Thursday, September 1, 2022

Finally, September

Maybe it's just me, but this August seemed like the longest month ever. I blame work stress; a lot of teachers and other staff members have told me they feel the same way this year. In any case, I'm so happy that September has finally arrived! No matter what the temperatures are like, once September begins it seems like fall to me. 

I've been waiting on Tom to make his annual comment about "mists and mellow fruitfulness" but unless I've missed it (which is possible) then I've beaten him to it!

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,
    For summer has o'er-brimm'd their clammy cells.

Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store?
  Sometimes whoever seeks abroad may find
Thee sitting careless on a granary floor,
  Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind;
Or on a half-reap'd furrow sound asleep,
  Drowsed with the fume of poppies, while thy hook
    Spares the next swath and all its twined flowers:
And sometimes like a gleaner thou dost keep
  Steady thy laden head across a brook;
  Or by a cider-press, with patient look,
    Thou watchest the last oozings, hours by hours.

Where are the songs of Spring? Ay, where are they?
  Think not of them, thou hast thy music too,--
While barred clouds bloom the soft-dying day,
  And touch the stubble-plains with rosy hue;
Then in a wailful choir the small gnats mourn
  Among the river sallows, borne aloft
    Or sinking as the light wind lives or dies;
And full-grown lambs loud bleat from hilly bourn;
  Hedge-crickets sing; and now with treble soft
  The redbreast whistles from a garden-croft,
    And gathering swallows twitter in the skies.

-John Keats


Now I'm in the mood for changing leaves, cool nights, camping trips, soups and chili instead of salads and grilled meats, and mountain apples arriving in the farmers' markets. Speaking of apples, this showed up on my Facebook "memories" from four years ago today:




My first (and so far, only) attempt at making baked apple roses. I wasn't entirely satisfied with how they ended up looking, but they tasted great! I think slicing the apples thinner before wrapping them in pastry would result in a prettier rose shape; maybe I'll try making them again later this month. It was fun to do. 

Another thing to like about September is that it's time to start decorating with things like pumpkins, gourds, colorful dried ears of corn, and those ubiquitous flowers of autumn here in the south: mums. The farm stand I like to visit (it's only two miles from my house) just got in their first shipment of them yesterday.


Of course, lots of flowers do well around here during our slow, long, mild South Carolina autumn. Even roses often rebloom (after the awful summer heat subsides) this time of year.

Next week middle school and high school football resume. Although I couldn't care less about the actual sport of football, there's something about a game that stirs old, old sense memories of growing up for me. The sound and feel and smell of a football stadium on a chilly autumn night. Bright lights, school band playing, climbing up high to the top of the bleachers for the best view, the smell of popcorn and nachos, then the excitement when the game starts and the announcer calls the plays. My house is close enough to one of the high schools that we can faintly hear the distant sound of the home games while they're going on. It always makes me smile.  Also, in the five years that I've worked at a middle school, I've occasionally stayed late to watch one of our team's home games. It's a fun seasonal activity to do occasionally, like watching one of little Prophet's baseball games in the spring! 

What else? There's so much to like about the arrival of fall!  Since next Monday is Labor Day, there's a three-day weekend coming up. That's going to be a really welcome rest. Then at the beginning of next month we'll have a full week off for fall intercession. I'm really looking forward to that! 

What do you like about the arrival of September?

32 comments:

  1. I love fall decor and the crispness of the evenings and mornings. I don't like the dark coming back though.

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    1. Same! The short days and early darkness are the only things I hate about this time of year.

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  2. The temperatures begin to drop. For the last few mornings, I've woken up to temps in the low to mid 60s. Very nice.

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    1. We've had a few mornings in the high 60s, which is a welcome relief.

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  3. September is a favourite month with all of its lovely “fallness”. We get our best leaf colour in early October until wind blows it away. Those apple roses are very pretty! - Jenn

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    1. Thanks Jenn! I love the changing seasons, but spring will always have the top place in my heart.

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  4. Our leaves are beginning to turn and some yellow-ish leaves are falling. It's time for September.

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    1. I'll bet it's prettier up north than it is around here...the leaves, I mean.

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  5. I'm not ready for fall yet....summer always last till September 21st for me. BUT I will hold my plate out for one of your delish looking Baked Apple Roses!!!!!!!

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    1. I wish you could come over for wine (or gin and tonic) and apple roses and conversation! I just KNOW we'd have so much fun!

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  6. Back in France it was the best month for mushroom hunting. Here, no such luck!

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    1. I don't believe any of the mushrooms popping up around here are edible! Well, I guess the magic variety that grow on cow poop are technically edible, but as far as cooking...we're out of luck!

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  7. I have already posted about my last of August/first of September feel - it does not involve school sports, but I can relate quite well to how that makes your memories come to the surface.
    Those apple roses look pretty enough to me!
    I have put out bits and bobs of autumn decor in my flat, not too much (you know I like my empty surfaces) but just enough to bring the season in. There will be roast Hokkaido this weekend on my table, so that's pretty autumn-ish, too.
    Good to know you have a long weekend, and a week off coming up in a few weeks!

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    1. I've been meaning to tell you this, Meike. My friend Martina was born in Schweinfurt, and her grandmother lives there to this day. Are you familiar with that city?

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    2. Schweinfurt is in Bavaria (Franken, to be precise) while I am in Baden- Württemberg, so, different federal states, different dialects and so on, but still both in South Germany and not all that far from here. I have never been to Schweinfurt but used to have a colleague from there at one of my previous jobs, Erika. Her way of pronouncing certain words made for some good-natured banter 😊

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  8. I enjoy every season, even winter, although I moan about it a lot. I don't like the cold, but I do love the excuse to be inside and not feel guilty about it. I like fall, the transition between the busyness of summer to the slower pace of winter. It's a beautiful adjustment.

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  9. Here, I like the fact that all the August vacationers have gone home. The building is empty again. No need for reservations at restaurants. Peace!

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    1. That sounds like any touristy beach spot! I can certainly understand.

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  10. September? I like the fact that it is the month that contains my daughter's birthday and what I don't like about it is that it is carrying me much closer to my own birthday when I shall be a year older and that much nearer to death. I also recall many anxious Septembers beginning the school year all over again.

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    1. Were the anxious Septembers when you were a student or a teacher?

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  11. It's interesting that you have a week off in October. I don't ever remember having that kind of break when I was a kid in Florida. We have an October break here in the UK but it's only two days, and I thought it was a UK-specific thing.

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    1. We didn't have October breaks here either until a couple of years ago when our district went to the "modified year round" calendar. They took two weeks off the end of summer vacation (which is why I went back to work so early, at the end of July) and then we get an extra week off in October and then again in February.

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  12. There are about five family birthdays in the last week of September for us. It's a little crazy!

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    1. September has GOT to be the most common month for birthdays! It sure seems like it, anyway.

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  13. Loved your post as fall is my favorite season and your photos and words captured why I enjoy this time of the year. This morning the temperature was 61 here, a sign for cooler days ahead! Enjoy your 3-day weekend!

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    1. I'm planning to soak up the relaxation this weekend! It's been a rough start to the school year.

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  14. I love fall as well. I love the smell of fallen leaves, eating pumpkin pie and the cool air that requires me to wear my favourite sweater. Unfortunately, there are a flurry of family birthdays in the fall and since I am the family matriarch, they fall on me to organize. My husband turns 60 so a gathering of friends seems appropriate. Sigh...I see a lot of work in my future. Those apple roses would make a delightful display on my party table. Do I have the talent for apple roses is the question?

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    1. You absolutely have the talent for apple roses! Look up Food Wishes on Youtube and then search for "apple roses". He makes it look simple, and it really is, although it's fussy. I think they'd make a beautiful display on any autumn table! Plus, they taste good.

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  15. Didn't I mention it a few months ago? Oh well, maybe not. At least you quote the whole thing.

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  16. As I type this I am getting out the fall trimmings and the autumn mug and I made me some pumpkin spice blend for the coffee.

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  17. It's 90+ outside and I'm making chicken noodle soup for the center..Im such a dumbass.

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