Ode to October

October 5, 2009 | My Jottings

Autumn has always been my favorite season of the year, and if I had to narrow down a favorite month, it’s a toss-up between September and October. No other season elicits the renewed energy, yearning and musing as much as a Minnesota fall does for me.

austinpod0911c1smOctober means breathtaking colors in the trees….fierce winds that make you stare at the leaves blowing around outside while it feels safe and quiet inside….turtlenecks and SmartWool socks….simmering soups and warm crusty bread….school buses with tiny cap-covered heads in the windows….a chilly house in the morning and the sound of the furnace clicking on at 6:00 a.m….tangy Bayfield apple cider in thick mugs….the smell of woodsmoke in the air….increased squirrel activity as winter food is gathered and hidden….perusing the cooking sites for new bread recipes to make at home….storing the hammock….getting up in the morning when it’s still pitch black outside….having the furnace cleaned and serviced….making sure we have bags of salt and plenty of shovels….stocking up on gloves and mittens for the grandbabies….dry, brisk, invigorating air….needing lotion for dry hands….lower in the sky, more golden light glowing in the windows….apple crisp with double the crumbly topping….lots of daydreaming about the Highlands of Scotland….picking numbers for Christmas shopping….wondering if I should have a women’s Christmas luncheon this year….the comfort of a pile of books always waiting nearby….weekly attendance at Community Bible Study….a hike to Carlton Peak….migrating birds….the heightened awareness of life and death, darkness and light, and the quiet pondering of what is temporal versus what is eternal.

Notice I did not write anything about eagerly anticipating winter and snow and bitter cold and ice and heating bills that are half a thousand dollars each month. πŸ™‚

Now it’s your turn to share, and I will be so pleased if you do. A winner will be selected from all who leave a comment, and that person will win a nice bloggy prize.

What does October mean to you?

Comments

  1. Jess says:

    October means football and finding fun things to knit for Christmas presents. I plan my Christmas presents fairly early so October is the “official start” of the Christmas knitting.

    Thanks for visiting my blog, I actually met the Three Irish Girls (or at least one) while in Portland, OR for Sock Summit. πŸ™‚

  2. Kay says:

    Cool evenings, colorful drives, migrating birds and the hunters who have them in their sights.
    Baked apples, reunion with a favorite sweater, weekends at the cabin in the woods.
    Knitting woolens, piecing jig-saw puzzles, steaming cups of something good, lots of layers for my walks.
    Beef stew and Minnesota hot-dishes.
    Bear in the garbage cans and deer in the headlights.
    Piles of leaves in the yard, dead flowers in the planter, a birds nest that blew down from the now-barren tree top.
    Pumpkins, squashes and rutabaggas in the grocers produce aisle.
    Thoughts turned toward home, family, and God.

  3. Deb says:

    October means:
    We start sacrificing fresh air from open windows for the dry heated stuff that comes from the furnace.
    I see my hiking paths gradually become blanketed in yellow, gold, orange and red leaves.
    I feel the grass crunch under my feet in the morning.
    It’s time to put the gardens to bed, mow the lawn one last time and get the snow blowers ready.
    Bake apple cuplets! Eat apple cuplets!
    I watch my guys thoroughly enjoy hunting season, yet again.
    I ponder how fast the year has gone by; is Christmas only 12 weeks away?

  4. Jessica says:

    I love fall too. I don’t like what follows but fall in and of itself is my favorite time of year. It’s nostalgic to me and I just love the feel in the air. I like switching to long sleeved shirts and baking with apples. I like being able to use the oven to make comfort foods for dinner. I love those last few campfires roasting marshmallows while bundled up in coats and hats. I like finding an area of bright colored leaves and taking pictures of our family. I like hearing the wind swirl the leaves while we are warm inside. I love hayrides and pumpkins and going to different fall festivals. I love the excitement of new programs beginning and seeing old friends. I like being able to sleep under piles of blankets without getting too hot. I love the smell of pumpkin spice candles burning throughout the house. I love the pumpkin treats that everyone is baking. I love getting out my “Christmas table” and organizing the gifts I’ve already purchased and thinking of what else needs to be bought. I love making my Christmas shopping list and carrying it in my purse.

    I could go on and on. I love fall!!!! And November brings its own joys!

  5. Jessica says:

    Oh and can I add one more thing? I love the sound of the football game on in the background. Try as I might, I don’t understand the game but it makes me happy just to hear it on the TV or even the radio if we are in the car.

  6. Pat says:

    Autumn is also my favorite time of year. I think of the start of a new school year with grade school memories in a small town school – fall art projects where we pressed leaves, colored pictures of pumpkins and turkeys, and played catch in the crisp, cool outdoor air at recess. I also think of apple crisp, curling up in front of a fire with a good book, jumping into a pile of leaves (hmm, more like raking them since I’m no longer a kid), the smell of those same leaves burning, and looking at trees that are so beautiful it makes the heart ache. I must say that I have high hopes that there is an Autumn in Heaven.

  7. Steve says:

    The younger version of me delighted in the inevitable kid vs. golden pile of leaves battle that arrived every Autumn. The higher the pile, the crunchier the batch, the greater my sense of power as I leapt full force on the pile which always sat defenseless, powerless to stop me.

    The older version of me now allows the leaves of autumn to huddle together in peace. I think I understand them better now than in my youth. Perhaps it’s because I now know how hard it is to try to hold on. Or perhaps it’s because I now know how hard it is to fall.

  8. Sue Raimo says:

    Just reading this entry and the comments brings me to a warm

    and cozy place in that gift from God called “memory”.

  9. Savannah says:

    I love lists like this!!!!!

    October is….

    … when I buy a new hoodie!

    … the first month that we can (sometimes) use our fireplace!

    … when I want to buy evergreen and cinnamon candles!

    … the time when Canada Geese call to me from the sky to lift up my wings and join them in their travels…

    … the time of year for pumpkin-carving, pumpkin seeds, pumpkin decorations, pumpkin-colored sweaters, pumpkin shakes from Culvers, and pupmkin candles! I L.O.V.E pumpkin!

    … the time year that my crockpot is constantly in the sink soaking, because I make soup so much!

    … the best time to watch movies at home! Especially when your four other room-mates are gone, you have candles lit, hot chocolate in your hands, and are wrapped up in a Micro-Suede Down Comforter!!

    … the time when you play capture the flag outside!

    … the time when I see squirrels digging holes (with their nose!) in the campus flower beds!

    … the month that I can officially count the days until Thanksgiving! Or rather,the day AFTER Thanksgiving where I start decorating and listening to Christmas Music!!

    … for some reason, this is the time of year that I most love looking at Children’s books…

    … where the realization hits you that, wow, almost another year has gone by… where did it go?

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