The Fading Days of Autumn

This is my home town of Corner Brook, Newfoundland.

And this is the highway that runs alongside the Humber River, leading from my hometown to where my parents now live.

Look at those amazing colors!

As Anne of Green Gables said:  "I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers!"  

The Autumn colours in Nova Scotia look much the same as those above in NL.  (Couldn't get my copter out to capture those aerial views for you though!)  On the northeastern coast of Canada, we've had a glorious run with Autumn.  Not just with the color, but with the length of time and the vibrancy of this color-show!  With the sweet daytime temperatures; and the cool nights; and the lovely crisp mornings.  Fall 2013 has been a great one.

But as I drove to work this morning, I noticed that we in Nova Scotia are coming to the end of our color.  The trees are almost bare, the sky has become more dull; we wake with the dark, and eat dinner with it as well.  We're entering the grey, lifeless side of Autumn that no one likes -- the season of dark and rain; of snow tires and weather stripping and .................. turning on the furnace!

So what do we do to bring colour and warmth and cheer into the upcoming dull days? Well ..... 

• We can enjoy the colour while it lasts:  get out there and walk and breathe.
• We can take a clue from nature and begin to slow down.  Bugs and plants go into hiding; some animals hibernate; it's a natural progression.
• We can put the basket of knitted slippers by the front door and get the woollen throws on the couch.
• We can get in a supply of hot beverage stuff and line up this winters reading material.
• We can begin to prepare for Christmas.  (Only 8 weeks left!)  It's a perfect time to bake and freeze; wrap gifts if you have them already, make a list if you don't; begin addressing those Xmas cards.
•  What about your basket of sewing, mending, knitting?  The dull weather is a perfect excuse to sit and check out some of the new TV shows or watch an old movie.
• Find your own creative, happy way to fill the days.

For some of you, Autumn is still in its colourful heyday and will be for a while.  And I know that there are some of you who won't really be affected at all by the dull, grey days that precede the cold, frosty, blustery days of winter. 

But I'm not jealous.  (Not today, anyway.)  It's my belief that there's enjoyment to be found every day, every season, no matter what the weather.