Autumnal
It's the equinox so it's officially autumn here, whichever way you slice it. Maybe it's time to migrate like a bird to the southern hemisphere. I'll be back in March. Because I'm not, in fact, migrating I like to think seasonally about things I will do, things to look forward to. Autumn can be tricky because it's not summer and is Nearly Winter.
Autumn cleaning is always a thing. I need to wash the windows. So much stuff blows in here during the summer. I'm constantly sweeping leaves and the robot vacuum is full of silver birch seeds.
The ongoing battle between my mood and the weather continues. Rather than focussing too much on the decline I try to remember that a day like some of these, in the spring, would have me giddy. Yesterday was a lovely summer day. I'm mostly still not wearing socks. Sandals all the way. And shorts (in the safety of my own home.)
I need to keep being outside as much as possible. The woods and the field are really nice this time of year. In October I want to go see the deer rut at the country park.
Autumn is time for stocking up ready for the winter. Whenever I make pasta sauce in September and October I make four times more and freeze it. Last year I had so much pumpkin for soup, this year it's carrot. Carrot soup every week through the winter, no problem.
People keep saying it's going to be a wet winter, I don't know. I live up a hill, nowhere near a water course, and the house is high off the street. Sounds good. But I worry about the patio flooding. I want to get some sandbags. I'm a low-level prepper (because anxiety) so I want to go through my supplies also.
There's a trip to Dunelm brewing for some electric blankets and nice moisturiser I might put in the bathroom. Like this is a fancy hotel or something.
I'm not overwintering so much in the garden this year. Onions and garlic. Past years I've direct sown broad beans in October but they get easily caught up by the ones sown in February or March. So not this year. And then didn't get round to sowing much salad - too busy trying to keep everything else alive.
There's so much gardening to do though. Lots of stuff is still out in the garden, still growing. There's lots of sunny days to be had. I need to keep digging out The Mound, fighting brambles, picking stones out the border. The side passage needs preparing to not be a death trap over the winter, the shed needs reorganising and the patio furniture squeezing in.
Lots of fun stuff is going on in the rest of September, and October. Got some theatre trips, games. There's Weird Web October I'd like to get into.
So, yeah. It's going to be fun!
In the Almanac.