Light & darkness meet evenly at the Autumn Equinox

Yesterday was our Autumn Equinox, the time when day & night shared equal lengths & from now, the night takes over & the light retreats each day, bringing with it shorter days & longer nights.

The equinox is a barely discernible difference in light but it soon will be noticeable. The air is cooler, you suddenly notice your breath in the morning air & scarves come of of the cupboard to wrap around the neck. 

The light is softer, more gentle, especially when seen against the vibrant colours of the changing leaves. 

After our hot summer, we will have impressive autumn colours of russet, chocolate brown, oxblood red, rich gold, burnt orange, soft plum, fern green, golden honey, buttery tones, muted earth, and rich jewel tones in the hedgerows - they all sit quite happily together. 

I love raking up the maple leaves from our tree. They are raked under the hedge where they breakdown to rich leaf mould but they also give homes to many over wintering creatures. Blackbirds love scattering them for bugs to eat & the visiting hedgehogs will gather them for nests.

I love walking the local woods in autumn, picking up pine cones, noticing the wonderful light through the tree canopy, finding a few conkers from horse chestnut trees. 

Spiders are supposed to avoid conkers.  I pop some in  corners at home but our spiders seem to happily ignore this & appear anyhow which is not welcome.  

I wish the spiders would find someone else to ambush & terrify. 

It is the time when cobwebs are persistent in corners of the house & garden, most evident outside with morning dew shining on them. 

My long duster is never far away in autumn, clearing the cobwebs so the house doesn't look like a Halloween  prop ... 

I notice that the shortening days brings a settling too when you want to be more cosy, have candles & books about, a fleece at hand on the sofa to tuck your feet under. Hot chocolate becomes more welcome, a warm mug to wrap your hands around while reading. 

We are busy in the garden, tidying up, final moving of any plants while the ground is still warm, cutting back & staking plants before the winds pick up and of course cutting the long stems of our honesty plants before the winds damage the much prized seed pods. More on that in another post ... 

It is also the time my thoughts turn to some crafts & indoor activities. I like to do some little sewn gifts to go in my Christmas cards & this is the time to start because they are labour intensive. 

Autumn also brings a subtle change in foods - richer foods, more root vegetables, hearty soups & generous baked puddings start making the menu. 

It is a different rhythm of life that we settle in to, preserving energy to appreciate nature more so we can tune in to the changing season. 

We hold on to the summer but gently give way to autumn to enjoy the change, the coolness, the different pace of life. 

Autumn invites us to gather our thoughts too, to be aware of what has changed - relationships, friendships, situations, experiences. We can gently release the ones that no longer serve us or match our energy. 

The change is part of life & we are part of the rhythm of nature, we just need to follow its lead. Have a blessed start to Autumn, 

Dee 🥮🍂🍁🪾🌲

Signs of Autumn at home & in the woods ...

 Somehow, the year is galloping by & the misty mornings remind us that Autumn is here. 

The nights are drawing in & the morning light takes its time to arrive now. 

Early morning mists drew us out to some local woods to enjoy the changing seasons & have a walk in the woods. 

I love misty mornings when things seem mysterious, when the woods are more silent & half hidden, when you hear voices long before figures appear in the misty light. 

The dampness highlighted the many cobwebs on the trees - somehow they really like the prickly holly bushes. 

The woodland floor is spongy with decades of fallen leaves & more drifted down all the time, along with the sound of little branches falling. 

I picked up some spindly branches with little pinecones & carefully places their curving branches in my bag where they flapped around with each step. 

I picked up some conkers & one of the pricky outer shells/ They are freshly fallen & very prickly still so had to be content with just 1. 

The cool, moist woods are the perfect growing conditions for a multitude of fungi, nestled in the fallen leaves & twigs. 

I do not know one from another & do not actually like mushrooms so am content to just photograph them. 

I added 2 little branches with red berries & my woodland collection looks rather good. I prefer it to a fake, commercial one & it reminds me of time in nature.

Once home, I carefully put the foraged twigs, leaves & berries in this vintage vase (bought from a charity shop some years back).

The spindly pine bracts I picked up survived their journey around the forest in a shopping bag I grabbed from the car as we stopped. 

The H.J. Woods Indian Tree vase is generous & sturdy enough to hold an assortment of twigs & leaves. It also has similar colours to the Spode plates that I had in mind. 

The conservatory sideboard is long overdue a change. The woodland vase nudged me to fetch the few Spode Woodland plates I have - 6 - from their retail shop in Stoke on Trent a few years ago. 

The 2 yellow deer plates were from Next a few years ago. They sometimes appear at Christmas with their pretty flower adorned antlers but fit in well with the Spode plates so they are out too. They are a good match to the vase too - I must bring them out more often. 

The beautiful ruby glass decanter was a gift from Ms M a few years ago, along with the vintage custard cups with their little handles. They are the perfect size for sherry on dark days ... 

A little jig around & I think it is looking perfect for Autumn. What do you think? 

Do you also come back from a walk with a pocket (or bag) of things you foraged or picked up? 

The Autumn sideboard has things I have had for a long time but they are greatly enjoyed & make a welcome appearance from time to time. 

Thank you for stopping by & visiting. It is always appreciated. 

Dee 🪾🪵🌳🍁🍂