The Cozy Season

"Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns."
- George Eliot

I sit in an antique chair as I write this. It is silent and the sun waxes and wanes through the old window, setting my skin ablaze with its heat and then withdrawing backwards, leaving its shadow and chill. It is a regular throbbing, like the tide, constant so that one is never cold nor too warm at any given moment, but in perfect contentment, cozy.

Autumn has come to the English countryside and is like this sunlight, it gives a sense of warmth, of peace, and of deep content. The days seem long though they grow darker and the sun, though warming, has become gentler and softer. Every morning, fog descends from the hills as a giant, covering everything within a cloud of white and a chilled breeze whips through the trees and howls in the rafters. This old building, this castle, holds little warmth and one must cuddle deeper into the cushions and blankets to retain any heat. The mornings are wet and more often than not, rain dots the window panes or plummets from the sky like bullets. Everything is wet and soggy, puddles and small lakes appear among-st the fields and the sheep look bedraggled as they hide beneath the trees. Every rollings hill is green, brilliant green and seems to roll on forever without break or slowing. These are mornings and most often, nothing stirs. It is the wise one that stays inside with cups of tea and warm jumpers (sweaters), to listen to the music of the raindrops and refrain from its wetting.

The afternoon usually brings the sun and even now it burns my skin through the window. Everything is old here and the brilliant sun creates a smell of burnt stone and wood, as in the wet hours it is of must and age. There are still flowers in the ornamental garden, purple, yellow, and blue, and the trees hold most of their leaves close. Though, as September draws to a close, the tips of these trees have turned to gold and some have let go of these rebels into piles of orange, brown, and green. I feel for the boys, whose duty it is to rake these piles, for no enjoyment is to be had in disposing them in English autumns, for instead of being crisp and crunchy, they are most certainly wet and soggy. Though tempting, it is wise to keep close a raincoat, for the English weather is an inconstant as the tide and most say that if you do not care for the weather, wait but a few moments and then perhaps you will. Butterflies still are making an appearance and one keeps flitting about on the window outside as I write this. The birds start their singing now and fly about in the sunshine, plucking worms from the ground. 

I will most likely have to adorn my wellies when I walk the loop later this afternoon, for thought the sun does come out strong at this time, it does little in mending the soup that has become the fields. However, I have heard this has been an unusually wet summer to autumn and Michael, the farmer spoke of his disappointment and the damage most certainly done to the grass and hillside. Afternoons are quiet, not much movement, as the countryside is not the place to run off to if you are in need of parties and late nights celebrations, but as a retreat, a place for reflection and most definitely in Autumn. 

My only regret so far as to my experience in my castle this Autumn, is the inability to light any candles for fear of lighting this place on fire. It is my belief that candles are an essential to these darker days once summer has fled, and the absence of such will put a slight damper on things. On the whole, there is not much to complain of, for autumn days in a castle are by far one of the most romantic (and not in the sense that is applied in modern context) experiences, and though slow, are the essence of this cozy season.

Autumn Favorites:

- cozy jumpers

- fuzzy socks

- spice scented candles

- slow mornings

-eggnog

-book reading

-late afternoon walks

- walking in crunchy leaves

-instrumental music

-black & white film

-journals

- wellies & raincoats

- mornings in castles

              Happy Autumn everyone!