I am firmly of the opinion, however, that October and all of
the other autumn months are the most beautiful of the seasons. They are simply out on their own for their
ability to take my breath away. I love the gold, oranges, fiery reds and
yellows that are everywhere. Some of those
colours are just beginning whereas others have been around for a while.
I crave a garden that is bursting with colour at this time
of year – ripe berries and danger colours hanging off the trees. I admit to wallowing a little in melancholy
at the smell of death in the air. The
smell, the feel of nature dying, or really hibernating and recharging her
batteries for spring.
This year we have been lucky with our weather so we really
cannot complain. Not that we Irish ever
let anything stop us from having a good old moan. We have enjoyed a wonderfully hot summer
followed by an Indian one. But now the
cold is here biting at our noses, cheeks and feet without socks.
I am loathe to wear a coat.
I keep it on the passenger seat of the car and settle for a scarf at the
school gate instead. I refuse to give in
just yet.
The shops are beginning to sell Halloween paraphernalia and whether
I like it or not, there is even some Christmas stuff making an appearance.
Here’s the moan. I
dislike the dark mornings. Intensely. It is hard getting up in the dark and I am
not at my best at this time normally so throw pitch black at me and I’m just a
mad tantrum waiting to happen.
I take great umbrage to not being able to use the clothes
line. I do possess a dryer but it turns
all of the clothes into clobber for dolls.
Don’t tell me yours doesn’t. It
tightens and shrinks clothes not to mention costing a bloody fortune to
use. I make great use of my large hot
press and hang up all of the clothes to dry on a rail and on the clothes
horse. It takes days this way but needs
must.
I detest, actually there is not a word strong enough to
impart how much I fucking hate paying for oil over the winter. It absolutely sickens me! I always feel so suckered
by the sheer expense of home heating.
I suffer with cabin fever and a generous dose of the winter
blues usually. SAD is my enemy. I probably don’t work hard enough to combat
it. I jump up and down in front of a
work out DVD the odd time to rid myself of the frustration of not being able to
get out for a run in the fresh air. But
it is not the same thing. By a mile.
I hate and become quite anxious about driving in the
dark. I will not do it if I can avoid
it.
So what do I like? Let me see.
I really really like the way I can see my breath on a cold morning. I also love the bite of that cold and how it
feels in my lungs. Good, clean, alive
air.
I love robin song at this time of year. I get a kick out of spotting where the bird
is, marking their territory for the winter.
There is one across the way and most mornings on the school run, I see
him on the lowest bar of the gate.
Tomato soup. Who
doesn’t enjoy a hearty bowl of soup with some crusty bread on a brown day? A warming stew anyone? Comfort food can attract a lot of criticism but
we all need it.
The mid-term break
from school. A whole glorious week off
to relax and do nothing. Except go to
the zoo, swim, take the kids to the cinema, collect conkers and acorns and
plant them.
And the best thing of all?
Probably January. The most
miserable of months. It is. It really is.
Christmas is over. Everyone is
broke, spitting with the injustice of a 5 week month till payday. The weather seems to get worse and everyone
is in a fouler.
But once January
is over the promise of spring is around the corner. So when you think about it, there is really
only four short months till we start saying “great stretch in the evenings”
again.
So examining it from all of those angles I suppose it’s not
too bad really. And you know what? I am long overdue a decent coat and I also
wouldn’t say no to a pair of boots that don’t let in the wet.
I’ll give it to you: Howiya
October. You pretty fucker!
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