Forever Autumn?

by Mary Jo

Today's topic was inspired by a back room chat among the Wenches in which we extolled the delights of autumn: crisp air, vibrant colors, the recharging of energy after summer languor.  Several Wenches said they'd like it to be autumn all year round.  

But do we really want that?  So I asked: What  are your favorite seasons? Are there any you'd like to see all year round?

 

Pat Rice:

I moved to California for a reason—I cannot function without sunlight, and I freeze at any temperature below 75. I’ve always adored spring in the south with daffodils and azaleas popping out after a long winter’s cold, but I had to bundle up in fur to go out and appreciate them. And inside. . . it’s expensive running a furnace at 75!

 So what I prefer and what I need are two different things. Here in California, I can still have daffodils and azaleas—I do have camellias. But daffodils don’t look quite the same amid palm trees and bougainvillea. That doesn’t mean we don’t have spring—it’s just different. For one thing, it’s a lot warmer. <G> And now, along with the bougainvillea and roses that bloom all winter, I can have beautiful blue plumbago and multi-colored lantana and purple California lilac. . . I think I can deal with the difference.

 Just to be clear—we do have seasons. Right now, the pines are shedding their needles and the sycamores are dropping their leaves. We’ve turned on the furnace and wood stoves are scenting the air. It smells like autumn. The canyon winds are expected to pick up and rattle the palm fronds, and I’m wearing my corduroys—because the chill seeps into my bones. (Below: Pat's autumn front yard.)

 So anytime it feels like 75 and the roses are blooming is my favorite season, which pretty much means year ‘round here!

Anne Gracie:

My favorite season is autumn, with its warm, sunny days and cool crispy nights, often with a hint of wood smoke in the air. And I really enjoy spring, when flowers burst forth from seeming barrenness. But I wouldn't want to have any season all year round. My sister lives in Queensland, which is sunny and warm most of the time, and that would bore me silly after a while. 

I like the seasonal changes, the transient pleasures and features and inconveniences and rituals of the various seasons, the days you go outside and smell spring in the air, or that first really cold night of winter where you light the fire for the first time and snuggle inside in the warmth. I love seeing the trees change color and lose leaves, but I get just as much joy when I see those tiny green buds unfurling from dead-looking branches, or the pointy leaves of bulbs nosing their way out of the cold earth. I can really understand how in colder climates, ancient people used to dramatically celebrate the arrival of spring after a bitter winter. Even in a relatively mild climate like mine, the change of seasons reminds me I'm alive, and gives me something new to look forward to. Change is stimulating.

Where I live, in Melbourne, it's famous for "four seasons in one day" — really changeable weather. Sometimes on a winter's night, I go outside and the breeze is almost balmy, coming from the north, which means it's blowing out of the red centre of Australia, bringing with it heat and a dry spiciness, a reminder of elsewhere.

A few days later the wind blasts in from the south and it's freezing, which means it's coming across the ocean direct from Antarctica. I don't enjoy the really hot summer nights we can get here, but they don't usually last for more than a week or so, and then the cool change arrives (from the south) and the temperature will drop 20°C in 20 minutes, and the whole city is smiling and throwing open their windows and enjoying that fresh cool air scouring through the house. 

So I might not be able to predict the weather, but I enjoy it changing — it keeps me on my toes. And since it's spring here at the moment, I'm sharing my lilac which is in bloom now, and gardenias, which I'm looking forward to in the warm weather.

Christina:

Right now I’m very happy though as autumn has arrived and I feel as if I can breathe again. I am filled with energy and really enjoying the misty mornings and cool days. I don’t mind rain and love the occasional thunderstorm, but the best days are those with a bit of sunshine to highlight the gorgeous autumn colours. The leaves are late turning this year and our Virginia creeper is only just starting to go red, but for the week or so when it is in full colour I know it’s going to be absolutely glorious.

Nicola:

 There was a time when Winter was my favourite season although it might just be the winter of my imagination. When I was a child and lived in northern England I remember winter as being quite magical with knee-deep snow and open fires, crunchy frost, icicles and candlelight. I was hardier in those days and could cope with the cold much better. Nowadays, although I’d still rather be too cold than too hot, I do tend to ache more when it’s cold and damp! Even so I still love a dog walk on a cold winter’s day when the sun is out.

 Autumn is now my favourite season; the time of year we are in now here in England with misty mornings when I can hear the owls hooting in the trees in the garden, the walks in the woods where the stags are rutting, when the sunshine is still warm but there’s a chill in the air at night. It’s a time for beautiful leaves and bright red fungus. That isn’t to say that I dislike spring or summer. I love all the seasons and don’t think I’d like to live in a place where they weren’t clearly defined. 

 

Andrea: I grew up in New England, so it’s hard not to have a soft spot in my heart for autumn. Now don’t get me wrong, I love four seasons. There’s an ethereal beauty to walking in winter when snow is falling and muffling all sound save for the swish of the falling flakes and the soft scuff of my boots over the powdery ground. Spring brings those magic moments of seeing the first blooms break through the bare earth, and the tender green leaves begin to unfurl. And summer has those wonderful long evenings when the sunset brings a breeze to take the edge off the day’s heat, and a long walk along the beach has the water reflecting the shimmering pinks and gold of a summer sunset.

But for me, autumn is my happy place. There’s a uniquely memorable clarity to the season in New England. The sunlight has just lost the languid softness of summer, its pale, heat-kissed hues sharpening to a deeper honey gold that drizzles and dances over the red and yellow rufflings of the changing leaves. The air turns cooler, crisper, and is redolent with the scent of fresh-chopped wood and ripening apples. I love putting on a turtleneck and synchilla vest, and taking long walks to watch the infinite range of reds, mauves and golds that turn the surrounding trees into glorious riot of rich autumn hues. The season goes quickly, but I savor every moment of ikt.

Mary Jo:

I'm firmly in the "give me four distinct seasons" camp.  I love the silence and subtle beauty of winter snow and have fond memories of boyfriends doing vehicular spins in empty intersections when coming home from dates on snowy nights.  (This was in Syracuse, New York, so there were a lot of snowy nights!) The lushness of summer is alluring as long as it doesn't get too hot. A riot of greens and flowers and the casual harvesting of herbs from my deck garden.

But my favorite seasons are the transitional ones of spring and autumn.  Spring is glorious here in Maryland, from the first ambitious crocuses to the blazing colors of the azaleas.  Every day brings new leaves and blossoms until spring moves seamlessly into summer. 

At its best, autumn is also glorious, with brisk air and bright, clear sunshine bringing out the rich changing colors.  But I think much of the power of autumn comes from an underlying sense of melancholy, the knowledge that soon the glory will be washed away by a single heavy rain and winter will be waiting.  So we cherish autumnal beauty while we can, and when it's gone--we wait for what will come next.  (Right: A sunny late afternoon in winter.)

What is your favorite season? And is there one you'd like to see all year around?

Mary Jo

Comments

[Mary M.]

I love winter ... in memory! I've lived in Phoenix for many years, and if I wanted to see winter, I'd hop in the car and head for the higher altitudes in northern Arizona. But I haven't jonesed for that in, oh, 25 years give or take. In memory, I love winter in northern Michigan, spring in southern Indiana, summer in the hills of Arkansas, autumn in New England, and now, full circle, winter right where I'm parked. I don't get out much these days, and when I walked to the mailbox around 10 p.m. tonight, baby, it was unexpectedly cold outside (around 68°F, I'm guessing).

[theo]

I too am very much a four seasons type of gal. The early spring with the promise of warmer days to come and the first buds on the trees and flowers, warm summer evenings on the deck with a glass of wine. The cool, crisp evenings of autumn sitting around the fire pit with the bugs gone for the year, the beautiful colors on the trees, and another glass of wine ;) but most of all, that magical first snow when everything is quiet and it's slowly falling like a picture post card. And the fireplace with a roaring fire! I don't think I could stand one season all year round. That would be very boring for me.

[Sue McCormick]

I prefer four seasons; here in Missouri I feel that we have about 7 days of Spring spread out over two months. We have a longer fall, winter is still longer, and more of the year is summer. But we DO have four seasons.

Before I retired my job sometimes sent me traveling to the printer to supervise some final problem for that particular problem. My mother used to fret (HOW will you know what to pack?). My response was always I'll pack for St. Louis on an April day; and that would satisfy her til the next trip. So, I'd probably feel right at home in Melbourne.

[Faith]

I love having four seasons, but for me the true magic is the quality and slant of the light around the equinoxes. Everything is so strikingly clear and vivid and three-dimensional that when I go outside, or look out my window, I just want to stop and soak in the extra-vivid beauty of this beautiful, bountiful Earth.

Thanks, Wenches, for another keeper column.

Cheers, Faith

[Mary T]

Here in the Midwest we have all four seasons - and I really love that. Spring and Fall compete to be my favorite, Summer comes third and Winter last. It is not so much the cold as the lack of sunlight that bothers me most about the Winter. Those grey days make me sad, but they also make me appreciate Spring all the more when it finally arrives.

[Lil]

The cool, crisp autumn days with brilliant sunshine and a cloudless sky are generally my favorite, but they wouldn't be as appealing if they didn't follow the dog days of August. So I'm firmly in the four seasons camp—each one is appealing as it begins but sometimes outstays its welcome!

At the moment, it's supposed to be autumn here, but summer is hanging on…and on…and on. Today's forecast calls for a high near 80° and the leaves on the trees are still hanging green and heavy. Come on, Mother Nature, don't you realize it's the middle of October, not August?

[Karin]

Autumn was my favorite, but here on the mid-Atlantic coast we are really feeling the effects of climate change. Instead of dry, sunny days and cool nights, we are getting lots of clouds and rain. Here it is the middle of October, and I don't see any fall colors, and I am still getting bit by mosquitos every time I go out in my yard!
So I think I have to say that spring has become my favorite season. I love seeing the progression of different flowers and trees bloom, from the earliest daffodils and violets, to lilacs, wisteria, and peonies.

[Kathryn]

I have to say that Autumn is my favorite because it's a relief after a very long, very hot summer. We say in Texas that we do have 4 seasons: almost summer, summer, OMG will it ever stop being summer, and winter (lasts about a week) We have fall on the 3rd Sunday of October from 2-4 in the afternoon. (grin).

[Kareni]

I feel fortunate that I live in a valley; we experience four seasons but they are often tempered. So, we might get snow or we might not for several years; we might get a week of 100 degree plus summer days, but it's the exception rather than the rule. It's in the forties as I write this; it's a sunny day and I see green, yellow, and red leaves on nearby trees. I enjoy our four seasons but probably most prefer mild spring and autumn days.

[Patricia Franzino]

I like fall and spring. I never liked extreme temperatures. It's too jarring to the body and mind.

[Teresa Broderick]

Definitely four seasons for me. I do like Summer but if it gets too hot I can't cope with it. I'd rather be cold trying to heat up than too warm trying to cool down.
Autumn has always been my favourite season. The colours are fantastic. Listening to the pigeons cooing in the evening sun from the nearby woods is one of my favourite sounds. It makes me feel peaceful.
Here in Ireland our climate is definitely changing. The seasons are not as defined as they were. We're now well into October and we have only had the heating on for about an hour a night for the past two weeks. Unheard of in previous years. Normally it would be on for at least four to five hours a day at this stage. And the winters of my youth, which were hard, are definitely gone.
Great post.

[Janet Murdoch]

I want 2 seasons - Spring and Fall. That's why we live in Victoria, BC., Canada from March to the end of October, and Scottsdale Arizona, from November to March. Weather on lower Vancouver Island is rarely very hot so the summer is lovely and we are the City of Gardens so Spring and Fall are amazing. I just cannot take the cold anymore and if there is a patch of ice or snow anywhere I will slip and fall on it! Making our plans for the drive down now and can't wait!!!

[Mary Jo Putney]

What a great selection of places to enjoy the seasons, Mary! You can join Wench Andrea for autumn in New England. *G*

[Mary Jo Putney]

Theo, how lovely and poetic. The wine is a nice touch! I'm with you on the magical softness and silence of that first snow.

[Mary Jo Putney]

LOL, Sue! Yes, layers, layers, layers are the solution for changeable weather.

[Mary Jo Putney]

Faith, you're so right about the equinox light. It's magical.

[Mary Jo Putney]

Mary T, you're so right about the grayness. I spent six years in college in Syracuse, NY, which was said to be the most overcast city in American after Juneau, Alaska. Gray, gray, gray. I remember walking home from classes one day and being startled by sunlight. I couldn't remember when I'd seen it last.

[Mary Jo Putney]

Lil, you're right that often seasons outstay their welcome! THe first snow is lovely, by the end of winter one can't WAIT for spring!

[Mary Jo Putney]

Karin, as a fellow citizen of the mid-Atlantic, I completely agree. Luckily this area is moderate enough that climate change is problematic rather than catastrophic, but I do not love the changes.

[Mary Jo Putney]

Kathryn, LOL about the Texan description of summer! Thank heaven for air conditioning.

[Mary Jo Putney]

Kareni, if you tell us where you live, you might get some new residents!

[Mary Jo Putney]

Patricia, I must admit that I'm happiest in a narrow range of temperatures. Nature seldom cooperates.

[Mary Jo Putney]

Teresa, I'm always said that when it's cold, we can add more layers, but when it's too hot, once we're down to skin we can't take off any more!

[Mary Jo Putney]

Janet, it sounds like you have the perfect arrangement! Victoria is gorgeous, and so it Arizona in winter. Enjoy!

[Mary M.]

Oddly, the few times I've been in Texas it was snowing hard, and once I nearly broke my leg on an icy sidewalk in Dallas or Fort Worth—I don't remember which, but I sure do remember the sidewalk.

[Anne Gracie]

Thanks, Sue, and now I'll know what to pack if ever I'm heading for St. Louise in April.

[Minna Puustinen]

My favorite season is summer, though I like all seasons. And this year, after the kind of summer we had (it was HOT for over a MONTH!), autumn is a relief. Sadly most of the colorful leaves have already fallen and ruska (name for all the colors of autumn) is over.

Los Ovidados: Neljä parasta vuodenaikaa (4 best seasons)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMLSa1vBq5M