Late Autumn: A Glorious Autumn Finale by Photographer Robert Blair

Autumn is a very special time for photographers.  I found this photo somewhere on my wanderings a few years back and I saved it.  An image search led me to the incredible photography of Robert Blair.  His gallery contains dozens of beautiful photographs, most of them with nature themes, most of them very seasonal.

But the glorious photo below is the first that drew me to Robert Blair; a photo he took in mid-November 2013 and called "Autumn Finale 2.0"  Perfect for this time of the year:  Snow on the ground, but still some leaves on the trees.

From Rob Blair at Robert Blair Photography:

Found HERE

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November Comes and November Goes...

"November comes and November goes with the last red berries and the first white snows."

................................................................................................   Ode To November...

"November comes and November goes with the last red berries and the first white snows."---I love this poem..November is such a transitional month.

I found this photo at the Facebook page "If the World Had a Front Porch" a couple of years ago and saved it. But the original photo accredited this poem about November to a woman named Clyde Watson... It seems the real author was poet Elizabeth Coatsworth, born in 1893, who lived most of her life in New England and died in 1986.

And please visit "If the World Had a Front Porch"!  A beautiful collection of photos!  

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Autumn Begins Friday afternoon, September 22nd!

Happy Autumn!
Friday, September 22, 2017

Art mosaic glass by Singapore artist Anjali Venkat

For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, Autumn greets us (or we greet Autumn) tomorrow, September 22, 2017, at 3:02 p.m. Central Daylight Time.

Autumn is Coming! 2016 Edition

32 More Days Until Autumn!

Fall starts September 22, 2016.  Looking west along the Chicago River in Chicago's North Park neighborhood.

For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, Autumn is really not that far away...  32 more days! Autumn greets us (or we greet Autumn) on September 22 at 9:21 a.m. Central Daylight Time, this year, 2016.  That's 10:21 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time, 7:21 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time, and 14:21 UTC (Universal Coordinated Time).  

After a long stretch of humid, 85+ degree days here in August, Autumn (or Fall), with beautiful bright days and cool nights, is very welcome!    

Just in case you can't quite remember the science of the Autumnal Equinox, which is the time when the sun appears to cross the equator and the days and night are of equal length, here's a primer from Wikipedia:

The September equinox (or Southward equinox) is the moment when the sun appears to cross the celestial equator, heading southward. Due to differences between the calendar year and the tropical year, the September equinox can occur at any time from the 21st to the 24th day of September. 

At the equinox, the sun rises directly in the east and sets directly in the west. Before the Southward equinox, the sun rises and sets more and more to the north, and afterwards, it rises and sets more and more to the south. In the Northern Hemisphere the September equinox is known as the autumnal equinox. In the Southern Hemisphere it is known as the vernal or spring equinox.

And just in case you forgot that the tilt of the Earth is responsible for the seasons, here's a good link that explains that whole thing.

So.. what do we have to look forward to this Autumn?

September

To me, September has always meant the start of school even though most kids start school before Labor Day in the US now.  I guess I'm a traditionalist at heart.  Tomatoes and zinnias are bountiful in early September, and it's time to get the last barbecue of summer fired up.  In our family, we celebrate many September birthdays.

Labor Day is late this year, 2016, on Monday, September 5th!  By the end of the month, the nights are cooler, and the leaves are starting to change colors.  Chrysanthemums and asters (Michaelmas daisies) are in bloom, and we celebrate a few more family birthdays.  Farmer's Markets are overflowing.  And another football season begins.

October

October is full of beauty, golden and red colors, gourds, squashes, especially pumpkins, haystacks and hayrides, and the last apples straight from the orchards.  In our family, another birthday or two.. and, this year, a big wedding!

Then we move on to witches, ghosts, goblins and Halloween.. and the end of Daylight Savings Time as we plunge into those longer, dark nights.  Halloween is on a Monday this year.. Not a great day for Halloween, but that's just the way it is.  Daylight Savings Time ends early Sunday morning, November 6th, 2016.  "Fall behind" and enjoy that extra hour of sleep!

November

November brings Thanksgiving in the United States (November 24 this year, 2016) and the start of the Christmas holiday season.  As a kid, November always seemed just cold and grey, but now that I'm older, I really appreciate the peaceful quality of November.  The gardening is done; the craziness of the Christmas season hasn't yet started, and those empty branches against the deep blue of an early sunset are always stunning.  Then we usually have a few magical sparkling snowflakes sometime in November.

Apple Cobbler, Soups, Stews, and Meatloaf

I absolutely refuse to turn on the oven when the air conditioning is running, so Autumn means a return to baking, casseroles, breads, soups and stews.  I always promise myself that I will try more new recipes than I actually do, but I'm definitely going to make that wonderful apple cobbler with home-whipped whipped cream that I made almost every year when my son was little.. if I can find the recipe.  And there will definitely be meatloaves and lasagna.  Definitely! 

The Countdown Starts!

So let's start counting down those days until Autumn....  32 days until Autumn today.  (It's Sunday, August 21st, 2016.)  Every week will be a little cooler, a little more pleasant than the hot weeks we've had recently.  It will be nice not to have to water as often.  And we've all started to notice how early sunset comes these days.  I'll miss the long evenings, but it will be great to have lower air conditioning bills starting in mid-September.

What's Your Halloween Story?

Do you howl at a witch beside a bubbling cauldron?  Or dance with a scarecrow in an enchanted castle at midnight?

Halloween is the time for all of these things...  but find your special Halloween craziness based on your own birthday here:

I don't know where this came from, but it says the artwork is from www.nikkiburnette.com .

For some reason, I've always liked this, and I pull it out every Halloween.

Maybe it's because I get to dance with a wizard in a pumpkin patch... 'til dawn.  And that sounds like fun!

Autumn Dining: Time to Bring out the Leaf Placemats and Dinnerware! (Updated for 2015)

Leaf dinnerware and table linens in blazing fall colors (or subtle fall colors) make autumn dining a special experience.  (Updated for Autumn 2015)

A couple of weeks ago one of my friends served lunch on a beautiful combination of leaf plates with lovely leaf placemats. I never thought that a simple salad of raspberries and peaches could be so appealing:

She just acquired this beautiful pumpkin bowl, which could be used as a sugar bowl, a soup bowl, or just a cute seasonal candy or nut dish:

Let's start at the bottom of settings for those autumn meals with placemats appropriate for the season:

It's time for orange:

Here's an orange oak leaf placemat by C and F Enterprises available from Houzz:

These 15" by 22" placemats are 100% cotton. Houzz carries the same placemat in rusty red, sage, terra cotta, and yellow for $9.95.  I spotted the same placemat for $7.95 (but only in gold) at the Country Porch.

Bright Fabric Placemats:  

I found these quilted leaf placemats on Ebay a few years back, but I can't find the same this year.  I'm including them just for reference as the style looks very much like the leaf placemats that my friend was using for our luncheon that I photographed at the top:

Make some yourself!

If you are crafty, you may want to try leaf-shaped placemats or coasters yourself.  Quilter Patricia's instructions at can be found HERE at her blog My Patchwork Quilt.  Her placemats turned out great (see below) and she has also made coasters.  (And she has great recipes at her blog as well!)  

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Faux suede with satin on the reverse side:

Here's a collection of bright maple leaves in soft faux suede originally found at Collections, Inc.  Unfortunately, Collections Inc.  writes: "Sold Out. We are unable to guarantee this item will be available in the future. Item #24755".   But, as of September 23, 2015, there is a set available HERE at eBay for $35.99 plus shipping.  The collection is (still) gorgeous, and sold in a set of 4 bright fall colors:  Red, orange, green, and tan.  They have a satin back, are polyester, and 19" by 20".  Unfortunately, there is only one set for sale, and it will probably go fast. 

Satin Leaves:

These satin leaf placemats are very similar to the placemats above; a set of 12 in two colors was on sale last year at eBay HERE.   These were branded by "Better Homes" and the set of 12 included 5 rust and 7 green.  They seemed like a great deal, but they are gone.  They are beautiful, perhaps if you are lucky you will find them at a yard sale.... or someone will put them up for sale on eBay at some time in the future.

Keep them clean and use them all autumn long!  

Keep your special holiday cloth placemats clean so that you can use them several times over the autumn months before washing them: Buy a set of clear vinyl placemats to place over the fabric placemats. You'll be able to keep those gorgeous fall placemats on your table until the last leaf is off of the trees around Thanksgiving time.  Or until it is time for Christmas placemats.

We're welcoming Fall with Autumn Bracelets (Updated for Autumn 2017)

Fall is certainly in the air over here; the trees are decorating the skies with their red and gold autumn finery, even though the temperature in the day has still been in the 70's.

We've gone from summer sun and heat to the coolness of the autumn.. seemingly overnight. I just hope we'll get enough sun and warmth to ripen the rest of the tomatoes still on the vines.

Celebrate autumn with a beautiful new bracelet in classic autumn colors, or choose something unique and different: So many colors, so many motifs to choose from!

Note:  This was first written in Autumn 2011. Unfortunately, none of the beautiful bracelets featured here are still available, but the sites at which I found the bracelets, Beach Glass Memories at Etsy and Novica, the National Geographic's Artisan shop, are still open for business. 

Etsy is always a favorite. Just look at this beautiful bracelet and earrings combo fromBeachGlassMemories at Etsy. They're made primarily of autumn amber beach glass. leaf charms, and beads on a gold plated bracelet. Classic and versatile. Details and purchasing information HERE.

Here's another from BeachGlassMemories at Etsy. Sea glass in sea foam colors and autumn amber glass beads decorate this one-of-a-kind bracelet. Sea glass and that beautiful amber color always make me feel as though I am standing on a beach on one of those last warm Indian summer days with the wind whipping at my face. More details and purchasing information HERE.

Remember that Etsy features handmade, one-off articles, and any article featured here may be sold.. If you really love a piece, you'll need to link over to BeachGlassMemories or any other favorite Etsy store pronto! However, even if a particular item is sold out, the artisan may have other similar pieces or may make a piece to your specifications.

Another favorite autumn bracelet from Novica in pearls and peridot:

Novica is the National Geographic's artisan's shop, featuring hand-crafted gifts from some of the finest artisans.

On this bracelet, "Precious Fruit", designed by Anusara from Thailand, pears, plums, grapes, and other fruits in colorful autumn glory are recreated from a mix of golden pearls, orange chalcedony, smoky quartz, peridot, and transclucent beads. The stones and beads are knotted on a golden silk cord. Check out the detail below and the bracelet as worn below that. More detail and purchasing information HERE.

Is it any wonder why I love Autumn?