It's definitely autumn here now. I made applesauce this morning with the badly blemished apples. I wound up freezing 4 pint containers of applesauce. not a whole lot, but I was basically using up the apples that would probably not last long in the fridge.
I brought in all 18 of the pumpkins and winter squash. I used part of one pumpkin in a chicken pie for dinner tonight. It's very wet this week. During a brief break in the rain, I popped outside to see if I should bring in the hanging begonia plant.
What a surprise! My begonia is not done for the "summer." It has not one, but two blossoms on it. I think it wants me to leave it out for a while longer.
This is just what I needed. The gloomy days of autumn are hard for me to adjust to. When I woke up this morning, I asked myself how I would make the day feel happy. Sometimes the answer is just outside the window.
I hope you're having a good week and not feeling the autumn blues.
It sounds like you are having dreary weather. That can be a downer. I love autumn, but a string of bad weather can be difficult. I usually struggle more in the February-April stretch with my mood. I find that getting outside helps quite a bit with that.
ReplyDeleteHi Kris,
DeleteI agree, getting outside is a help. Some years, we get beautiful autumn sunshine. Last year was one of our best Septembers and Octobers. So, there's hope for beautiful weather to return after this week of rain. So, in the meantime, when I wake up to clouds, I do ask myself how I will make the day feel like a happy one and try to make that happen. Sometimes God throws in a surprise to help me along.
Have a great autumn day, Kris!
It's been rainy here for several days - mostly from tropical storm Ophelia. However, it was welcome because we had a very dry summer. But the days are definitely getting shorter and that always takes some adjustment. Glad you found some autumn joy.
ReplyDeleteHi Live and Learn,
DeleteI understand the appreciation for the fall rain, even if it came with a tropical storm. We lived in Utah for a couple of years and I loved the rain there because it was so rare.
Your last sentence -- autumn joy -- that's a name of one of my plants, a sedum. You just reminded me I should go outside and see how that one is doing. It usually gives us some fall color.
Enjoy your time away!
What a lovely surprise, Lili! That really WOULD be a day brightener (literally and figuratively!) Autumn is my favorite season, and we're currently glorying in our wet, gloomy weather as a change from hot, sunny, and dry (and sometimes smoky). Summer is my least-favorite season (except when our sons were in school/university); so I'm happy to see it in the rear-view mirror, generally speaking.
ReplyDeleteBut I do find in our northern location that this time of year, I feel an urgency to get up and at 'em as soon as it's light, since the days are fast getting shorter (and will be very short, soon.) If I sleep in or otherwise waste the daylight, the short days feel more gloomy. And like Kris, I try to enjoy as much time outdoors as possible through fall and winter, bundling up or whatever it takes to get outside and get natural light and exercise. Thankfully I like rain and snow; but I remember when I lived a couple of years in western Oregon, the continual gray and drizzle like you have REALLY got to me. I think I definitely had a touch of SAD, and my father has it worse. I'm very appreciative of little bit of extra sunshine we have over here.
That said, my daily joy in autumn is watching the grass green up one last time, seeing each little foliage change, being able to wear comfier clothes, and being able to cook without worrying about overheating my house or myself. My other joy about autumn, and every season, is that there's only a short time to enjoy it. Soon we'll be having winter weather and holidays, and just about the time the weather and dark are really hardest (and the weather -- again, Kris, I'm with you about February!), at least the days start getting noticeably longer, with promise of spring. Hang in there, Lili! And enjoy that beautiful begonia! Sara
Hi Sara,
DeleteYou gave me another thing to go outside and check, our lawn. I do think it will green up after this week's rain. We don't water the lawns in summer, so they go quite brown. Fortunately, our front lawn is surrounded by a hedge, so passers-by can't see it. My son lives in a neighborhood where someone will comment on things like a brown lawn or a lawn that's gone too long between mowings.
I understand the late winter feeling of blues (or for me, anxious for better weather). I always feel like I'm ready for spring to start by February, yet often have to deal with late winter snowstorms.
Enjoy your early mornings, and I hope you can get outside as much as possible.