Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness... Hello Autumn!

Morning in the forest

 Hello readers, and welcome back to the Labyrinth after our summer break.  Dori and I have had an interesting couple of months with lots of things going on, and never enough time to do everything, as usual...  Dori has been working on writing her first novel, and I've been busy decorating the house, sewing costumes, knitting scarves and cowls and being wardrobe mistress and general dogsbody for my daughter's film shoot in Scotland.  It's been fun!  More about those things in forthcoming posts, though...

Today, here in England, it is officially the first day of autumn, marked by the autumn equinox ('equal night'), which means the period at which day and night are of equal length.  This definition is, however, not quite so clear cut, as you can read in this article published yesterday (22nd September 2014) by Hannah Osborne in the International Business Times.

Where I live, in the far west of England, autumn has crept in over the last couple of weeks.  The nights and mornings have become much colder, the leaves are starting to lose their summer green and the beautiful burnished colours that the forest rewards us with at this time of year are starting to show.

 

 

My lime green Acer has turned. Such wonderful colours!

 

 

 

    So, the 'Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness' that Keats so beautifully portrays in his 'Ode to Autumn' is definitely here, despite what the weather forecasters may say about warm weather continuing into October.  Autumn just has a certain feel about it, don't you think?  That touch of chill dampness in the air and the smell of woodsmoke from woodburners or the occasional bonfire...  Everything looks brighter and richer, berries are starting to weigh down the branches of trees, and soon, as the nights draw in and the temperature drops, what can be better than to curl up with a good book in a comfy armchair in front of the fire?  Not forgetting a steaming cup of hot chocolate either!  This is definitely my favourite time of year...

If you'd like to read Keats's poem, you can view it here at allpoetry.com.  You can also listen to the talented Ben Wishaw reading the poem via the YouTube video below.

Has autumn started where you are?  We'd love to hear from you, and you can write us in the comments section below.