It has begun. The sky is a bright blue, the oblique sunlight is dazzling and the wind, our own mistral, swirls and gusts through the colorful branches and carries orange, red, and yellow confetti along in a carefree aerial dance
We are deep into that season for which our little part of the world is so well known and although I am no fan of the cold weather which it portends, I do enjoy the fall here in New England. Much like the earliest settlers who reveled in the bounty of the harvest and enjoyed the last days of habitable weather before the frozen chill of winter robbed them of crops, livestock and occasionally family members, folks here seem to embrace this season with a happy heart in a last burst of conviviality before the long hibernation.
Maybe it’s the beautiful surroundings, where even driving down the highway is like a leaf-peeping holiday. Maybe it’s the cool nights when we can finally pull out our LLBean down comforters and snuggle against the chill. Maybe it’s the time spent at harvest festivals and apple picking rather than lawn mowing and pool cleaning.
The days are still warm and windows remain open, allowing the delicious smells of baked goods to waft out and tickle the air with delicious scents of pumkin pies, apple tarts and homemade applesauce. Indeed, one cannot walk around my neighborhood on a Sunday morning without the comforting smell of bacon and pancakes. Apples, honey, pumpkin, and squash overflow baskets and farm stands. On my own kitchen counter is a mini peck of macintosh apples destined for tarts, pies, pancakes and muffins
One of my favorite things in fall are the crows. Those cacophonous and boisterous visitors have arrived, their black feathers, beaks and craggly legs contrasting against the bright yellow and orange leaves of the trees in which they sit, watching us… and plotting. Calling out to one another, not in the sing song melodious rhythms of their cousins, but in a loud and striking alarm reminding us that the end is near.

Where Spring peeps and twitters, fall gusts and caws. Even walking along with the dogs on a cheerful sunny morning the intense stare from the black eye of a jackdaw above -‘the grave and stern decorum of its countenance’-and it’s alarming call can give one pause, as if there is a warning to heed. They bring to my mind Halloween, Edward Gorey illustrations and Poe.
Edward Gorey cartoon for Masterpiece Theater. PBS has made yet another grievous error in eschewing this wonderful opening for something more slick and flashy
Typically not a fan of the macabre, I do appreciate the sharp contrast with the verdant summer. It almost puts me in the mood to celebrate the coming of winter, and to settle in comfortably with the understanding that summer is Nevermore
Beautifully done Bebe! You perfectly capture those glorious New England Fall days. I was going to send you an article on that Edgar Allen Poe statue only yesterday.
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Thank you-oh It’s easy to get caught up in a creative spell when the landscape is so dramatic.
Doesnt my firstborn look like she could be the twin sister of little GSL? It made me smile when I found it.
I haven’t seen Edgar yet, maybe this weekend
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She does look like a female version of me at that age…very cute!
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Gorgeous post. I did a leaf-viewing trip of New England 15 years ago and while we have beautiful autumns in Ontario, you’ve cornered the market on crisp fall days. I want the Gorey opening back on PBS too: I miss the swooning lady in repose.
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Oh thank you Jen! You are overdue for another visit!
Why oh why did they ever change that opening?!
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Oh how I miss all the fall events with kids…pumpkin patch, baking, decorating, Halloween. All I did was plant a few mums. Really, I just stuck them in pots. But I’m ready. You have inspired me to eat an apple :). Have not heard of Edward Gorey but love the Neville picture.
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Im at the stage where I am relieved I only have to pot a few mums. But this weekend I will probably seek out the bin of Halloween decorations and put everything up.
I threw a few funky gourds on the dining table and thought perhaps I could get away with just that
That Neville picture is from a whole alphabet series Gorey did about dead children that’s rather sick,quite macabre, and somewhat amusing
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I’m envious! We don’t have any real fall autumnal action around these parts, just loads of sunsets. When I was 17 I lived in New Canaan for a year and I was crazy about fall there, but as a work-shy teen I probably never raked the lawn.
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Well as a work-shy adult I can tell you that I avoid it as much as possible.
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Now me and my Thursday hiking friends were just talking about the ravens the other day – they are everywhere here in the trees and swooping around the house – what has happened – have they no predators anymore???
We are just a couple of ravens away from a full Birds scenario on our street.
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Have you seen that Nova episode about crows? Apparently they are as smart as PhD’s. Your best bet may be to just befriend them..they have you outnumbered.
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