The prompt this week for Sunday Scribblings is The End. For many of us summer doesn't end according to the calendar season. It ends the day after Labor Day. For those of us that teach or attend classes in any school system the week after Labor Day is when we settle in for a new year.
The sun is winding down earlier also. I am amazed that darkness comes so much sooner in the evening. It seemed like yesterday we were sitting outside after nine o'clock. The sun has changed its location as it moves over our gardens creating new shadows and challenges for this novice photographer.
New routines are being established. When September begins it is a time to reorganize for many. I know people that are getting back into a healthy eating routine again. As it cools it is more appealing to begin walking after dinner again. Also, it is a time to dejunk and declutter. Getting on a set schedule will be good for me. I have been practicing with the alarm clock and I have found early morning again refreshing. 
When one season ends and another starts there are other rituals at our house. The flags that hang in the front are changed. The table coverings are switched to celebrate another season. Canning and perserving of food continues on a schedule as unpredictable as the weather. I am sure that the second day of school when I have Open House and a BBQ that the beans will be ready to be canned. That is an event that always seems to happen in September.
September is also a slowing down time. The work in the gardens changes and lessens. I bring in coleus clippings to enjoy in the window. We begin to move slower through the week-ends, relishing those last weeks of warmth before the frost hits. We yearn for comfort food and start planning for soup and stew preparation. Soon it will be time to pick fall apples to use for applesauce. The houseboats on the lake are few and far between and the tourist traffic diminishes. I am ready to say good-bye to the end of summer and can't wait to embrace autumn with open arms. 
You can find other Sunday Scribblings here.
I too fell the same way about life in the fall. I love putting up my fall flags as the seasons turn.
ReplyDeleteI am coveting your apricots. . .time to confess. . .
ReplyDeleteI simply love the Fall. I told my husband yesterday, "Happy September!"
ReplyDeleteNice post, it ALMOST made me happy about autumn arriving. Not. Sorry, I'm a summer kind of girl.
ReplyDeleteI love how the pace of this post slowly winds down, and it is as if things are slowing down. Very good. I can't wait until fall.
ReplyDeleteYou have described the transition so beautifully that I'm finding the energy to get excited even though it's still in the triple digits. Thanks for blowing fall into my day.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful thoughts and wonderful pictures. If they are of your home, I think I want to live with you! ;-)
ReplyDeleteHere we've already had a couple autumn-like cold snaps--it's wonderful!
Take care!
~Saoirse
Lovely photos. I like celebrating season's turnings with rituals, we don't have autumn flags or table linen, though I have redocorated my blogs a wee bit!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photos...those fruits are so luscious!
ReplyDeleteI'm also a teacher and had similar thoughts to yours. I love the pictures.
ReplyDeleteI really miss the four seasons. Ever since I moved back to Brazil it's nothing but summer all year long, and that can be very boring sometimes.
ReplyDeleteYou've really captured all the good feelings about the end of summer and beginning of fall. I still feel as if September were the New Year's!
ReplyDeleteGreat post and photos :)
Yolanda: I can tell what we may be blogging more about soon... fall!
ReplyDeletePIMD: These were the free ones my teacher friend allowed us to pick a few weeks ago. Bears have come in now and eaten all the rest of her fruit!
Shelby: good... another lover of fall.
Jackie: You will still have some summmer to celebrate!
SVG: Thanks for noticing the pace slowing down. I know how much you love fall also.
Tammy: You have really had the heat down there. It is actually supposed to get down to 45 at night this week. Maybe I will be ready for summer again.
s redgrave: thanks for visiting and yes, this is my place in the country.
CGPoet: I do love the rituals that come with season change. I think we need it physically, emotionally, and spiritually also.
GT: Thanks so much. Could you believe how perfect the apricots were? They were free also.
Welcome Stacy and greetings to another teacher. Have a great start to your year.
gilson: thanks for visiting. I would really miss the seasons also.
Thanks Becca. It does feel like a new year doesn't it?
I'm suddenly hungry for peaches! mmmmmmm!! I look forward to fall most of summer and even snuck in a pot of soup on a showery day.
ReplyDeleteLovely toast to fall. . .my favorite time as well. I've always thought we should celebrate the new year in September as that seems to be the time of new beginnings.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your new school year.
hope: I am sure ready for soup!
ReplyDeletenoni: I agree about the new year. I am glad another loves fall. It is such a beautigul season.