I closed my eyes for a minute - and it’s already November.
The transitional month, most melancholic of all.
When the lush golden beauty of October fades
into bare and solemn stillness of the fast approaching winter.
The time in between, a harsh transition into months of dormancy,
both physical, and mental too.
There is something about this time,
perhaps the inevitable fall of everything living into the quietest slumber
which puts you into this extra thoughtful and melancholic mood,
or the rush and haste before the holiday season, year’s end,
the pressure to enjoy it, because well, that’s what everyone seems to do at this time.
One foot back in summer memories, another in a rush to complete
all of the things on to do list before Christmas.
Oh, I’ve been there too many times.
In all honesty, I haven’t been feeling my best these past few months.
So for that reason I wanted to share a few things I like to do in autumn
to make me feel better and help me find new appreciation for this season.
They are in no way useful, or productive, or make you instantly fall in love with autumn.
But they are just simple, little moments that perhaps
may add a little moment of joy into an ordinary day.
I go out on a lot of walks in nature - which, perhaps, is the most obvious thing to do,
but believe me, sometimes it’s so hard to actually find strength and purpose in these walks.
Whenever I go out I treat it as a sort of meditative time, away from the screens,
from the familiar environment at home, from sounds
coming out of the computer or any other distractions.
I don’t listen to anything, just observe or focus on the sounds that surround me -
I find this experience very inspiring.
To make these walks more interesting,
I try to find some edible plants or something to forage for.
Mushrooms are very abundant at this time of the year.
I actually thought there weren’t many mushrooms in England,
but I was very much mistaken as there are a lot.
I’m not very knowledgeable though, so I stay away from picking them.
There is a great book about mushrooms which I’m yet to read
and before I do, I will stay away from eating any forest fungi -
there are many poisonous ones, or the ones that disguise themselves as edible.
Without substantial knowledge they might be a bit too dangerous to forage for.
But I still find so much joy in simply searching for them and taking loads of pictures.
Instead of mushrooms though, I foraged for sweet chestnuts the other day.
Do not confuse them with horse chestnuts
the edible ones are covered in needles on the outside and
are almost impossible to handle with bare hands.
Once you open them up -
they’re much smaller and have a distinct tear drop shape with a little fringe on one side.
There are many sweet chestnut trees in England,
but if you can’t find a tree, chestnuts are usually sold at supermarkets
at this time of the year.
The process of roasting and peeling them is quite tedious
but I like to believe that sometimes we should allocate time for things
which are a bit different, and slower than our routine.
However tedious - it’s something you can do only seasonally, once a year
so I like to slow down and enjoy the process.
This time I roasted them and ate right away
but I will share some recipes in the future.
When I lived in a big city I used to take a book and go out to a quiet cafe
and simply people watch from my dimly lit corner.
I haven’t done this for a while now,
but I think that would be a wonderful thing to do this November.
At this time of the year I like to read classics,
gothic stories or darker, more thoughtful novels.
I’ve recently finished reading Wuthering Heights,
and recently moved on to The Portrait of Dorian Grey -
I think these two books are perfect for this season.
And when the rain stops I’ll be preparing my tiny garden for winter.
I’ve already picked the last tomato crop and am very patiently waiting
for cayenne peppers to blush.
I’ll be planting flowers for spring very soon -
tulips, daffodils, crocuses and snowdrops.
Come February they will burst in most beautiful colours.
All of my herbs I’ll be bringing in indoors as I’m afraid they may not survive winter outside.
I’m not the most knowledgeable gardener,
but there is something so inspiring about nature and its cycles.
Even if you don’t have a garden - I encourage you to plant something,
on the balcony or on the windowsill, and watch it grow.
When the nature outside is going to sleep, you will have
a little bit of nature to tend to in your own home.
I hope you are enjoying this season wherever you are.
Whether you’re enjoying the wonderful smells and colours,
the sound of crunching leaves under your feet
or the smell of warming spice permeating throughout your kitchen.
Soaking under the cool autumn rain, or enjoying the unusually warm sunshine,
of course, depending on where you live
I hope you’re able to find little moments of joy and quiet at this time.
Please let me know what your favourite autumn activities are.
I’m looking forward to seeing you next time.