“For man, autumn is a time of harvest, of gathering together. For nature, it is a time of sowing, of scattering abroad.” ~Edwin Way Teale
As I sit here with the windows thrown open throughout the house, I am revived once again with the start of autumn. All my senses seem to rush at me. The cool wind making my body come alive. The fresh air throwing new scents my way…..not so new maybe, but sending memories of autumns that have come before this one. When was that? I can’t recall, but the sensations it conjures up are pleasant still.
And the landscape now is mellower. Yellow and brown. A bit of orange here and there…and oh those reds, on the foliage throughout, really bring about such joy as they blaze in the sun. The skies have a more melancholy gray to them as I sit and think about my life….as a child, then before retirement when I was teaching in this season of autumn….and now as I am in the autumn of my life.
The gray hairs more numerous than I want to admit. The fine wrinkles and laugh lines more pronounced. And those aches that seem to pop up with just a small twist….they linger longer too.
It is hard for me not to have a few tears in autumn as it feels like a time of grieving as well as a time of rejoicing. But I choose to keep the pleasant thoughts front and center, in this new season of change. Here it is a dramatic change as the weather shifts constantly, hot one day and cold the next with stinging rain. And as the months move along, the intensity of the change becomes more pronounced.
While I hope to get some gardening done, I am not rushing about. I will get to those ‘must do’ chores first, and plan for next season to tackle the bigger ones. As I said with my autumn mantra,
“I take my cues from nature, and connect on a deep level to nature at this time. If my health and body allow me, I plan to do some much needed work in the garden with my hands deep in the soil. Spend more time outdoors soaking up the sun and misty rain. To sit in the declining garden and let it penetrate into every pore and through each of my senses.”
And I promised some field trips. Those have already started and I will bring my experiences from those trips to both my blogs in the coming months…..the first one will be on my other blog, Living From Happiness, October 1st. As I celebrate this change of seasons, I am joined by several bloggers who are sharing their seasonal celebrations.
Let’s begin on the east coast of the United States……
Our first stop is in New England. A magnificent spot to watch autumn in all its glory. We’ll head first to Maine and visit with Jean@Jean’s Garden. Jean has a wonderful way of viewing the seasons. And as she says, we are now in the season of blue and gold.
“…the colors of fall are blue and gold. For me, these colors represent the vibrant blue of an October sky and the golden hues of fall foliage…
I can find something to love about every season, but fall has always been my favorite. I don’t love heat, so the cooler temperatures of autumn are something I look forward to. And classic New England fall weather is sunny and crisp – a great time for working in the garden. I also love the vibrant colors of the leaves on our deciduous trees in fall.”
Well, I had never considered autumn to be blue and gold, but as you can see in the above picture, indeed it is. I look forward to drinking in each crisp, sunny day this fall. Thanks Jean for such a vivid image of fall.
Next, we are stopping in Massachusetts to see Kara@a spirit of simplicity. On the autumnal equinox, she is sharing some very spiritual thoughts and prayers to the father of light:
“I thank you for the blessings that Autumn brings….the peacefulness of the lowering light, the calmness of longer shadows, the lessons of looking inward and calling close those that I love”
As we move on, we are going south, a little down the eastern seaboard, then inland to the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania. I love spending fall with Pam@Pam’s English Cottage Garden. Fall means that Pam has been to her county fair where she has entered many exhibits in the fair. I wish we had a county fair here. Instead we have the State Fair, and that is too daunting for me to ever want to submit an exhibit. But as Pam says:
“I learned a lot this year. I learned to trust Mother Nature: having spent an inordinate amount of time fussing with fresh flower arrangements for my floor and shelf displays (that took second place ribbons) my simple, three-stem exhibit of nasturtium earned Best of Show — the first time I won this prestigious award!”
Sometimes we just have to trust ourselves. So maybe someday I may enter something in our State Fair….or maybe I will just come and visit you at your fair Pam!
So let’s move down the east cost a bit further to North Carolina to visit Debby@My Favorite Things. As Debby watches the waning days of summer, she is realizing the positives with the coming of fall:
“…there is an up-side to all of this, without a doubt……the pyracantha bush is covered with lovely orange and green-ish berries……the fields are alive with a whole different crop of lovely wildflowers……the sun filtering through the woods captures the glorious brilliance of the turning leaves……and everything is as it should be….”
I couldn’t agree more Debby as there is still so much beauty around us as summer ends and autumn comes knocking.
Let’s move to the midwest now as we stop in Illinois to 
see Jason@gardeninacity. As Jason asks, ‘Should we bid farewell to summer?’ Certainly not as he says:
“Summer in the garden is temporary, but it does not exist in isolation. The glory of each summer is built on plant growth and gardeners’ work from summers, springs, and autumns past. So let your autumn and winter be filled with dreams and plans for a brilliant summer to come.”
And how right you are Jason. Without the hard work in all seasons, our gardens would not exist. And autumn has so much to give us…especially the plans and dreams for next summer. I for one will be doing lots of both; planning and dreaming this autumn and winter.
Staying in the midwest, we’ll stop in to see Beth@PlantPostings in Wisconsin. Beth is taking us along to see her season of goodbyes and surprises:
“If you live in a place that changes with the seasons, you know the tug of realizing–at some point each autumn–you’ve probably seen the last [fill-in-the-blank] of the year until next spring. Migratory species leave; perennials dry up and go dormant; the picture-perfect, carefree, comfortable days are numbered.
But if you’re like me, you occasionally experience a surprise, or two, or three … or more.”
Yes indeed, Beth. Especially in the northeast and midwest, where we have such a stunning fall season, each day seems to bring along colorful surprises…the best part of autumn!
As we head further west, we’ll stop in the Pacific Northwest to see Hannah@Weeding On The Wild 
Side. She is celebrating fall by picking fall flowers to bring inside.
“To celebrate the beginning of Autumn, I found some flowers that make me think of summer’s end and approach of fall. I wish to hang on to the roses and bright blooms of summer while the flowers that like the cooler weather of autumn are beginning to burst on the scene.”
I also love to pick flowers of the season and bring them indoors. Trying to hang on to those flower memories is so important now. And roses seem to love fall up until that first hard frost.
And staying in the Pacific Northwest, we’ll stop in Oregon and visit [email protected]. I love my visits to Susan’s neck of the woods, and I would love to visit Oregon someday. Susan has another wonderful story to share as the seasons change, and she says goodbye to summer.
“Nature holds all the cards and doles out the seasons….
I’m standing stock still, barefooted, in the grass, and thanking summer. Because my life is changing in slow motion and I don’t know what tomorrow will hold for me and those people I love.”
I also love to walk about my garden barefoot…feel the grass between my toes, and give homage to the trees and plants and critters. To feel grounded to the earth. I agree Susan, it is an amazing feeling of deep gratitude.
Next let’s move north up the west coast to British Columbia where Jen@The Light Laughed lives and
gardens. Jen used to blog at Muddy Boot Dreams until she moved and her dreams were realized. Now she plays with the light as she explores her beautiful new home. And as summer wanes and gives her the cold shoulder, Jen has an exit strategy:
“The colors in the streaming light are stunning, golden, mellow, soft, jagged edges of spring long gone. This is the time to get out with your camera, and capture the beauty around you. How can you not love a golden peach colored world, get out there and take photos.”
Oh yes, now is the time to see the beauty in the change of season and capture it. Perfect seasonal words Jen, and they certainly inspire me to keep searching for that light.
It’s time to head South….and I mean way down south of the equator to the tip of South Africa where we will find Diana@Elephant’s Eye at False Bay who is awakening to spring. As we walk with her at the Hantam Botanical Gardens, we can quickly see this is not like any usual Botanical Garden. We are out in the wild with critters, breathtaking landscapes and amazing spring wildflowers:
“When I started Elephant’s Eye in Porterville I wanted to know what our garden would have been, before the farming.”
Diana’s descriptions of this wild and beautiful spot kept me transfixed. The rich history of the land and its changes over the years influences her garden still today, as she creates her new gardens at her new home. And she in turn influences me, to learn more about the land I garden.
So there you have it. The Seasonal Celebrations for September whether it be autumn or spring, so much beauty and lovely thoughts shared by these amazing bloggers. I want to thank those who were able to take part this season, and I hope you will visit their blogs.
I love the seasonal changes, and each one brings such a unique perspective so I hope you will consider sharing your seasonal thoughts next time. I will have the next Seasonal Celebrations starting December 1st.
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In A Vase On Monday
I am sharing this wrap-up of my seasonal meme with a few other link ups. This week, I am linking with Cathy@Rambling in the Garden for her wonderful meme, In a Vase on Monday, Today’s Flowers hosted by Denise@An English Girl Rambles and Judith@Lavender Cottage who hosts Mosaic Monday.
Fall in the garden means harvest, and sunflowers. Lots of sunflowers still in the garden to pick and bring indoors to catch the waning light.
In this vase I have larger annual and smaller perennial Helianthus flowers sitting on a bed of grass seed heads.
And a few flowers harvested from the cutting beds: Tithonia, Cosmos, Zinnia, Tagetes, Sweet Alyssum, and of course a left over sunflower.
A fitting pair of autumn vases to decorate the house for the seasonal change.
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Next up on the blog:
Monday brings another garden month to close as I look back at my September garden.
I will be linking in with Michelle@Rambling Woods for her Nature Notes meme. It is a great way to see what is happening in nature around the world every Monday.
I am also joining in I Heart Macro with Laura@Shine The Divine that happens every Saturday.
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