Did you know that today is officially the first day of Autumn?  Those of you from Scotland might, like me, have believed that Autumn started a couple of weeks ago.  There’s been a chill in the air, the mornings and evenings have been darker and leaves have already started to go brown on the trees.

As I write this, the wind is howling outside and there are spits of rain on the window pane, and I feel a pang of sadness for another Summer’s end.  What does Autumn (or Fall) mean to you?  Do you like or loathe this season?

There’s a lot about Autumn that I dislike:

• Shorter Days – I really don’t like the dark mornings, and I find it increasingly difficult to get out of bed at this time of year.  I also dislike the fact that it is starting to get dark as soon as I get home from the office.  It depresses me to think that in a month or so it will actually be dark before I leave the office!
• The Fall in Temperature – I hate the fact that my office is now pretty cold and I have to wear an extra layer of clothing.  In a month or so I’ll have to wear a couple of extra layers to work!  (This is the downside to working in a beautiful old building.)
• Holiday Overkill – Have you noticed that the supermarkets have been selling Halloween goodies for the past couple of weeks, even though it is more than a month until the 31st October?  Even worse, some shops have started stocking Christmas goodies!  I noticed boxes of mince pies on sale in one supermarket last week, with Use By dates in November!!  Unbelievable.
• Having to Budget for Christmas – I dread the thought of how much money Christmas is going to cost this year!

Having said all that, there are many aspects of Autumn that I truly love:

• Autumnal Shades – I love the beautiful Autumnal shades of the trees at this time of year.  I am lucky enough to live at the edge of a small Stirlingshire town, with lots of beautiful trees behind my house.  The country path between my home and office is beautiful at this time of year, with the trees on either side providing a golden tunnel effect.
• Autumn Games - My daughters and I enjoy playing games as we walk to school.  Jumping on freshly fallen crunchy leaves is a favourite game of ours.  The crunchier the leaf the better!
• Halloween – My daughters are looking forward to Halloween again this year!  We will decorate the house and garden, making some Halloween decorations ourselves.  We will also make some tasty Halloween treats together. 

What about you?  What do you like or dislike about Autumn? 

 

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