September Warmth and Woollies
There’s something cheeky about September sun wouldn’t you say? It dazzles like midsummer, tricking us into leaving the house with bare arms and sandals, only to remind us that it’s not quite that generous. A cool breeze sneaks in and the shadows stretch noticeably longer. Then suddenly we’re fumbling for jumpers and waterproofs we’d forgotten we owned, greeting them like old familiar friends.
My husband this year had snuck a little letter into my boots he’d found in his winter coat pocket, it read simply…
“To Lorna.
I hope you’re not too wet.
I love you,
Simon xxx”
As if the season couldn’t have started in a more appropriately cosy kind of way. A reminder of the weather to come, all wrapped up in a gentle love note.
This month feels like a test of memory. Do we still know how to rug-up, how to layer ourselves like onions, ready for anything the wild weather might decide? It’s the season of carrying more than you wear; raincoat tied at the waist, neck warmer stuffed in a pocket, maybe even gloves hidden at the bottom of the bag… y’know, just in case. And the likelihood is, we’ll all still go home in shorts and t shirts, perhaps with wellies on, or maybe a bracing bare toe sprint back home.
But there’s joyful knowing in this juggling too. The air smells sharper, mornings are edged with mist, and the sun, when it wins out against the grey, feels like a gift. September is here to give us a nudge, to adjust, to laugh when we’ve misjudged it (again). It’s not summer anymore, yet not quite autumn in full flame. And the gifts… oh the gifts!
Sunlight through falling leaves. Falling leaves through mist. Mist with light in all the right places and treasures everywhere! Acorn, beech nut, conker, spinners and that’s before we even get to the mushrooms of all shapes and sizes. Even as a fairly adulty adult, I can’t help but marvel at the deep rich reddish brown of a freshly cracked conker… yes, I’ll likely tuck a few into my pocket for safe keeping.
Maybe that’s the beauty of it, September keeps us awake to change with a few tokens to sweeten the shift. I imagine it’s here to remind us that we’re not built for one season only.
