Proper Autumn

It feels like we are now in proper Autumn.  We are past the stage of the odd flutter of leaves, we are now at the stage of serious denudement.

As I set out on my usual walk I paused to admire this sight.  This tree has shed so many leaves, and there they lie, creating a shadow of leaves on the ground like an Autumn comforter to keep the ground warm for as long as possible.  The forecast has been quite mild so far but as I write this there is a forecast of frost on the horizon and even some sleet.

This particular day it has been raining steadily for most of the day.  The leaves are sodden and gleaming; shining as much as they can when there is a serious deficit of sun.  There is a definite Autumnal smell in the air: it is a little bit damply, mushroomy and snaily.  I think it ought to be an unpleasant smell yet it is not, it is the smell of the season and that makes it welcome and good.  It is, I suppose, the smell of the start of decay.   I am not a tidy gardener and I let the leaves stay where they fall, hoping they will be a bit of a leafy mulch over Winter.  I tell myself that the worms will be dragging leaves down into the soil where they will rot down and make the ground ready for Spring to start the growing season again.

I enjoy my garden in Autumn.  It is currently too wet to do very much of use, but I see the pond refilling from the dry summer months and I smile.  The buds are forming on the magnolia trees so that I can see the hope of what a floriferous Spring there will be.  The snowdrops are starting to push through the ground and I have a box of tulips still expecting to be planted; I am sure they will be, she says unconvincingly.

I have said many times that I love each of the seasons for their own special moments.  This feels like peak Autumn, a day to enjoy and just be.  Proper Autumn is a golden moment.

Take care and be kind.

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