I saw my first Christmas decorations at the supermarket the other day. There I was, minding my own business when I turned down an aisle and *BAM* there they were - snowmen and trees and the colours red and green. Not being a huge fan of that particular holiday or the colour red, I immediately turned heel and ran...grabbing a bottle of gin as I went, of course.
Not only was it an affront to my Grinch like sensibilities, but I hate how the rush towards the C-word seems to skip over a whole season of the year. We seem to go straight from summer BBQs, pool parties and iced drinks to mass consumption of Baileys and Cheese - not that I particularly mind either of those things, but we are missing an essential period of the year - Autumn.
Having a birthday in the middle of September and pie being my favourite food group, always made me feel that Fall was MY season. The turning of the leaves, the fires, the harvest (have I mentioned pie, yet?), I love all of it. The only thing I don't like is that I have to wear proper shoes and socks as the days get colder, but that is a situation that I can be distracted from as I spend every free moment foraging for mushrooms in the woods.
And while the supermarkets seem to want me to forget that Autumn exists in the race towards the Holidays, the farm keeps us firmly grounded in the here and now of harvest. A bumper year of apples and brambles have me working in the kitchen day and night to get things put up for the season. The wetter days mean my floors have taken back their grit layer and the house has the underlying smell of wet dog and wood ash. And I am here for it...all of it. But especially the pie.