Autumn

Autumn Leaves ~ by Millais

This picture sums up Autumn for me. The turning of the leaves, the beautiful colours. It reminds me of sweeping up the Autumn leaves when I was young, of walks in the woods ankle deep in the fallings from the trees and of how they crackled and snapped under foot. It reminds me of gathering Conkers and watching Squirrels hide nuts.

It reminds me of misty mornings and a warm bed. It signals the drawing in of the nights and the approach of winter. It reminds me of hot drinks and sitting around the fire exchanging stories.

It takes me back to raking up the fallen leaves when I was young and putting them into a neat pile under cover to save for burning on Bonfire Night along with other garden waste, pieces of old wood , in fact anything that would make a good fire.  Bonfires were common in those days and not just on Guy Fawkes night.  It was how everyone dispensed with lots of rubbish.  I used to love standing by a big bonfire, watching the leaping flames, listening to the crackling and  spitting and sometimes almost being stifled by smoke.  There are no bonfires like that anymore.  Anti-pollution laws have made them almost a thing of the past and they could be annoying when a particular neighbour always used to light one during the day making all the lines of washing reek of smoke or driving you from your garden.  There is no doubt that with nearly every household having bonfires they added greatly to the terrible fogs and smogs we used to get before the Clean Air Act. You had to experience on of those to understand. I remember the last very bad one.  It is estimated that it killed between three or four thousand people. You literally could not see your hand in front of your face. The fog even got into the houses through cracks and tiny crevices. The net curtains would turn a dirty yellow/brown seemingly overnight, people had to wear face masks and the country almost came to a standstill for days on end. It seemed it would never stop, we would never see daylight again.

Today, barbecues have taken the place of bonfires. I wonder if it is because something primal in people needs to see and experience fire.

Yet, there was something magical about bonfires.  Seeing the faces of you family illuminated by the light of the fire and how they smiled to watch the small inferno. My Father turning the burning pile to keep it going and me staying outside until almost the last flicker then returning indoors to be warmed by a hot cup of tea or cocoa or something delicious to eat.

The leaves have turned colour here late this year and are still hanging on but the rain is now bringing them down like showers of confetti and the first frost will see the end of them.

Autumn, the time when Summer sheds it memories and goes to bed to gather energy for re-awakening in the Spring.