Count Your Blessings #25 – The Smell of Autumn

I love the change of the seasons. This morning when I went out for a walk along the paths in the wood at the back of my house it smelt of Autumn. I’ve tried to think of ways of describing what I mean by that but the only way I can do it is to describe the pictures that are created in my head. I’m sure that Sue would be able to give it a description that would be suitable for any perfume, but I’m a man and we can’t even get our heads around the different types of colour (what is mauve anyway) so smells are a little out of my league.

So here are my pictures.

The smell of autumn makes me think of walking around Tarn Howes, taking in the infinite multitude of brown and gold. It makes me think of walking through small mountains of paper crisp leaves, kicking them into the air and watching them float their individual paths to the ground. I can see those same leaves swirling around, like thousands of tiny kites abandoned to the wind. I can hear the first crunch of frost under my feet. I can sense my face tightening in the glare of a cold crisp autumn sun, making me feel alive in a way that the warm sun never does. I can feel the smooth dark chocolate brown of a conker fresh out of its skin. I can see those deep red berries. I can taste those brambles and those apples warm, tangy and sugary hiding beneath a wonderful nutty crumble and covered in custard. I can see that deer revealed now that his cloak of vegetation has been removed. I can see the thousands of starlings swarming in a mass of black ready for departure to a warmer environment.

I don’t think I have a favourite season, I love the transitions between them.

There is a time for everything, a season for every activity under heaven.

A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest.

A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to rebuild.

A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance.

A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones. A time to embrace and a time to turn away.

A time to search and a time to lose. A time to keep and a time to throw away.

A time to tear and a time to mend. A time to be quiet and a time to speak up.

A time to love and a time to hate. A time for war and a time for peace.

Ecclesiastes 3