Sunday, August 26, 2012

The Waning Days of Summer


Credit: mytouristbus



Change is on the way. I see it on some trees which have already begun to shed their leaves;  I feel it, as the temperatures have moderated since the dog days of summer; but most of all I sense it. There’s a feeling this time of year -- that one thing is ending and another beginning.






I rode to school each day on a bus that looked similar to this one. Credit: mytouristbus.com


I relate these feelings to earlier school days. Funny, how after so many years have passed, this sense of transition time is still with me. But I remember so well how it was this time of year. Ending were the carefree days of summer; about to begin were the structured days of school.

It was always fun planning for Back to School, especially decisions related to clothes and books. I looked forward to the plaid wool skirts, the sweater sets, the suede shoes. And the colors! I so loved the fall colors, and my wardrobe seemed always to consist of burnt orange, olive green and gold items.

It may be hard to believe, but when I was in high school we really dressed up for  football games. I chose this picture because I had a tan wool suit similar to this one, complete with a fur collar. I recall that I wore it to the Homecoming Football Game the year I was a senior. I also wore the leather gloves, but not a hat as pictured here. Oh yes, and our outfit was not complete without a large mum corsage in the seasonal color of orange. Wow, how times have changed. Credit: Wikipedia


After junior high, when the books were provided free by the state, high school brought the responsibility of purchasing our own textbooks. For me that was so much fun. I loved the smell and feel of a new textbook that was my very own and not a used one. I also loved shopping at Anderson’s Book Store for the paperback classics assigned for the year, the pens and pencils and the notebooks. In those days, book bags were unheard of so we just lugged those heavy textbooks around in our arms.



Credit: two images above, irishtimes.com


And the weather! Oh, how I have always loved autumn weather: the crisp sound of leaves crunching under my feet, the smell of wood fires, the sound of hunters in the distance.  Weiner roasts down by the pond, muscadine hunting expeditions, football games, county fairs – these were the things to look forward to in autumn.


Muscadine (Vitis rotundifolia) is a member of the grape family. It is native to much of North America and grows wild in roadsides and forests. It has been extensively cultivated since the 16th century. Its natural range is the southern United States. Muscadines are well adapted to a warm and humid climate; they need fewer chilling hours than better known varieties and they thrive on summer heat. They are so sweet and good and have a unique taste, different from grapes. Muscadine jelly or jam is a real treat, but the best way to eat them is out-of-hand, straight from the vine.



Soon, fires will be started in the fireplace to knock out the chill of an autumn evening, darkness will descend at 6 p.m. and it’ll be time to pull out the warm socks and cozy blankets.


Claus has cut and stacked firewood to dry and season before winter. The wood is from trees, some of which were dead, in my father's old and for years neglected orchard.  This wood from once thriving apple, peach, pear and nectarine trees will not only warm us, but also bring back memories of that good fruit we once ate.
How about you? Are you beginning to feel the change of the seasons where you live? What are your memories of autumn?

13 comments:

  1. Remember how exciting it was the first time some guy came up and scooped out books out of our arms and carried them to our next class for us - walking in and depositing them on the desk to the delight of our girlfriends? Good Times!

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  2. Ah yes, the joys of the teenage years!

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  3. Autumn, always been my favourite season. We don't have the beautiful coloured trees, but our Autumn skies are the most clear and perfect blue. Like you, I love the sense of change in the air, the prospect of the new crisp winter season to come.
    PS I wore suits just like that in the 60s! (I was a child, of course:)

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    1. And you are getting ready to welcome the Spring! A very exciting season, ESP. For gardeners. Hope you are having a great week, but missing the grandson terribly.

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  4. Your memories are very much alike to those of mine. My, the autumn lasted for a l o n g time.
    It was about the only time of the year, when new clothes were bought, as kids had grown out from the old ones.
    Weather has been quite warm over here in late August. The sun sets about 20.40 ( p.m. ).
    Today is the first day of rain for weeks, we have had some thunder too.
    Living with specific 4 seasons is ok, only the winter could be much, much shorter than it is over here.
    August could last forever.. Lovely pictures : ).

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    1. Love rainy days! Like you, I got the "fall clothes" and the "spring clothes," and this was the only time we bought. Received a sweater and robe at Christmas. My, how times have changed; clothes all year long!

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  5. Autumn is my favourite season,the colours are the colours of my clothes being/been a redhead....the thought of wearing tights to cover white legs bliss,smell of burning leaves,log fires.
    Still I always feel a sense of nostalgia for times past/or time passing maybe.Pheasant shooting,the hunt in their red coats.

    Yes I love Autumn.Beautiful pictures. Ida

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    1. Autumn does seem to be the time nostalgia is most keenly felt. Nothing like the smell of wood fires in the crisp fall air. Those fall colors are so becoming on redheads!

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  6. Even here I feel the change and it always takes me back to when I was in school...and I love it and I don't at the same time...I love that the older days were more formal...great photos Sanda and sweet remembrances ..

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    1. Glad you like the photos. I know what you mean: this time of year is a love-hate thing.

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  7. I am glad to hear that autumn brings back similar memories for you. I wish hats and gloves as the norm would make a comeback!

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  8. Autumn brings back lots of memories for me, good ones, but at the same time I feel a sadness as it approaches. I hate to see my garden changing but I can look at those buds already forming for next spring on my hydrangea garden and know that in the spring they will be beautiful again. Spring is my favorite season but I do enjoy all the seasons and there is something beautiful and unique about each of them.
    One of the memories of fall is that we had new fall clothes, a lot of them wool, and we wore them when school began in September when it was still 90 degrees!

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    1. Oh we did wear those new things in the heat, didn't we. Looking forward to winter so we can get a rest from the hard garden chores of summer.

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