Sunday, September 26, 2010

Something about September

In these brilliant golden days with the light leaning sideways as it lists away, our inner selves seem to rise up to respond to the shifting of the earth. The natural world is very busy this time of year; birds are rising and flocking, squirrels are gathering and storing, and trees are changing colour. Profound changes; all necessary for survival.


September seems to urge us toward awareness of the changes we need to make in our own lives, whether it’s cleaning closets or calling that estranged family member, or picking up that camera, paint brush or pen. It’s a time to put our house in order and acknowledge and honour our own place in the world.


A blogger whose writing I so admire, Rilla, recently posted about September feeling very "poemy". I couldn't agree more. Her post got me to thinking about September and music.


What would be the perfect instrument to capture the spirit of September? For me, I realized, it is probably the flute. Played in the late afternoon and heard from a distance. Strange choice perhaps, but I find it carries a certain melancholy wistfulness apropos of saying good-bye to the festive nature of summer.


There is something about September and the creative spirit. I begin planning my concert and theatre-going season.



I get art framed that we have purchased over the last few months. I look for beautiful things, especially pottery, this time of year.


I crave big, fat books. I dig out my old Norton Anthologies and re-read poetry. I take my son to music lessons and bang the drums and dance with him.


I savour every last golden moment in the garden and plan for next year's. I fall in love with the scent of gingerbread again. And I walk in the woods and dream.



I found this video of a jazz flutist who captures that something about September perfectly with his rendition of Autumn in New York.


Here’s to a “poemy” September for you all. I hope September helps you find your muse. :-)

22 comments:

Deborah at Kilbourne Grove said...

I always think the first of September should be the start of the new year. Things feel different, I am inspired, just as you are. I find January 1st, there is no change from December to February, everything just stays the same.

Marguerite said...

I agree with Deborah. September has a definite feeling of change in it. Perhaps it's because as gardeners we are cleaning up, packing away and harvesting at this time. I find myself reviewing the past year and going into a bit of hibernation mode where I want to spend days curled up with a cup of tea and a book.

Clayton said...

Very poetically stated. For me an invitation to a path is always intriguing. And the colors this year are very evident since the frost has been light and the cool and rain have kept things going. Today is apple and maybe saskatoon pie making day as we clean up the last of our own apples(September Ruby). We have taken to buying saskatoons from Heavenly Hills Orchard (http://12-40andbeyond.com/content.php?info=1) as the robins clean our bushes from sunrise to sunset and we do not get a taste.

rilla said...

Ms S: You just made my week :) Links ahoy... unless you read another poemy September post, in which case I'm mortified that I thought you were talking about me. One or the other -- ecstatic or mortified.

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Ms S : ) that was lovely as were the pictures ! Those hits of colour were perfect. Autumn is such an intense time of the year for me ..it does stir something so deep and yet I can not for the life of me, explain how it feels. The long shadows in that amazing afternoon light .. I feel closer to "home" where ever that is when I see that light .. if I didn't know better, I would swear I was from Mars (I know men are supposed to be from there .. but being the"red" orange planet it feels like my home because I bask in that colour ? LOL)give me the smell of burning leaves .. leaves wandering down from the trees to kiss the earth it almost seems ? .. that smell .. the thought of maybe this year I will finally toast a marshmallow on an open flame as we sit on our little patio bundled up in the early evening .. well, I could go on and on and never be able to explain how special Autumn is to me ..the light would go with classical(hint of Spanish in there) guitar music playing softly in the back ground .. watching the sun set in orange gold hues .. that is perfection to me !
Sorry .. I rambled here .. couldn't help myself ? LOL : )
Joy

Amy said...

What a beautiful post. Speaking of framing artwork. I hope you frame your photos because they are lovely!

Anonymous said...

Dear Ms. S, How beautifully you capture the spirit of the season here. There is, as you say, something rather wistful about autumn and, also, something that urges us to snuggle down in the warmth of our houses and enjoy the simple pleasures of food and friends.

Northern Beauty Seeker said...

Deborah: I completely agree! I think we are attuned to the equinoxes much more than our blackberry-scheduled lives might suggest.

Marguerite: It’s not just pretty this time of year, it is a profound change in the daily patterns of our little piece of the earth. As gardeners, we are probably more connected to it than we might otherwise be. Personally, I love September, even though it means the end of the gardening season. It really is a time to nestle inward and nurture ourselves a little bit.

Clayton: Harvesting apples and baking pies. What a perfect thing to do this time of year! This is the cinnamon season.

Rilla: No mortification required around here! Of course it was your lovely post, and with your permission I have linked to it. Thank you for the inspiration. :)

Joy: Thank you for this lovely comment. It painted such a beautiful picture for me. I know just what you mean about the Spanish classical guitar. I have a CD a friend gave me about ten years ago and I still love it. It is an artist called Oscar Lopez and it is titled “Heat” – it really is the perfect music for food and fire. (and roasting marshmallows!)

Amy: You are too kind! I have only ever framed photos I have taken of my son. I was thinking this year, though, I might get a long horizontal frame with a mat cut for three photos in it and put in a few photos I’ve taken. I would have an open back on it so I can change them seasonally and would hang it in my front hall. Just for fun!

Dear Edith: You offered the perfect word for this season, “snuggle”. Yes, I want to snuggle in and enjoy the pleasures of home, family and friends. It’s time to nourish the spirit.

sweetbay said...

Very beautiful post and very lovely images to go with the words.

Northern Shade said...

It's a beautiful time for a hike, as your pictures show. Love the transformation to gold and red tones, and berries everywhere.

Northern Beauty Seeker said...

Sweetbay: You are very kind. I do love this month - and I guess it shows. :)

Northern Shade: We are so lucky we finally got some gorgeous weather, just at the height of the fall colour. Have to be outside! :)

Anonymous said...

Hi Ms. S, Your photos are beautiful. I'm always sad to see summer's end but September makes it more than tolerable.

Northern Beauty Seeker said...

Grace: September is such a glorious send off to the season. It is its own tiny season all to itself. :)

Rebecca @ In The Garden said...

I agree with Deborah too! Sept 1st should be the start of the new year. Interestingly, the Hebrew Calendar (which follows lunar cycles) does have the new year around the start of sept, just googled and this year it fell on the 8th.

Your post is beautiful, and I like the thought of flute music playing through the rustling leaves. Melancholy is a great word to describe this time of year. I LOVE fall, but we all know what comes next. The days getting shorter are more difficult for me than the changes of temp and falling leaves.

Northern Beauty Seeker said...

Rebecca: Hi! Very interesting about the Hebrew calendar - somebody way back when had it all figured out. :)

I can't believe how early it gets dark now up here in the Great White North. I always get interested in astronomy at this time of year and tell myself I am going to take a course - and then it gets lighter and I forget again. lol

Enjoy this luminous, fleeting season!

Andrea said...

You have a very provoking introduction there, and sensitivity to the changes of the earth is really very timely. I suddenly felt pressured and thought of so many things to do in this lifetime! And your awesome photos also touch the soul, especially those color changing woods and their depths, how beautiful. I love every paragraph you said and every photo that went with it, specially the white berries! Oh life is really short, even shorter than spring...and to tell you my secret, i have been longing to see Autumn in person!

Northern Beauty Seeker said...

Andrea: Thank you for your thoughtful comment. I too would love to meet Autumn in person. I imagine her in a red and gold embroidered shawl. :)

Andrea said...

Hahaha, you are funny, kidding? What i mean is i really haven't seen Autumn in this lifetime, because we dont have the 4 seasons! We only have dry and wet seasons. I've only seen spring, but autumn is i think more spectacular. I wonder why most of my travels abroad are in spring, so not able to see autumn. haha! But i imagine it as really draped in red and gold embroidered shawl!

Victoria said...

Wow..Super-Gorgeous post..in words and imagery..i love it..and those photos are dazzling..i love the one with the birds near the water..gorgeous! I love the creative essence of this time of year too! Enjoy!
Kiki~

Northern Beauty Seeker said...

Andrea: I do imagine autumn in person, but I understand what you must be feeling, having never experienced this season. I think September would be a wonderful time to travel to colder climates!

Kiki: Thank you for stoppping by. I am glad to see you are enjoying this short and sweet season too. Loved your post! :)

Diane said...

i know I say it a lot when I visit here but I sure do enjoy your writing.
PS: Love the new blog banner and background

Casa Mariposa said...

The music of my September is quite different than yours, although the garden images are similar. It is the sound of desk chairs scraping, lockers banging, bookbags zipping, students chatting, calling, thinking aloud. The garden I tend Sept - June is the most beautiful one of all - children!!! But come the middle of June, I slip into my green earthen garden, dug in like a mole, and resurface in late August ready to garden a new crop of kids!!