Tuesday, October 16, 2007

some things I like about Fall

1. The rain and the dark. I know it's supposed to make us all feel sad and cooped up, but you can go out in it if you want, so it's a choice really. I like the drama and excitement of the deepening nights. Heavy overcast days and long, pounding rainstorms add an intensity that is profoundly satisfying to me. I like to stay in and look out at it. I like to go out in it. It's wondrous.

2. Sweaters. Any clothing that feels like a hug has to be good.

3. Porridge. I eat it for breakfast through most of the cool months, and re-starting it in Fall is more evocative of the season than even mandarin oranges or cranberries. A steamy hot "bowl o' po" is pretty darn good. My favourite: home-mixed whole grains with dried cranberries and peach yogurt.

4. Wondering about snow. It always falls before my birthday (which is at the end of November).

5. The library. I neglect it in the summer and find it again in Fall. In Fall I fall into novel after novel. My version of the new TV season I guess. I go to our local public library here in Port Moody mostly, but also the branch of the Burnaby Library near where I work.

6. Ice skates. The arena where I work is suddenly full of hockey players, speed skaters and little kids learning "push, push, gliiiiiide."

7. New vistas. When the leaves fall off the trees you can see for miles.

8. Tree shapes. I like to ogle the structure of the trees themselves. I find naked trees much more interesting to look at than trees with full foliage. Each kind of tree has a particular shape and pattern of branch-growth. Early in the fall, the birds' nests are revealed.

9. Everyone is back. Friends, family, co-workers who disperse in summer and break from routines with breaks from work and school return to their routines. I know more reliably where to find people in the fall.

10. Smells. I can smell that loamy leafy smell of leaves rotting in the bush and at the bases of trees. I like that smell.

11. Halloween is coming, and my birthday, and solstice and Christmas. So much to anticipate.

question: Do you like Fall?

mompoet - what's not to like?

2 comments:

Lazy Daisy said...

I agree, what's not to like....in the South we go for grits instead of porridge. Having a great time....check out the tea room.

Unknown said...

You love October, just like I do. I was walking the dog this morning and looking at the "new" view of the water with the leaves off of trees. I marvelled at the carpet of maple leaves and was wishing I had my camera with me.