Friday – this week I am grateful for … season of mists and mellow fruitfulness

Japanese maple

Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;
To bend with apples the moss’d cottage-trees,
And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;
To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,
And still more, later flowers for the bees,
Until they think warm days will never cease,
For Summer has o’er-brimm’d their clammy cells.

 

From John Keats’ poem, To Autumn, 1820:

This Friday I went to work – again! What was completely delightful about this was that it was the first day of long boots for the season. It is an excellent day each year when I first wear my long boots. It signals not leaving the house without a scarf and but we have not yet arrived at not leaving without scarf and gloves and a layer of ice-breaking merino. At first, the cool weather is a joy.  My wardrobe, thanks for returning to work, is already sorted for the change of season. I have culled, restocked, repaired and organised. It is a total joy to choose clothes from. It was with a light heart, on Friday that I chose a dress and long boots for work.

First wearing of long boots for the season

For the next month, the cool weather is a change from dry hot Canberra summer. The garden is still producing. The pumpkins are ripe, the tomatoes are being bottled, the herbs are still plentiful. The leaves haven’t really changed much, just the odd tinge of red. It is cool at night and in the morning but nice in the day. Bright blue and clear. But I did make porridge for Thursday’s breakfast. I did close the house up quickly in the afternoon today. The cold weather is coming.

For now, I can wear long boots, enjoy the sunshine and continue to pick tomatoes. This Friday I am grateful for mists and mellow fruitfulness, which signal the quieting of the year.