October has made quite the entrance down here in the south of England. We have had tremendous rain storms with autumn winds to make the trees giddy. Suddenly, as if overwhelmed by time, leaves are drifting and what is left of summer has its head bowed down.
I often walk into town on a Thursday morning, loaded down, gratefully, with packages of orders to send. My walk takes me either through or alongside the local woods and park. The shorter route is to walk alongside the park, where there is a narrow footpath. For much of the summer this pathway became very overgrown and pedestrians such as myself were cursing the local council for not cutting back the overhanging nettles and thick brambles. I am all for wild edges (see last week’s notes) but not if I have to jump over them, snagging my dress. I am pleased to say this path has now been cleared again, but the route will soon be treacherous with wet leaves massing on the slopes and steps. I will just have to wear my hiking boots. I always feel a little self conscious in my boots when plodding about the shops or library, as if I am making some statement on how many miles I have walked. When I have walked just less than two miles. I often time my walk in; current record is 33 minutes, which is nothing special. I am looking toward getting this to under 30. As I walk I am aware of all the special packages stowed in my bag and the need to ferry them safely to the post office.
Once at the post office I am often met by a very familiar face: my daughter works there. I will try my best to arrive before she has her break. I feel the packages will arrive that much more quickly and safely if she is the person labelling up and issuing tracking numbers. She has worked there for some time now, through last year’s lockdown and before. It can be a stressful job. Please be kind to your post office staff. I know that you are.
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Spiders - are everywhere at this time of year. Inside and out. I recently looked up from my drawing desk to watch a large house spider very delicately throttle a blue bottle fly (and eat it). I was in awe at the beauty of this and now cannot bring myself to destroy her home. She did me a favour. So there is a large web above the curtain rail. And there may be a good many webs everywhere around the house. I know I will have to remove some of them, at least. But why do we? Surely webs can be celebrated for the month of October, just as sprigs of greenery are dotted about the house in December?
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October always feels like the beginning of a very busy time as we head toward the end of the year and Christmas. It is at this time that I write for myself a clear plan for the weeks ahead. My plan is to work on new paintings and new stitched portraits, and yes new monoprint drawings. But now I am reorganising my day so that I might work some evenings, so that I can have time during daylight hours to get other things done. Things like tidying the garden for winter, which is something I prefer not to do by lantern light, as romantic as that idea might be to me.
I am a planner and a list maker. I wonder if you are too? I think it is good to think through how one is going to proceed, but to always have alternatives up your sleeve. Those slippery leaves of autumn can cause small hazards along the way….
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Here in Colorado we are having a glorious autumn! If we are lucky enough not to have a hard frost in September, October has the most beautiful colors and light that make our days glow with deep, rich hues. This year it is beautiful, and fall walks are a delight. The vines in the garden are fading and revealing the bright orange globes of pumpkins and an astonishing number of huge smooth flesh toned butternut squash. I especially love these!
The shortening daylight is hard for me to accept and yet I’m well aware of how much I love the turning inward of winter with far fewer outdoor chores and more time for reading and domestic activity. I am one who can get very used to routine and predictability and nature nudges me to remember the power of now.
Always love reading about your quotidian activities and appreciate how your writing elevates the ordinary into the memorable. You share the ingredients of living an artful life!
“I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers!” L.M. Montgomery 🍁🍂
I love lists and write one daily. I also cover the front of my diary with post it notes just in case I forget to look in my diary…or maybe I just love the process of writing things down. I don’t know. I also love filling out forms.