Sunday 4 October 2009

Sunday salon - Fabulous Fall is finally here, in pictures.....

The Sunday Salon.com

In autumn, here in Canada, we are treated to a glorious array of colours as autumn descends on us.

There is something about the smell of the leaves and the ground, the final harvest, the early frost and fogs and much cooler evenings, that I have always loved.Yesterday I went for a walk.

It was a sunny afternoon, and I'd noticed in the past week that some leaves are starting to change colour.

I love autumn.


It is my favourite time of year.


Whenever I do go on my picture-taking walks, it is now, in the fall. Autumn is slow this year, and only the rare tree is fully changed colours. Sometimes in past years this or next weekend has been the weekend to go out and tour the valleys and hills for the glorious colours. I was most surprised to learn when I lived in England that they have autumn too - we never talk about what autumn is like in other countries, only pay attention to what is in ours. Julia at Piece of My Mind (in Nova Scotia) has also done a picture post about autumn in her area, the link is here.

These are what I saw yesterday. I especially like dark branches against the sky.


There is something about the brilliant colours, like a final array of glory before the leaves die, only to come again in the spring. It's like everything is saying, "now, one more time."


I love the rainy days, the sound of the leaves beneath my feet, the bare branches, the last flowers in the garden.

Melancholy, and dark beauty. Smell of smoke from chimneys in the air. Pumpkins and turkey (for us Thanksgiving is next weekend, right in the middle of autumn), apples and squash,


last roses and mums and daisies.

And what do I do when it's cold and rainy out? Why, I read. I can finally curl up on afternoons with a book, and not feel guilty that I'm missing sunshine outside. Now, as the night draws closer, I drink cocoa and start hiding out in my home, preparing for our long winters ahead. Come, see what my almost-finished library looks like:
I am still missing one more shelf at least (you can't see the books still piled on the floor), but at least A-S is on the shelves! I plan on adding a comfortable reading chair and getting a better reading lamp, and then my reading corner/library will be all set. This is not my TBR shelves, by the way. At the top of my shelves, you can see my bear collection. They think they need a shelf to themselves, but as they can see, there is no room yet.....

So what do you do when it's cold and rainy? What do you love about autumn? Do you take many fall pictures? Are there any traditions you associate with this time of year that you enjoy?


Before I forget, here is today's Bluenose Excerpt. Autumn has definitely put me in the mood for ghost stories!

Dr Robinson of Annapolis Royal used to hear the story of the Grey Lady and, if my memory serves me faithfully, it was from his family that I learned of his meeting with her. It happened one night when he was driving home from a call. He came to an elbow in the road where there was a small bridge that crossed a brook, and there were alder thickets that grew close to the side of the road. As he drew near the bridge his horse stopped. The doctor urged it on but it snorted and jumped and stamped. He got out of his old-fashioned gig with its big spider wheels and went to the horse's head. There he saw the Grey Lady standing in front of the horse and trying to stop him. As he approached, she disappeared from sight. The horse was so agitated that he took it by the bridle and led it along. When they got to the bridge, he discovered that it had been washed out by a spring freshet and, if he had not been stopped in this extraordinary way, he would probably have had a bad accident. He recalled then that other people had told of seeing her on this bridge, and that her appearance was usually a warning of one kind or another. This was a foggy night when he would not have been able to see the gap until it was too late.

Happy reading, everyone!

26 comments:

Amanda said...

These pictures make me miss living up north even more. :/

Anonymous said...

What evocative descriptions and photos. Since I live in California, I can have fall vicariously through you :)

Anonymous said...

What evocative descriptions and photos. Since I live in California, I can have fall vicariously through you :)

Gavin said...

Susan - What beautiful photos! We actually have some color this fall and I love the sounds and smells when walking through fallen leaves. Have a good week.

Literary Feline said...

I love the autumn season too. It will probably be winter before I see much rain though. Fall usually means I can start taking the dog for more regular evening walks again. It's no longer too hot out to enjoy the outdoors. I love rainy days, but prefer them when I'm off from work so I can fully enjoy them. The sound of rain on the roof and in the yard as I curl up on the couch or in bed with a book . . . Heaven. :-)

I hope you have a great week!

Daphne said...

Beautiful! I miss my dear Oregon this time of year more than any other time. I love your library! How wonderful for you!

Molly said...

While we have the four seasons here in Kansas, they are nothing like the ones I experienced in Connecticut. I miss the vibrant fall colors against the azure sky!

However, even more than beautiful fall colors, I am extremely jealous of your lovely library!! It looks so cozy, warm and inviting.

Cath said...

*What* gorgeous autumn photos. Oh yes, we have autumn in the UK too. The leaves are already dropping off our cherry tree but most of the trees in the countryside are only just starting to turn. It's definitely my favourite time of year.

Funny, but we have pink cosmos still in flower in the garden too and I have a photo of it just like yours!

And I love the picture of your bookshelves, that's a nice library you're creating.

Jeane said...

Beautiful colors. I love the one of the branches against the dark sky, too. My favorite thing about colder weather coming- is curling up cozy inside with a book!

chrisa511 said...

Oh wow Susan that's so gorgeous!! I hope this is the first of many Fall picture posts for you this season :) I wish we had colors like that down here. Everything stays green here until it just all of a sudden falls off the trees :/ Right now it's back in the upper 80's and humid as hell. So this post was refreshing!

And look at your library!!!! Susan, it looks fantastic :D Oh I can't wait to have my own place and design my own little library. What a great day that will be :)

Kailana said...

I love this time of the year, too! So pretty! I mean, the fact that the leaves have been turning since August doesn't concern me in the least until about November when the leaves are all gone and we are coated with a blanket of snow and don't stop shoveling again until about March or April... hm... I think I remember last winter too well!

DesLily said...

(gawd I miss Fall!).. i had a love hate relationship with Maple leaves.. I loved them and they turned gorgeous.. then every leave from a HUGE Maple tree in the neighbors yard wound up falling in MY yard and I had to rake and bag them!...on of the majoy things i miss is walking and hearing the crunching of the leaves under my feet.. and like you said.. the Fall odors *sigh

Debi said...

Beautiful, Susan! I was actually surprised by how much green you still have. I seriously think you may have more green left than we do...but then it's been a weird weather year.
You've seriously inspired me. I usually take tons of photos each fall, but have just been pretty "blah" all-around lately. Maybe I'll head out with the camera this morning though. :D
Thanks for sharing your lovely season!
And BTW, I'm loving your library corner there!!!!

Stephanie said...

I just love Fall!! Your pictures are gorgeous!! And oh, that library....I'm jealous of your organization!!

Lesley said...

Lovely colors in those photos! It makes me a bit homesick ...

Here in Atlanta, we don't see a lot in the way of fall colors but the leaves are beginning to fall already.

I don't really have any particular traditions I can think of, but one of my favorite things to do on a cold rainy day is read - it's one of the few times I can do so and not feel like there's something else I could/should be doing instead (well, there's always cleaning the house, but let's not go there).

Stephanie said...

Gorgeous pictures!! And I love your library.

Eva said...

Love those pictures! I wish my camera hadn't broken, or I'd do a picture post too. :)

I've been dressing in fall leaf colours lately!

Table Talk said...

These are wonderful photos, Susan. We get some colour here in the UK, but rarely anything to rival this. I'd say I was green with envy, but the colour scheme isn't right!

Michelle Fluttering Butterflies said...

What beautiful colours :) Fall is wonderful.

April said...

What gorgeous pictures! I love Fall. I am one of those that loves the "in-between" seasons of Spring and Fall!

Chèli said...

Just found your blog, and its wonderful to know that there is another arctophile out there in the book blogging world!

Don't forget on those rainy days whenn u cuddle up with a good book to cuddle with a teddy too!

Chèli
Cheli's Shelves

Booklogged said...

Susan, I have an award for you on my blog, A Reader's Journal. I don't know what I was thinking because the award is suppose to be for bloggers who are new to me, but I slipped you in anyway!

Memory said...

Those fall colours are amazing! Unfortunately, we're done with ours here. All the leaves are gone, thanks to an early snowfall on Friday.

And seriously, how awesome is your library!?! I'm loving it!

Susan said...

Hi everyone: thanks so much for all your comments. I was so sick that I didn't get on the computer until today (Sunday) a week after this post. I've read each of your comments, as I always do, and tomorrow I'll answer you, but just wanted to let you know I ran out of time doing my post on Fringe!! and we still have Fall colours, though we might see some snowflakes tomorrow....

Susan said...

Amanda: Where did you live up north? In the US or Canada?

Stephanie D: thanks for the compliments! I know it's not the same as seeing them, but it is a close second.

Gavin: I love that sound too! The leaves are falling now (it's two weeks later) so everything is crispy crunchy. Thanks for compliment!

Literary Feline: You are so right, curling up with a book with the sound of rain outside is heavenly!!

Daphne: I forget that you just moved from there. Oregon is beautiful too, I love the west coast. I hope the pictures help you remember some gorgeous autumns you had!

Molly: thank you for the compliment about my library! It would be fun to have some bloggers drop by! lol that would mean two chairs could be set up there :-D You'd be invited, of course, everyone here would be...did you grow up in Connecticut? When did you get to Kansas? The east does have vibrant colours that is like no where else, doesn't it?

Cath: thanks so much for the compliments about my garden, the leaves and my library! I got your photo with the Cosmos, I'm emailing you back about it :-D

There is just something about autumn, isn't there?

Chris: I like how you describe it as 'all green and then they fall off'. That's how I remember California and Mexico in the autumn! so you can live vicariously through my pictures, of course you can!

and fingers crossed you get your own place soon, Chris. It is fun to design my own library! I need more shelves though!

Jeane: curling up with a book, that's one of my favourite things too all through the year! I just feel less guilt in fall and winter.

Susan said...

Kailana: it is gorgeous, isn't it? Everything is much brighter now. I like spring, I love the fresh green, but I love fall. I think i remember winter too well, I almost cried earlier this week when the big storm passed us by (hit New England instead) because I know it means we're going to be colder than snowy, and I hate the cold. I think I'm dreading winter, and I try not to! I'm such a bad Canadian sometimes!

Deslily: while Florida has its own charms, it doesn't have autumn leaves, does it? I like your love/hate relationship with Maple Tree! I don't mean to make you homesick! I can always mail you some leaves that will dry up so that when you open it, you'll remember what's bad about fall - after all the colour is gone!
I know what you mean though, fall is glorious. I can send you some of the pictures if you like by email, let me know.

Debi: I already know from your post that you went out to take your own photos because I inspired you, so thanks! Best compliment ever! I hope the blahs have left now. And we have way less green now, only a little left. Frost has hit!

Stephanie: thanks! although I'm not very organized - the library has taken me months to get to this stage and it's still not done! but I like how it's shaping up :-D

Lesley: Where did you live before? I haven't been to Georgia, but have been to California and Florida, so I know fall is different there. As Chris said, it's all green then it falls down one day! More or less.....I would miss fall, and have, when I haven't been in Canada for it.

Laughing Stars: thank you!

Eva: me too, dressing in fall colours! Oranges and browns with some purple and green - okay that sounds dreadful, not all together!! lol

Table Talk: LOL! I love the joke! I know from my year there that the UK gets some autumn, but you don't have any Maple trees, and they are the brightest of all, I find. Sumac are the same, all fiery, does the UK have them? Autumn in the UK is lovely too.

Michelle: I didn't make you a little homesick, did I? I'm glad you enjoyed the photos.

April: welcome! It's your first time here, I think. Thanks so much for leaving a comment. Up here fall isn't in-between! It lasts for almost 2 months before the leaves are all gone.

Cheli: Welcome! this is your first time too, thanks so much for leaving a comment. I won't forget to cuddle with a teddy. Sometimes they end up visiting the bookshelves :-D too.

Booklogged: thank you so much! I'll come and get it. New or not! lol

Memory: eww, snow already. We saw a few flakes on Wednesday, but nothing accumulated, thank goodness. Far too early! It's been so cold though, well below normal. I'm afraid we're going to have a cold winter, and I hate the cold.

thanks for thinking my library is awesome. I just want it finished!!