George Eliot

Closer to Fall

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“At no other time (than autumn) does the earth let itself be inhaled in one smell, the ripe earth; in a smell that is in no way inferior to the smell of the sea, bitter where it borders on taste, and more honeysweet where you feel it touching the first sounds. Containing depth within itself, darkness, something of the grave almost” (Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters on Cezanne).

I get seriously annoyed with people who actually enjoy summer days when it’s over 90 degrees and the humidity is like walking into a sauna. With cooler weather, you can always add more layers. With hot, you can only take off so much before it becomes illegal (not to mention immoral).

According to my timeline, fall starts in 9 days, but the current weather has felt very autumn-esque. The last two days have been drizzly, grey, and a tad on the colder side. That kind of weather activates cravings in me for all things pumpkin spice, caramel apple cider, bonfires, hayrides and (best of all) flannel.

I look forward to the day when I can realistically wear flannel and not sweat to death. I believe there will be flannel in heaven– maybe those robes we wear will have flannel lining. Flannel is like a hug that you get to wear all day long.

Anyway, this being Tennessee, I’m almost certain there will be some kind of resurgence in hotter weather, with the politically incorrect name for that being Indian Summer. Then hopefully, fall will come back for real and stay a while and bring some color to the leaves.

“Is not this a true autumn day? Just the still melancholy that I love – that makes life and nature harmonise. The birds are consulting about their migrations, the trees are putting on the hectic or the pallid hues of decay, and begin to strew the ground, that one’s very footsteps may not disturb the repose of earth and air, while they give us a scent that is a perfect anodyne to the restless spirit. Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns” (Letter to Miss Eliot, Oct. 1, 1841, George Eliot).

A Fall-ish Day in August

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“There is a time in the last few days of summer when the ripeness of autumn fills the air” (Rudolfo Anaya).

“Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns” (George Eliot).

“There is a harmony in autumn, and a luster in its sky, which through the summer is not heard or seen, as if it could not be, as if it had not been!” (Percy Bysshe Shelley)

I love days like this. Today, it almost felt like fall came early. I know that it’s just a temporary spell that will soon be replaced by the return of the hot and sticky hell known as a Tennessee summer.

I actually drove home from downtown Franklin with my windows rolled down. I could smell the sweet summer breezes drifting through my car as good music played on my CD player.

Weather like this always makes me nostalgic for times past. I don’t know why Autumn in particular seems to bring up old memories more than any other time of the year.

Sometimes, I think I could live in a place where the temperature hovered somewhere between 55 and 75 all year round. I don’t know if a place like that exists but I’d move there tomorrow.

Right now, I have a very playful and energetic kitten who needs my attention. She won’t stay tiny forever and I will one day miss her kittenish ways when she gets all grown up and mature.

So thanks for reading this and I hope we have a few more days of this fall sneak preview before the return of the sweats and the humidity. My prayer for you and me is that we can find at least one thing to be thankful for in every day, starting today.

 

 

 

October

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“I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers” (L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables).

“I cannot endure to waste anything so precious as autumnal sunshine by staying in the house [Notebook, Oct. 10, 1842]” (Nathaniel Hawthorne, The American Notebook).

“Is not this a true autumn day? Just the still melancholy that I love – that makes life and nature harmonise. The birds are consulting about their migrations, the trees are putting on the hectic or the pallid hues of decay, and begin to strew the ground, that one’s very footsteps may not disturb the repose of earth and air, while they give us a scent that is a perfect anodyne to the restless spirit. Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns. [Letter to Miss Lewis, Oct. 1, 1841]” (George Eliot, George Eliot’s Life, as Related in Her Letters and Journals – Volume 1).

I love October. It means the real beginning of Autumn.

I know that fall started officially on September 21, but it still felt like heat stroke weather in Tennessee. Now, it feels like fall.

Fall to me means temps with a high in the mid-60’s and a slightly overcast sky. It means the faintest smell of bonfires and hayrides and decaying leaves. It means nights that err on the chilly side with a brisk breeze blowing.

Hopefully, it will stay fall for a while and not rush on to winter or revert back to summer for a bit. I get the most nostalgic for places and people long gone during this season, but it’s also when my soul feels most calm and at ease.

I still have yet to partake of that pumpkin spice, but that will very soon be remedied. Stay tuned for more details.