autumn still life with buttercup squash & Nancy Drew
It's 13C outside this early morning, and there's not a whiff of wind. Sigh. The temperatures will go back to more seasonal through this week and next weekend will climb back up again into the high teens. Perfect. I do so love this milder weather and I hope it might be the sign of things to come. I heard two men chatting in the line at the grocery store the other day saying "we're supposed to have a mild winter" and that's according to the placement of the hornet's nests, when the squirrels begin gathering and storing nuts for the winter and the thickness of the spider's webs. We're always hoping for mild and not too much snow (just enough to keep the skiing crowd happy) here at 29 Black Street.
Lately on our walks around the village, Miss D & I, the air, everywhere it seems, is redolent of fall leaves. That unmistakable scent that makes you want to swish your feet through the rows of leaves caught by the curb side, that causes me often to grab a clump and hold them up to my nose to breath in deeply. One of natures most perfect smells. A smell that brings back many childhood memories - of collecting shiny brown perfect new chestnuts, of raking up, rolling and jumping in huge piles of leaves in crisp autumn air. Carefree memories.
One particular walk recently, Winnie far out ahead at the end of her retractable lead full into her twice daily nasal investigations, and I behind her swishing my feet, scuffing along the pavement ploughing through the thick pile of dried leaves at the street's edge and breathing in deeply that wonderful scent I was instantly transported in a flash back in time and was reminded suddenly of Nancy Drew books and a time when I loved curling up somewhere buried in another of her page turning mysteries. On my weekly Thursday afternoon trip to our little brick library (which used to be the train station) this week I picked up a couple of vintage Nancy Drew books ... now to figure out when and where I will read them.
The only time I ever read is when I go to bed and unfortunately these days or nights, I barely make it through a page before I am lulled into sleepy-ness. Opening a book is like the very best sedative to me. I need a new reading plan, time and place. I love books and I used to be such an avid reader ... I need to find an hour at least in my day, where I am not horizontal, and not in my cozy nest, to spend with my latest good book.
There's a lobster boat leaving the harbour ... I bet it's a pilot boat, going out into the Strait to accompany a big ship through the channel and into our little harbour in darkness this early morning.
Hey Oliver, could you move that yellow leaf just a little to the left ? Merci !
Good morning, sweet Susan. It's quite chilly here, too, except we have the brisk wind. Shall I send some your way? ;)
ReplyDeleteI love the fall leaves as well, and have many memories as a child in my grandmother's back yard. Thank you for sharing your story and bringing back beloved memories of my own.
Tons of love to you and the gang!
xo
I was a huge Nancy Drew fan too! I was in a Nancy Drew Book Club and received a new book every month or so. I couldn't wait for the new book to arrive every month. I wish my mother had kept and given me that collection. Katy might like them. We watched the Nancy Drew movie together, me hoping she would want to read the books.
ReplyDeleteI'm like you...let us have enough snow (in our case it is to help prevent fires inn the winter) but not anything crazy. I'm quite curious to see how this first winter goes.
This post reminded me of when I was a little girl of 8 living on Queen Street in my hometown and the neighbourhood kids and I would gather on the HUGE front lawn across from my house. The elderly lady that lived there had leviathan elms that perfectly lined the edge of her property like wooden Goliaths and the game was to catch the "falling" leaves as the trees gave them up, and stuff them into our pockets. Leaves that had hit the ground were not allowed and the one who had the most leaves by the time we got tired, was the winner. Such a simple childhood game but so good for exercising and running out our boundless energy before we headed home for supper. I'm sure our mothers were thankful for those silly games.
ReplyDeleteWhen my sister and I were younger, we would make regular trips to our little brick library for Nancy Drew books, too.
ReplyDeleteI love the smell of the fallen leaves, too. I enjoy walking through carpets of them. I've never been a raker... i kind of like them strewn about.
I love kicking through the piles of poplar leaves.... every so often I give a little chicken hop as "somebody" calls it and he laughs out loud every time he sees it... some days my knees don't even like to try it ..but I'll do it till I fall down some year.....
ReplyDeleteI think I probably read every Nancy Drew I found... I hardly read any more either....just so many other things to do. Although, having said that...I just read two old Robert Ludlum's and was glued to my couch... problem with me is I stay up til 3:00 a.m. reading ... then I feel like a log in the morning when I should be getting going..... oh, well, who cares... such is life, and I have no schedules unless I am silly and book a morning appointmen for some reason...........
Lovely.
ReplyDeleteI used to make houses out of leaves. I'd work out the floor plan for an entire house across the back yard. Good memories. Of course, not a very stable little house... It was usually gone the next day.
It's such a great time of year. For Edward, Apple and Winnie, too!
Oh hi, thanks for the comments. I've just had my head down trying to get through a tough week (oh, and the person I was stealing my "free" internet from had the temerity to MOVE! how rude!) and it's taken me a while to get things together. But I'm back, and it's good to hear from you, and I hope all is well on this late autumn Sunday.
ReplyDelete(But I was always a Hardy Boys fan. Sorry. ;)
It's a good thing you can sleep. I have two friends who can't and that is so awful.
ReplyDeleteLovely post again. Although, I must admit, I never made piles of leaves as a kid, can you believe it? We never had a yard or anywhere to play but the park and those leaves were usually raked up.
This sounds perfect....autumn, buttercup squash, leaves, and a good book. Around here people are burning leaves in the backyard and with that crisp air it is a delicious smell.
ReplyDeleteI just found your blog a little while ago and I'm so excited that you're from Nova Scotia! (I'm from BC) I've been to New Brunswick and PEI, but, not NS. I hear it is lovely. Oh, and your blog is lovely too.