Falling in Love with Autumn, Again!
John Keats composed ‘To Autumn‘ on September 19th 1819, after a walk near Winchester one evening. In a letter to his friend John Hamilton Reynolds written a couple of days later, he described the impression the scene had made on him: “How beautiful the season is now – How fine the air.”
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Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;
To bend with apples the moss’d cottage-trees,
And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;
To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,
And still more, later flowers for the bees,
Until they think warm days will never cease…
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Tragically, this meditation on the transience of life was his last major work before he died at just 25. It’s still one of the most iconic poems ever written about the season.
Despite the colder days and darker nights, Autumn has always been my favourite season – a time to enjoy the changing colours of nature and then get cozy inside! Here’s my wishlist (or to-do list!) for this special time of year.
☕ My Autumn Reading List ☕
These books have all been on my reading list for a while, and I’m hoping to get to them before the end of the year.
The Blue Fox, by SJON
On a stark Icelandic mountainside, Reverend Baldur Skuggason hunts an elusive blue vixen for her near-mythical pelt. The treacherous journey across snow and ice will push his physical and mental endurance to the limit.
As the ice begins to melt, the mystery surrounding three people’s connected fates is unravelled in this spellbinding fable, an exquisite tale of metamorphosis by one of Iceland’s most acclaimed writers.
A Treasury of British Folklore, by Dee Dee Chainey
In this beautifully illustrated book, Dee Dee Chainey tells tales of mountains and rivers, pixies and fairy folk, and witches and alchemy. She explores how British culture has been shaped by the tales passed between generations, and by the land that we live on.
As well as looking at the history of this subject, this book lists the places you can go to see folklore alive and well today. The Whittlesea Straw Bear Festival in Cambridgeshire or the Abbots Bromley Horn Dance in Staffordshire for example, or wassailing cider orchards in Somerset.
Starve Acre, by Andrew Michael Hurley
The worst thing possible has happened. Richard and Juliette Willoughby’s son, Ewan, has died suddenly at the age of five. Starve Acre, their house by the moors, was to be full of life, but is now a haunted place.
Juliette, convinced Ewan still lives there in some form, seeks the help of the Beacons, a seemingly benevolent group of occultists. Richard, to try and keep the boy out of his mind, has turned his attention to the field opposite the house, where he patiently digs the barren dirt in search of a legendary oak tree.
🍁 Warm Up With Some Cozy Candles 🍁
I called this a wishlist, but my Autumn wishes have already come true with this soy wax candle from HomeCraftedCandleCo on Etsy. They also have a Pumpkin Spice candle so i’ll be trying that one next! I also love these pharmacy pot candles from Ark Cambridge – English Pear and Spices is perfect for the season.
🎃 Watch Some Spooky Shows 🎃
Netflix has helpfully compiled a ‘Touch of Autumn‘ watch list, including Little Women, Anne with an E, The Craft and Twilight (of course).
Sadly, it’s no longer available on Netflix, but my favourite Autumn show of all time has to be Over the Garden Wall. The series follows two brothers (Wirt and Greg) who travel across a mysterious forest to find their way home, encountering a variety of strange and fantastical things on their journey.
🍂 For More Cozy Autumn Inspiration… 🍂
