Thursday, September 18, 2008

Fall Equinox Friday Five

Songbird from over at Revgalblogpals says:

It's that time of year, at least north of the equator. The windows are still open, but the darned furnace comes on early in the morning. My husband went out for a walk after an early supper and came home in full darkness. And yes, where we live, leaves are beginning to turn.

As this vivid season begins, tell us five favorite things about fall:

1) A fragrance
My mother used to tell me that she didn't miss the farm at all, except in the fall. Harvest has a smell, and that is what she missed: the smell of hay, and crisp coldness just starting, and the turning of the wind. It is a smell of abundance.

2) A color
I like that rusty red color that you get in some of the leaves of fall.

3) An item of clothing
I just got a new cordoroy jacket: barn red color, that is rapidly becoming one of my favorite items of clothing.Also a big brown cable sweater. I do love sweaters, of all kinds: cable and cardigan, casual or dressy, plain or colorful.

4) An activity
I love to go to apple orchards, and come back with a basket of apples. We used to take my neice and nephew, when they were small, to an apple orchard north of us. Not only were there many varieties of apples to pick and to sample, but there were also activities for children: and apple pie!

5) A special day
The fall equinodox is a holiday in Japan: a day off from work and school. But not here! I can't think of any "special days" except the ones we make for ourselves: the day trip down the Mississippi river, admiring the changing colors, the overnight stay at a small town near here, looking for antiques and remembering what a small-town autumn looks like. We will try to make our ordinary days special.

11 comments:

Elaine (aka...Purple) said...

Love the image: the smell of abundance. And apple orchards usually meant apple pie and/or apple butter at our house.

DogBlogger said...

Oh, the apple orchards sound delightful...

Anonymous said...

I picked apples just yesterday while in the mountains. It was great!

Jennifer said...

We could be neighbors. We would have fun picking apples and waxing eloquent about the beauty of fall leaves. And cinnamon. And we could observe the fall equinox!!!

Auntie Knickers said...

Fall in New England is wonderful, but fall in Minnesota has its charms as well. Enjoy!

Unknown said...

Apple-picking is a favorite fall activity around here, too!

LutheranChik said...

I still recall last fall when we traveled to a rather out-of-the-way orchard, specializing in antique varieties, where we'd had some wonderful cider and apples the previous year. The orchard store was closed, much to our dismay. We drove next door to the orchard proper, where we met the owner, who told us that his farm was a hobby/labor of love more than a true commercial enterprise, it had been a difficult growing year, and he just didn't feel like opening; he'd been giving some of the harvest to local churches and food pantries, and leaving the rest as windfall for wildlife. I guess we must have looked [i]very[/i] downcast at that news, because he said, "Well -- why don't you just pick yourself a bushel of apples? No charge." So we did. Made great applesauce!

Terri said...

I too love fall, and am wondering what it will be like in Arizona. At this moment I am in Chicago, and there is definitely a hint of fall in the air....good play, as usual!

SHMT said...

I love sweaters, too! Although now I'm thinking that corduroy jacket sounds pretty fabulous as well... :-)

Jan said...

Nice, Diane. I wish we had autumn in TX, but it just stays HOT.

Ruth Hull Chatlien said...

I am such a huge sweater person. I constantly make way too many sweaters for myself.

Your corduroy jacket sounds great.