple pie and apple butter. I enjoy watching the leaves fall and playing in them with my son which is always a blast! I can go on and on about what I enjoy about autumn, but I think the poem below best describes it for me.
Colors burst in wild explosions
Fiery, flaming shades of fall
All in accord with my pounding heart
Behold the autumn-weaver
In bronze and yellow dying
Colors unfold into dreams
In hordes of a thousand and one
The bleeding
Unwearing their masks to the last notes of summer
Their flutes and horns in nightly swarming
Colors burst within
Spare me those unending fires
Bestowed upon the flaming shades of fall
– Dark Tranquility, With the Flaming Shades of Fall
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that apple picture is so very autumn!
the color of harvest. And I loved the last picture, ‘Morning’.
Scarecrows, the smell of smoke, wool socks, brightly colored sweaters, cider, more cider and the beautiful sunsets this time of year.
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No, not the Jackie I thought you were ; – ). Hmph — *that* Jackie is one of my lurking relatives who hardly EVER comment (hint, hint lurking cousin, sister, three nieces, one nephew).
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QM and amuirin — the apple photo is Jim’s (I now call him Farmer Jimbonesy). It’s a gorgeous one.
Speaking of beautiful sunsets, I won’t be posting the incredible one tonight. I was outside snapping away, trying to capture it’s enormity. You know how the sky just gets bigger and bigger, the streaks of clouds get pinker and pinker. It really is like an explosion. And I kept backing up, trying to capture it whole. And guess what? I backed up one step too far, fell into the pond, off slipped the wrist strap of my camera, which is actually Jim’s camera that I bought him for Christmas, and plop it went into the pond. I screamed for Jim, I was so shaken and not even sure where I was for a moment, chest deep in pond water, it is so deep I can’t believe it. And then I started wailing. Scared the bejesus out of Em. Sigh.
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Jana — did you write that???? My goodness, girl, you are so talented. Thank you for sharing.
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ybonesy- yikes! That’ll be comedic after a few days distance, I bet. But I totally hear you, I ended up chest deep in water out of the blue this last week, and it’s not a pleasant sensation, nope, not at all. Glad you weren’t injured.
Hey, now you have a good idea for a christmas present!
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ybonesy, oh, I’m so sorry that happened! I can’t believe you ended up in the pond with the camera. I’m glad you are okay. You know, that pond did not seem that deep, but obviously, it is. I’m with amuirin, you’re good to go for a new Christmas present for Jim. But, oh, how heartbreaking.
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Yb,
sorry to hear about your bad moment.
The morning photo is beatiful; very evocative.
So many commenters here are so evocative about autumn.
I remember an autumn day in the hills of Southern France, with the sky this extrordinary rich blue – I think all the pollution is destroying that colour – nowadays, even a clear sky is usually milky. Windless, clear days in autumn are maybe my best moments of the year.
Here’s an autumn thing that makes me happy – eating pumpkin. because they don’t – so far – seem to have found a way to have it on the supermarket shelves 365 days a year. I’m very old-fashioned, I guess, I actually enjoy having to wait in anticipation of things.
Persimmons in November after the frost has ripened them.
But we townies don’t really have autumn – I’m being pulled back into memories of country autumns… I’d better stop before it starts to hurt too much
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Ah, that’s too bad. Well, is that why they invented day trips? One of which I just came from. Ah, nothing like fall colors in cooler climate.
You know, I’ve often wondered why it is pumpkin pie *isn’t* served yearround. Pumpkin comes in cans, and most people I know who cook it in Fall (for Thanksgiving, here in the U.S.) use a can anyway. So what’s preventing anyone from making pumpkin pie in April??
I tell you — if I were president, we’d have pumpkin pie in April. How about you, QM. Can you sign on to that agenda?
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And I’d ban twizzlers. (Just kidding.)
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The colours… always the colours of autumn. And the crispness… in the air, in the sounds, in the tastes. The wonderful combination and contrast between current beauty and the end of joy, for another year.
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Wonderful insight, pmousse, about this combination and contrast. And what makes the light and sounds and tastes and smells so crisp? It’s true, everything is more acute, and “crisp” is a good qualifier. But why? I wonder if there is something in the oxygen that physically changes.
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Ybonesy, I didn’t write the poem and I wish I had talent when it comes to writing. I can’t find the name of the author for this poem only the title. Here is the website where I found the poem. http://www.egreenway.com/months/monoct.htm
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Fall in New Mexico is the best time! The mixed smell of an asphalt parking lot and roasting green chiles, a slight chill in the air, a new quality to the light…its all great stuff!
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The rejoicing over the blooming earth has matured the question, whom do I leave my harvest?
The autumn awakes people and the dust underfoot starts sparkle in the new light.
The powerful word of mouth disguises as the visual stories and the spirit breath in the life to everyone around – even the reflection of our hearts burn in song of gratitude on the canvases of the art…
That’s what does autumn make me think about – I wish to be a poet and make my replies plainer than my current Lithuanian-English will convey the message to you at a moment – Thank you
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