Today is Autumn equinox, the traditional start of Autumn up here. The weather makers seem to be well informed of the dates.
We had beautifully sunny weather all of last week. Then yesterday it rained on most of our run. Now there’s a forecast of rain for this whole week.
It’s getting chilly in the night. I’ll take out one of my duvets this week.
It’s getting darker in the mornings. I can keep the south-facing window in front of my desk open all morning—seeing the slowly shades turn from black to dark blue black, then through various shades black and blue, into bright blue. Or if it’s cloudy, into a dull light blueish grey.
The leaves had already started turning colour. It’ll still be a month or more before the autumnal colours really shine but the shades are already visible occasionally.
The garden has noticed as well. There aren’t as many apples on the tree as before. The petunias are almost gone. Berries are fully ripe, which means they’ll soon start turning black and dry. The begonias are still thriving but the geraniums have reduced flowering. And the grass in the backyard never fully loses the moistness from the morning dew.
One of the good bits about autumn—apart from the beautiful colours and dark mornings—is that it’s my favourite running weather again. I don’t need to care about the warm and hot days. It’s the season of running in cool fresh air, with an occasional shower and often lots of mud. The runs will be harder—summer’s hard ground provides better support than the muddy or boggy autumnal trails. But the runs will also be far more pleasant.
[Now bad thoughts are starting to intrude the head, so ending the post abruptly here.]
The featured image is by Grant Snider, a fellow autumn lover and one of my favourite artists.
Here’s another favourite one:
