Saturday, September 22, 2012

Anticipating Autumn




This post was written last September, on the first day of fall.
Thought I'd share it again, in celebration of the coming season. 



Finally! It's here. It arrived today. Six minutes ago, to be exact. It's 12:06 am. I've been waiting a whole year, but it was on time. Timely, actually.  As usual. As expected. 



For me, as a young girl growing up in Toronto, the beginning of summer simply meant that soon enough, autumn would arrive, and with it, crisp mornings that called for cozy knitted cardigans and homemade apple cinnamon muffins. 


 Muffin photo: source

Raking the leaves and brisk afternoon walks around the neighbourhood took care of the extra calories at breakfast, while cute little pumpkins on porches provided guilt-free eye candy of the decorative kind. 

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Of course, autumn goes hand in hand with Halloween, when mini monsters rub shoulders with Disney princesses and comic book heroes, as they roam the streets in search of decadent handouts of bite size chocolate from neighbours in disguise.

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Nothing though, could compare to the impressive collage of muted orangey foliage that always seemed to magically appear out of nowhere-year after year!

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Choppy chunks of copper coloured forests bordered the main roads, where radiant hues of amber and gold flashed in the sky, like floating traffic lights, waking still sleepy drivers, and accompanying them to their journey’s end.

But, on this vibrant island in the Mediterranean, autumn is a season pronounced in quieter, softer tones, sometimes hardly noticed at all, as the transition from hot to cold and longer to shorter days is more subtle. 

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Here in Crete, autumn speaks in low, windy whispers of weak, rusty vine leaves, delicately trembling in the now, cooler breeze, no longer able to hold onto their branches, ultimately letting go and falling down to the dense dry ground below, thirsty for the first rains of the season. 


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The moody season is accented by the harvesting of walnuts, a tedious and tiring job that is only truly rewarded with the promise of rich, walnut enhanced desserts and savoury stuffing at Thanksgiving.  


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It goes without saying, that wherever you are in this wide and wonderful world of ours, autumn has a unique presence and a distinct voice all its own, one that always seems to steal the show with a multi talented natural cast of characters, whose song and dance routines repeatedly leave its audience speechless and spellbound after each and every encore, after each and every year.

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Thanks for visiting
and happy weekend!

 

22 comments:

  1. Hi Poppy - it's almost fall here in Peterborough ON. You can smell the change in the breeze and feel the chill in the air. I put away summer clothes and brought out my fall ones today. It's time to start making muffins and stews and soups. We are sadly lacking in apples this year. A very warm March caused the trees to bud and then a sudden frost killed them. We are relying on imported apples this year but desserts will be all the more tasty for being rare this season. I will take pictures of the trees for you. We are thinking about a drive to Algonquin Park next week. J

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    1. Hi Julie,

      Wish I was there! So true what you said about appreciating apple based desserts this year with the shortage. Re: Algonquin Park - never been, would love to go! Maybe next trip. Have a fabulous time!

      Poppy

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  2. I love fall too. Tomorrow I will be out in the yard enjoying it.

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  3. Hi Poppy, so nice to meet you, just love this wonderful post on Autumn. I'm going to be looking back thru your posts, how amazing that you live on Crete! Thanks so much for coming by to party!

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  4. Poppy -
    I bet the autumn season is magnificent in Canada! Here in DC it can be beautiful but not like up in New England. Does it get very cold in Greece? With the Mediterranean and other seas, it probably is not.....but windy, right?
    Cheers,
    Loi

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    1. Hi Loi,

      Yes! Autumn is especially brilliant in Canada- like no other I've ever experienced. Here, across the pond, the average fall temperature is 55 degrees Fahrenheit, so fairly mild. And yes again, it CAN get rather windy - all year round!

      Hope you're having a colourful season.

      Have a great week.

      Poppy

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  5. What a beautiful post!

    Here in Western Pennsylvania our weather has finally cooled off quite a bit and autumn's in the air :)

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  6. Your photos definitely put me in a fall mood! Coming over from Faded Charm and so glad I did! I am a happy new follower!

    Jeanine

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  7. Poppy! You're a girl after my own heart - I too anticipate all the aspects of fall. How lovely to read and experience the differences in a Mediterranean autumn. I realize Walnuts are a difficult nut to crack - no pun intended - I have seen some at old Plantations around here - awesome shells! Your post is beautiful! I do appreciate you sharing with Home and Garden Thursday,
    Kathy

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  8. Thank you for sharing these beautiful Fall images at Potpourri Friday!

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  9. Happy Autumn to you too! Thank you for joining HSH!
    Sherry

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  10. Well, here I am a year late finding this! But after reading your current post--in September of 2013!--I had to see what you wrote about autumn before. I smiled to read that when you were a little girl that the arrival of summer just meant that autumn was even closer. My sentiments exactly! The pictures of autumn in Canada are glorious but obviously Crete's autumn has its own beauty too.

    Happy Autumn, Poppy! Don't know whether you're setting let you see a comment this old but just had to say hi here!
    Dewena

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  11. RE-Posting a great post makes sense to me! :) I loved it last year and I love it this year too !:)

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  12. gorgeous photos Poppy, makes me want to run to my studio and start painting!
    Jenna

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  13. Hi Poppy, thanks for sharing these beautiful photos once again! Happy Fall to you! Have a wonderful week.
    Julie

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  14. Hi Poppy,
    Beautiful images and words, my friend. Thank you for sharing this at my HOME and Happy Autumn! Blessings, Sandi

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  15. What gorgeous scenery. Thanks so much for linking to Inspire Me. Hugs, Marty

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  16. What gorgeous photo's. Autumn is beautiful and all you describe, but I'm not ready for winter. Here's in my neck of the woods we don't get Autumn's like that.
    xoxo
    Wanda Ann @ Memories by the Mile

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  17. How I love autumn! Thank you for sharing the beauty of the season with us :)

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  18. Oh so pretty. What a fun post. I'd love you to link at my Fall party! Did you see it! Come on by.

    http://myjourneyback-thejourneyback.blogspot.com/2014/09/welcome-fall-linky-party.html

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  19. Love this. Thanks for linking. The Fall linky party will run through September. Each party begins on Tuesday! Come join us again!

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  20. Absolutely stunning, Poppy - so ready for fall's beauty! I do appreciate you sharing with Home and Garden Thursday,
    Kathy

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Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to comment. I really appreciate hearing from all of you! Have a great day!